A government-backed technology project has demonstrated for the first time how trusted property data could be securely shared across the housing market at scale – potentially paving the way for one of the biggest overhauls of the homebuying process in decades.
The Smart Property Data Trust Framework sandbox, funded through a £742,700 award from the Government’s Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, has successfully tested how verified property information can move securely between organisations without the repeated checks, duplicated paperwork and fragmented systems that continue to slow UK property transactions.
The project is being delivered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) alongside the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), with support from HM Land Registry, Raidiam and the Digital Property Market Steering Group.
Industry figures say the initiative could prove transformational for a property transaction system that remains heavily reliant on manual administration, disconnected platforms and repeated requests for the same information.
COLLAPSED TRANSACTIONS
The UK’s homebuying process has long faced criticism for delays, fall-throughs and inefficiencies.
Separate research published last week by OPDA estimated that collapsed property transactions may now be costing the UK economy almost £2 billion a year, with 58% of transactions falling through after an offer has been accepted.
The sandbox aims to tackle one of the root causes: the inability for trusted property data to move seamlessly between parties.
Rather than relying on PDFs, emails and bespoke integrations between firms, the sandbox allows accredited participants to securely access, verify and reuse trusted property data under common standards.
One of the first firms to test the system successfully was proptech company Kotini, which demonstrated how authoritative HM Land Registry data could be securely verified and shared onward without requiring new integrations each time.
For smaller proptech firms, the implications could be significant.
INNOVATION TAX
Kieran Witt (main picture), Founder of Kotini, says: “Every time we wanted to do something new or work with another business, we were paying what I’d call an innovation tax.
“We weren’t spending our time improving products for customers — we were spending it dealing with different systems, different providers and lots of admin.”
The sandbox instead creates a framework where businesses connect once and can then securely interact with others already within the ecosystem.
“It genuinely democratises the property industry,” Witt adds. “If you can build one connection instead of hundreds, it changes who is able to innovate and compete.”
The project is now moving beyond technical testing towards real-world commercial use cases, including industry hackathons focused on solving operational problems across the transaction chain.
MAJOR MILESTONE
Maria Harris, Chair of OPDA, says the sandbox represented a major milestone for the industry.
“It shows that a more connected, trusted approach to property data is no longer just a policy ambition, but something that has now been proven to work in practice.”
Stephen Ward, Director of Strategy at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, adds: “What we’ve proven with the sandbox is the ability to reuse and share data openly across the property ecosystem for the first time.
“This is an exciting development for the industry, and we want more organisations to follow Kotini’s lead and help us to build the trust framework, governance, and standards that will allow us to transform the home moving process.”
