Controversial ID cards ‘will streamline property transactions’
Propertymark says digital ID cards will help avoid duplication in the property buying and selling process.
New digital ID cards may be the solution for property buyers who grow weary of providing the same personal details multiple times.
Propertymark says the new ‘cards’, which will be held on people’s mobile phones, will avoid duplication in the transaction process.
And the controversial new measure should also speed up the buying and selling of homes, it says.
Petition
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a consultation on the new ID cards, that will last three months. Legislation will follow early next year, and they are expected to be introduced by 2029.
A petition signed by nearly 2.5 million people opposes the introduction of ID cards.
Information on the cards will include a person’s name, date of birth, nationality or residency status and a photo.
The consultation will also ask whether other information such as an address should be included.
Frustration
Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns at Propertymark, says: “Digitising identification checks in the home buying and selling process has long been talked about, so the introduction of ID cards could help tackle economic crime and reduce duplication across a transaction.
“During the home buying and selling process, multiple organisations require people’s identities to be checked,” he says.
“Estate agents, mortgage providers, and conveyancers all need to verify a person’s identity, much to the frustration of consumers.”
And he adds that ID cards could also help simplify Right to Rent checks, although more detail is needed on what the Government is proposing.
