How PropTech could connect transactions of the future

The future of digital property transactions is closer than many think. Here, Nick Dyoss, Group Business Development and Relationships Director at Landmark, explains how national digitisation, trusted data frameworks and new infrastructure could deliver a faster, more certain and more connected market for everyone in the near-term future.

The UK property market is undergoing a profound shift.  

Years of fragmented processes, inconsistent data and slow transaction timelines have created friction for buyers, sellers and professionals alike. But as government‑backed programmes, industry‑led initiatives and new digital infrastructures begin to align, we are finally seeing the foundations of a faster, more certain market emerge. 

From my perspective, working across the industry with government, regulators, conveyancers and PropTech partners, the next five years represent a pivotal moment. The move towards a digital‑first, standards‑driven ecosystem isn’t simply a technical upgrade – it is a cultural and structural transformation of how transactions happen.  

A market on the cusp of digital transformation 

Despite the scale of UK property data, much of it remains locked within local systems, legacy formats or manual processes. Fragmentation across the transaction chain contributes to delays, fall‑throughs and duplicated activity. These are all issues that place pressure on professionals and frustrate consumers.

However, there are various ongoing national digitisation programmes that represent the building blocks for a modernised, data‑driven market. 

HM Land Registry’s 2025+ Strategy 

HM Land Registry’s Strategy 2025+ is a long‑term digital transformation programme designed to create faster, simpler and more secure property transactions through modernised digital services, agreed data standards, AI‑driven automation, enhanced customer experience, and improved access to trusted property information.  

In my view, HMLR’s Strategy 2025+ is the most influential transformation programme shaping our future landscape. Its ambition is huge, and necessarily so. The digitisation of the Local Land Charges (LLC) Register alone is one of the largest national data projects underway at the moment. 

It is a huge, complex programme. Every local authority is different, with legacy systems and even microfiche in some cases. You are only going to digitise it once, so it is worth doing properly. Once complete, digitised LLC data won’t just speed up searches, it will underpin consistent, predictable turnaround times, which is something the market has needed for years. 

If Land Registry delivers everything in its strategy – and I believe they will – we could see the market move to one‑day searches. That is how powerful their vision is. This isn’t about speed for speed’s sake; it is about replacing uncertainty with reliability. 

Trusted frameworks and shared standards 

Across the industry, there are major initiatives underway to explore how trusted frameworks and shared standards could fundamentally improve the way property information is created, governed and exchanged. These include our own work to define and prove the value of interoperable data through our Landmark Global Schema (LGS), as well as the Smart Property Data Trust Framework. Together, these projects point to a future where property data can be more consistent, trusted and reusable; unlocking efficiencies for customers and supporting more seamless cross-market collaboration.

The aim is to create a secure, consent‑based system that lets authorised parties access and reuse verified property information with confidence, cutting time, cost and risk while improving transparency across the entire transaction process. From my perspective, real value lies not in having more data, but in having trusted, provenance‑backed data that professionals can rely on, which is precisely what this project sets out to achieve by way of proof-of-concept testing. 

There is a misconception in some circles that openness alone fixes the problem. It doesn’t. “Open data” can support verification, but without warranties and shared standards, it cannot shoulder legal risk. Digital identity is the perfect example. Today, ID is re‑verified repeatedly across the transaction. With common standards, we could get to a place where you verify it once, then securely share it as needed – held in a trusted environment with agreed data standards. 

That alone could save weeks. 

Land Data and the next‑generation NLIS 

Land Data is currently in the process of developing the next‑generation National Land Information Service (NLIS). The aim is to create a modern, standards‑driven national platform that delivers faster, more accurate and interoperable access to trusted official property data, supporting upfront information, reducing delays and fall‑throughs, and enabling a more transparent, efficient and digitally‑enabled home‑buying process. 

The next-generation NLIS, launching in 2026, is a significant step forward. The current NLIS has served the market well, but it is built on legacy technology that simply cannot support a fully digital, interoperable future. NLIS 2.0 will introduce full UPRN integration, standardised data catalogues, reliable national digital connectivity and scalability to adopt future digitised datasets. 

UPRNs have been around forever but are underused. In my view, they should be fundamental. They cut down on misidentified properties, reduce queries and remove delays. Once building regulations and highways data are digitised – combined with NLIS 2.0 – search turnaround times could move to single‑figure days everywhere. 

I often describe NLIS 2.0 as national infrastructure. Even though Land Data will host it, I see it becoming a public asset underpinning the entire future market. 

Technology that removes friction

PropTech’s role isn’t to reinvent transactions; it is to remove friction from them. Technology works best when it removes administrative delays. AI in particular will play a practical, rather than futuristic, role. It will help most with document checks, questions and follow‑ups – areas that slow transactions down today. 

Transactions won’t be reduced to days; humans still need to pack their lofts and sheds. However, we can dramatically improve certainty. For instance, reducing fall‑through rates from 20% to 10-15% would be a major win for everyone. Crucially, trust and security must remain non-negotiable. Local authorities face around 250,000 cyber‑attacks every hour. As we digitise more, the risks increase, and so must our response. 

PropTech is no longer a niche. It is becoming the connective tissue that enables the changes the industry needs. Through LandmarkConnect, Project 28 and our leadership on data standards, Landmark is helping to create the interoperable digital environment the future demands.

Kindly shared by Landmark Information Group