There’s not much else to say about transforming the homebuying process, or is there? Well, we’ve only had the most significant development in the five-year effort to fix how this country buys and sells homes.
On 19 June 2026, the government published its Home Buying and Selling Reform roadmap. It landed exactly one year after the Data Use and Access Act became law, just over three years after OPDA launched in June 2023, and almost five years on from the first Home Buying Selling Group tech workshop back in July 2021. What began as a small group of people convinced the process was broken is now a formal government commitment, backed by industry and by consumers, to rebuild it.
The government roadmap is comprehensive and clear. For years the conversation has been stuck on what needs to change and why. With this announcement have moved firmly into how and when. That shift matters to everyone working in property, lending, conveyancing and proptech, because the direction is no longer in doubt. The details around delivery need to be refined, of course, so that work starts now.
The case is settled
It is worth reflecting on the volume and the strength of the responses because it removes a question that has held the industry back for a while now. Here are the numbers behind the MHCLG consultation:
- 1133 responses – 560 individuals and 573 organisations/professionals
- 82% of overall respondents agreed with the consultation objectives
- 79% agreed upfront info should be mandatory (100% lenders and brokers, 91% local authorities, 84% public)
- 86% agreed agents should have higher minimum standards and 82% supported a voluntary Code of Practice
- 82% supported digital property logbooks and property packs
- 72% agreed that transactions should be binding earlier in the process (81% public)
- Positive overall support for digitisation 70% (94% banks/lenders, 90% proptech)
- And 83% for the adoption of digital tools including streamlined Anti Money Laundering checks (100% lenders and brokers, 90% estate agents, 90% conveyancers)
My key takeaway from these numbers is that the appetite for reform is no longer up for debate. There was overwhelming support for consumers and industry on the need for homebuying transactions to be better and the role of digital solutions in making that happen.
A faster, more reliable, lower-risk transaction depends on three things working together, and all three sit at the heart of what OPDA has been building.
The building blocks
The current process is still largely manual, paper-based and fragmented, with poor interoperability between the organisations involved. The roadmap is explicit that reform must be underpinned by digitisation across the whole transaction.
In practice that means seamless, secure data sharing between property professionals, an end to re-keying and re-checking the same information at every stage, and genuine transparency so buyers and sellers can follow progress rather than waiting in the dark.
The building blocks are:
- Digital ‘sales packs’ available upfront and mandatory for every property and mortgage transaction
- Digital property logbooks (persistent property data records) starting with govt scheme properties
- Digital ID and Qualified Electronic Signatures
- AI-enabled conveyancing tools to automate routine work
Data standards and trust
Digitisation can only deliver if the data underneath it is standardised, trusted and reusable. This is the part that can sound technical, but simply put it’s making sure the same piece of verified information is usable at every point in the transaction, sourced with provenance from authoritative origins, and kept up to date over time rather than re-gathered from scratch by each party.
Let’s not forget that none of this works without trust. The roadmap describes the secure sharing of trusted information between professionals, governed by a framework that guarantees minimum standards of data quality and security and enables safe, consented reuse for consumers.
The components will be familiar to anyone who has followed OPDA’s work. Data must come from authenticated, digitally verified sources, such as HM Land Registry, local authorities and approved providers. Data must be collected and shared by firms who have the right permissions and accreditation standards to do so. Standards must be common, validated against core criteria, and able to federate across other smart data schemes. Identity and assurance (digital ID, AML, digital verification services) need to become joined-up and reusable rather than repeated five times over.
And all of it sits inside a smart data scheme that puts the customer in control. Who can access their data, why, when, how it is shared and secured, and the conditions under which it can be relied upon.
What this means for OPDA
The digitisation and mandation of trust framework standards set out in the roadmap aligns directly with our mission and with the work we have been leading across government and industry groups, including our smart property data trust framework sandbox which we’ve delivered in partnership with the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG) with grant funding from the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund.
OPDA has committed to continue as the leading body for defining and maintaining property data standards, enabling interoperability across the industry and across other smart data schemes such as Open Finance, Open Energy and Digital Identity, and helping to build and execute the technical trust standards and governance that secure data sharing.
The next period brings guidance on material information and what it means for every party in the transaction, a voluntary charter and accreditation scheme, a property agent Code of Practice, and consultation on the Smart Property Data Scheme. These will all be in place by the end of 2026.
Consultations on mandatory qualifications, digital tools and binding contracts follow in 2027/28, with secondary legislation and mandation expected by 2029, and a fully enabled smart data scheme active by 2030.
For OPDA members, this is everything we could have hoped for and such a positive affirmation of what we’ve delivered over the last 3 years. Where we already have firms embracing and embedding our standards, and actively contributing to the trust framework design, they’re already walking the walk and seeing the benefits in real life for their customers and businesses. For anyone just joining us, or still on their implementation journey, this is the reassurance and certainty (if it was needed) that we’re doing the right things, with the right people, and for the right reasons. Being an early adopter and an active member of this smart data ecosystem puts you in the strongest position to shape your customer journey and business model before these standards become mandated.
Over the summer we will be working with MHCLG, the Department for Business and Trade’s Smart Data Council and the Digital Property Market Steering Group to break the roadmap down into clear messages and detailed delivery plans. We will share those as they take shape, so keep an eye on the newsletter, the OPDA blog, and our Linkedin. There is a lot more to come.
If you would like to hear just how ready consumers are for this to happen, you can download a free copy of our Future of Homebuying 2026 report where you’ll find stats around how many people support digital property packs and how they really feel about sharing their property data.
This is a once in a generation opportunity to shape and define the future of homebuying and to be part of the community who made it happen. I’m incredibly proud of our members and the work we’ve done with so many stakeholders to get us to this point.
The vision is clear and its future is secured. Our role in delivering smart property data, the standards that underpin it, and making this better homebuying experience a reality for millions of future homebuyers, sellers, and industry professionals is the reason we exist. I can’t wait to share our progress with you!
Maria Harris Chair, Open Property Data Association
The full government announcement, commitments and roadmap are available at gov.uk.
