The UK property sector has spent decades attempting to drag its transaction processes into the twenty-first century.
If you have bought, sold, or advised on a property recently, you already know the frustrating reality: fragmented data, duplicated paperwork, endlessly repeated identity checks and conveyancing timelines that routinely stretch well past four months.
Yet, buried inside the Department for Business and Trade’s multi-sector Smart Data Call for Evidence published in July 2026 lies what might just be the most consequential blueprint for fixing property data in a generation.
While the phrase ‘Call for Evidence’ rarely sets pulse rates racing over morning coffee, this document represents a genuine watershed moment for property professionals. Backed by the statutory powers of the Data Use and Access Act and aligning directly with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Home Buying and Selling Roadmap, the government is preparing to extend the transformative success of Open Banking straight into the property ecosystem.
DISJOINTED TRANSACTIONS
To appreciate why this matters so profoundly, one must look at how broken our current data-sharing mechanisms truly are.
Property transactions remain notoriously disjointed. Estate agents, conveyancers, mortgage lenders, surveyors, local authorities, and digital platforms all hold vital pieces of the transactional puzzle but they operate in isolated silos.
Information is routinely passed around via PDF attachments, email chains or physical letters, forcing professionals to manually re-key data at almost every stage.
This operational friction is not merely annoying; it drains capital, fuels consumer anxiety and directly contributes to transaction collapse rates hovering near 30%.
CHANGING THE RULES
Smart Data fundamentally changes the rules of engagement. At its core, a Smart Data scheme enables consumers and businesses to securely share their property-related information with accredited third parties through standardised, secure application programming interfaces (APIs) and unified trust frameworks.
Rather than submitting a local search and waiting six weeks or re-verifying a buyer’s digital identity for the fourth time, open data protocols allow instantly verifiable, consent-based information to flow seamlessly across every node of the ecosystem.
The July 2026 Call for Evidence specifically targets sector readiness, high-impact use cases, and cross-economy alignment.
For the property sector, the practical implications are enormous. Imagine a transaction where title register details, property information forms, energy performance data, local search results, and mortgage decisions in principle flow frictionlessly between software systems in real time.
Conveyancers no longer spend valuable hours chasing up basic documentation, surveyors receive verified historic data instantly, and buyers track progress with full transparency and confidence in the underlying records.
BEYOND COMPLETION
Crucially, the scope of Smart Data in property extends well beyond the point of legal completion. It lays the foundations for a complete, connected digital lifecycle for homeownership and asset management.
From retrofitting energy efficiency measures to managing complex leasehold documentation, home logbooks, and property insurance, having standardised, interoperable data frameworks ensures property information remains dynamic, accurate, and accessible throughout the entire life of a building.
INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
However, turning this ambitious policy vision into practical reality requires immediate industry leadership. As the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) has rightly emphasised, Smart Data provides the legal and governance umbrella, but the property sector itself must build the operational substance.
Without active, detailed participation from estate agents, conveyancers, mortgage lenders, technology vendors, and surveyors, there is a very real risk that policy decisions will be made in a vacuum, lacking the practical nuance required for real-world property transactions.
We are currently standing at a critical crossroads. The consultation window closes on 1 October 2026, offering a short and precious window for every corner of our industry to shape the technical standards, governance, and user journeys of future property data schemes.
If the sector seizes this opportunity, we can finally dismantle the inertia of legacy systems and build an ecosystem where data works for property professionals rather than hindering them.
TIME TO STEP FORWARD
For years, property insiders have complained that data sharing across our industry is sluggish, fragmented, and archaic.
The July 2026 Smart Data Call for Evidence provides the missing catalyst to solve it.
It is now up to the entire sector to step forward, submit evidence, and help build a property market genuinely fit for the modern digital economy.
