Property Logbooks

The term digital 'Property Logbook and similar terms, e.g. building passport, has become a popular term amongst buildings and property professionals, with many different interpretations being offered for what they might be and which industry sectors might benefit from their use. All the terms listed below refer to some form of digitally hosted building record that includes live, updated links to open sources, static data held in digital form, documentation and imagery.

Terms Being Used To Describe Logbooks

The terms being used interchangeably to describe a system of digitally hosted building information include the following: • Building Passport • Building Logbook • Digital Building Logbook • Digital Property Logbook • Renovation Passport • Building Passport • Building Renovation Passports

All these terms have been used in the reports referenced below to describe similar entities, but for his article we use the term 'Property Logbook' to cover all.

The Definition of a Digital 'Property Logbook'

A digital property logbook is a common repository for all relevant building data. A well maintained logbook should represent a record of major events during a building’s lifetime, such as change of ownership, tenure or use, maintenance, refurbishment and other interventions in the fabric of the building. The logbook should contain copies of significant documentation and certification relating to these events and include links to where information is held on those events on public and/or government repositories.

Documentation could include administrative documents, plans, description of the land, the building and its surrounding, technical systems, traceability and characteristics of construction materials, performance data such as operational energy use, indoor environmental quality, smart building potential and lifecycle emissions, as well as links to building ratings and certificates.

The Role or Purpose of A Property Logbook

A property logbook should be a dynamic tool that allows a variety of data, information and documents to be recorded, accessed, enriched and organised under specific categories. As such, a property logbook can serve a variety of purposes within a building's lifetime. These may include: facilitating transparency, trust, informed decision making and information sharing within the construction sector enabling quicker, more transparent transactions and change of ownership, linking financial institutions to land registries and certification bodies connecting building owners with commercial service providers and public authorities for more efficient running and maintenance of a property providing a platform to co-ordinate and record retrofit programmes against targets and frameworks such as the NetZero/energy neutral obligations of the Paris Accord. allowing public bodies to monitor the health and development status of the buildings within their areas of interest enabling circularity in the built environment from the design through to the demolition stage.

Data may be stored within the logbook and/or hosted in a different location to which the logbook acts as a gateway. Some types of data stored in the logbook have a more static nature while others, such as data coming from smart meters and intelligent devices, are dynamic and need to be automatically and regularly updated. A digital building logbook is a safe instrument giving control to users of their data and the access of third parties, respecting the fundamental right to protection of personal data.

Work on Property Logbooks Around The World

In the UK the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government (MHCLG) have established a Property Logbook Workgroup within their wider efforts to digitise the residential property market. This workgroup has led to the establishment of a Trade Association for UK providers of digital property logbooks - the Residential Logbook Association (RLBA). Several EU countries have developed and implemented digital property logbook initiatives over the last years, including, for example, the Woningpas in Flanders (BE), the private initiative BASTA in Sweden and the PTNB in France. All these initiatives share a common objective to increase data availability and transparency to a broad range of market players. The initiatives are intended to establish if Property Logbooks can contribute to EU initiatives and Strategies, such as “A Europe fit for the digital age”, the “European Green Deal’’ and its Renovation Wave, the new Circular Economy Action Plan, and the dedicated Strategy for a Sustainable Built Environment.

References

The MHCLG Property Logbook Workgroup - website The Residential Logbook Association (RLBA) - www.rlba.org.uk The EU Digital Building Logbook (DBL) Project - Report News Report on the EU DBL Project - News coverage