What is a digital property logbook?
Knowledge Hub · Consumer and Seller
Last updated: 8 September 2026
A digital property logbook is a secure online record of a property, held by the homeowner. Government uses almost exactly that definition, describing logbooks as online secure records of information specific to a property, owned by the homeowner. It holds the title, the legal position, the physical characteristics and the documents in one place, and it keeps being maintained rather than being assembled from scratch every time something happens to the property.
The comparison people reach for is a car’s service history. A vehicle has a record of its ownership, its MOTs and its maintenance. A house, which for most people is a far larger asset, has traditionally had nothing equivalent.
What a logbook contains
Title and legal position, taken from HM Land Registry: the register entries, the plan, covenants, rights and any charges.
Physical and statutory information: tenure, council tax band, EPC, building safety where relevant, and environmental risk covering flood, radon and ground stability.
Documents: guarantees, warranties, planning consents, building control certificates and the paperwork for work carried out on the property.
And a running record of what has been checked, when, and where it came from, which is what makes the contents usable by someone else rather than just stored.
How a logbook differs from a Sale Pack
They are often confused and they do different jobs.
A Sale Pack is assembled for a transaction. It is the information a buyer and their conveyancer need in order to proceed, and its job is finished at completion.
A logbook is maintained while somebody owns the home. It is not built for a sale, although it makes one easier, and it keeps working between transactions: monitoring, alerting and holding the documents that would otherwise be in a drawer.
Government treats them as a pair, committing to legislate for both and to mandate the minimum standardised data each should contain.
Who holds it, and what happens when you move
The homeowner holds it. Not the agent, not the lawyer, and not the platform. Sharing is controlled by the owner, who decides who sees what and for how long, with different levels of access for an agent, a conveyancer or a lender.
When the owner moves, their logbook closes. It is not handed over with the keys. It is frozen as the record of their time at the property, and the new owner opens their own logbook for the home they have bought.
That matters for a reason beyond tidiness. A logbook contains information a previous owner may consider private, including what they paid for work and who they used. Closing it at the point of sale keeps that boundary clear.
The regulatory position
Logbooks have moved from an idea to a government commitment.
The Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, published in June 2026, commits government to legislating so that digital logbooks and sales packs become a standard part of property transactions, and to mandating the minimum standardised data both products must contain. Support in the consultation was 82 per cent, with no significant variation between respondent groups. From 2027 they become a requirement of government home ownership schemes, which is the first point at which either becomes compulsory rather than encouraged.
Government also named its concerns. Data breach risk was raised by 43 per cent of respondents on that question, and a quarter raised data protection compliance. In response it has committed to working with representative and regulatory bodies including the Law Society, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Conveyancing Association, the Digital Property Market Steering Group and the Home Buying and Selling Council towards an agreed level of digital security these products must meet.
The standards work already under way is named too, including the Residential Logbook Association’s proof of concept on accessing HM Land Registry data within logbooks.
What the hop logbook does
hop is built to Law Society licensed forms and data standards and to RLBA standards, and is an HM Land Registry pilot partner.
Every logbook produces a Property Vitals score out of 1,000, flagging what is missing or likely to cause a problem: restrictive covenants, radon risk, an expired EPC, a warranty gap. It then monitors the property continuously, with alerts for changes to the title deed, which is the first sign of title fraud, nearby planning applications, environmental risk updates and council tax band reviews.
A logbook can be created automatically when a Sale Pack completes, or set up independently at any time. Where an agent sponsors it, the record carries their brand.
Frequently asked questions
What is a digital property logbook?
A secure online record of a property, held by the homeowner, containing its title, legal position, physical and statutory information and associated documents, maintained over time rather than rebuilt for each transaction.
Who owns a property logbook?
The homeowner. They control who can see the information and at what level of access.
Does a logbook transfer to the buyer when a property is sold?
No. The logbook closes when the owner moves and remains the record of their time at the property. The new owner opens their own logbook.
Will digital property logbooks become mandatory?
Government has committed to legislating so that logbooks and sales packs become a standard part of property transactions, when parliamentary time allows, and to mandating the minimum data each must contain. They become a requirement of government home ownership schemes from 2027.
What is the difference between a logbook and a sale pack?
A sale pack is assembled for a transaction and its job ends at completion. A logbook is maintained while somebody owns the home and keeps working between transactions.
See one on a real property
A logbook is easier to judge on a property you know than in the abstract.
Get in touch to set your firm up, or read more about the hop Logbook.
This article is general information and is not legal advice.