UK-backed CFIT starts phase two of open property coalition

The Centre for Financial Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has entered phase two of its Open Property coalition to develop and test smart data tools intended to shorten and simplify the UK home-buying process, which averages 22 weeks and is estimated to cost the economy nearly £1bn a year.

Phase two will run discovery work, build prototypes and start implementation tests. The programme will focus on improving the flow of verified information between banks, conveyancers and other participants in property transactions. Technical interoperability, governance, legal liability for data sharing and transaction designs that use reusable, trusted data sets will be examined.

CFIT’s coalition previously mapped the data used across buying and selling and identified clusters of data attributes that could be reused to reduce duplication and surface key information earlier in a sale. The organisation plans to convert those findings into a minimum viable product to pilot with banks, conveyancers and other industry partners.

Two areas that have attracted the most industry support are faster, more reliable loan underwriting and clearer milestone tracking for buyers and sellers. The underwriting work aims to bring verified evidence about a property to the start of the lending process so lenders can assess risk earlier and reduce late-stage failures. The milestone-tracking work aims to create a single shared view of a transaction so consumers and professionals can see progress and outstanding requirements in one place.

Anna Wallace, CFIT’s chief executive, described the sector’s reaction as ‘quite scary’ and noted that the work touches long-standing business models. She said the project’s goals include showing that secure, interoperable data sharing can save customers time and establishing governance rules that firms can rely on when scaling solutions.

CFIT was set up following the 2021 Kalifa review of UK fintech and acts as a short-term convenor, bringing together government, regulators, banks, legal firms and technology providers to turn policy ambitions into testable prototypes. The government has awarded CFIT an additional £1m of funding to March 2027, and NatWest has confirmed further investment. CFIT operates with a core team of about 10 staff and draws on pro bono support from coalition members.

One concept emerging from the coalition is a Digital Property ID: a dynamic, reusable package of verified property information linked to a Unique Property Reference Number. CFIT describes it as more than a single document; the ID could include ownership and title data, material information and planning history, risk indicators, transaction status and records of consent. A related Smart Data Pack would combine property data with digital identity credentials and relevant financial information into a secure, reusable data set that can move through the transaction chain.

A separate sector-led scheme to let buyers and sellers prove their identity once for property transactions was abandoned earlier this month after concerns about government policy and limited consumer benefit. CFIT said a Digital Property ID could still have a role but requires joint industry and government testing to demonstrate value.

CFIT plans to use the pilot phase to test both the technology and the governance arrangements needed for broader adoption. The organisation will measure whether prototypes reduce failed transactions and shorten timelines by bringing reliable information forward, and whether industry participants can agree trust and liability rules needed to scale the approach.