UK sandbox delivers first real-world test of secure property data sharing

Source: bClear Communications

A sandbox test has shown for the first time how trusted property data can be accessed, verified, and shared securely from start to finish – offering a glimpse into the future of the UK property market.

The Smart Property Data Trust Framework sandbox is a government-backed initiative designed to create a safe, controlled environment where organisations can securely share property data.

Funded by a £742,700 award from the Government’s Regulators’ Pioneer Fund, the 12-month project is being delivered by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) in partnership with the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), with support from Raidiam, data from HM Land Registry and oversight from the Digital Property Market Steering Group (DPMSG).

Rather than exchanging documents or building one-off integrations, participants have been able to explore how property data can be reused securely between accredited parties, under shared standards.

One of the first businesses to prove this in practice was proptech firm Kotini. For Kotini, the sandbox tackled a long-standing challenge faced by smaller companies trying to innovate in a fragmented market.

“Every time we wanted to do something new or work with another business, we were paying what I’d call an innovation tax,” said Kieran Witt, founder of Kotini.

“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 test showed that Kotini could securely access property data from HM Land Registry as an authoritative source, verify credentials, and then share that data onward while keeping a clear record of where it came from and that it hadn’t been altered.

Before the sandbox, each new use case would have meant building another bespoke connection. The sandbox instead created a shared environment where organisations could connect once and reuse that connection as others join.

Witt described the experience as arriving early to a party that is only just getting started.

“We’re the first ones there,” he said. “And we’re really pleased we’ve been able to prove the connection works with Land Registry data. Now, anyone else who joins later doesn’t need to build that connection again — they can just plug in.”

The approach has significant implications for the wider property market. Today’s homebuying process is often slowed down by repeated checks, duplicated requests for the same information, and uncertainty over which version of the data is correct. The sandbox test showed how trusted data could be reused safely, reducing friction while maintaining accountability.

“It genuinely democratises the property industry,” Witt added. “If you can build one connection instead of hundreds, it changes who is able to innovate and compete.”

Maria Harris, chair of the OPDA, said the findings were a major step forward for a Smart Data-led property industry.

“There’s some amazing work being done across the industry and the recent Lloyds, Connells, LMS collaboration is a great example of that. The sandbox is innovative and supports the whole ecosystem to work together in that way. Because it’s not a closed environment, anyone can plug in and test data sharing.

“While the sandbox will continue through to later this year, including further testing and collaborative hackathons, this first use case marks an important milestone. 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, Council for Licensed Conveyancers said: “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.”

The sandbox is now moving from proving what is technically possible to tackling real business problems. A four-day hackathon will bring organisations together to define practical use cases, shape problem statements and explore solutions, with hands-on support available throughout.

Participation is not limited to technical teams. Non-technical contributors can help map customer and operational journeys, develop scenarios and test ideas to ensure the outcomes reflect real-world needs.

Findings from the project will be shared openly to help the industry understand what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to change.

Further reading: Raidiam and OPDA partner to digitise UK property transactions