OPDA comment on Spending Review

11 June 2025

Maria Harris, Chair of the Open Property Data Association, says:

“Today’s commitment of £39bn to social and affordable housing marks a critical step in addressing the UK’s deepening housing crisis. But to make that investment count, the Government must also modernise the digital infrastructure that underpins our housing market. Recent communications from MHCLG reaffirming plans to digitise the home buying and selling process, including better data sharing and digital ID services, are welcome but we must accelerate the process.

“The current property transaction process remains fragmented, slow and prone to failure. It adds cost and uncertainty for consumers and drags on productivity for industry. Digitisation is not a ‘nice to have’ but an essential pillar of a fit-for-purpose, functioning housing market.

“By embedding open standards, smart data and seamless digital handovers between buyers, sellers, agents and conveyancers, we can cut fall-throughs, speed up transactions and build trust. The £39bn must be matched by bold reform. Investing in supply without fixing infrastructure is like building homes on sand."