Novello Joins OPDA to Drive AI-Powered Open Property Data Standards

Quick Summary

Novello Chartered Surveyors has joined the Open Property Data Association (OPDA) to accelerate the adoption of open property data standards across the UK. By integrating AI and smart data into the surveying process, Novello provides transparent, upfront condition reports that reduce transaction friction and improve home buying efficiency.

How is Novello using AI to transform property surveying?

Novello is moving beyond traditional paper-based reporting by integrating AI-powered platforms that convert static PDF surveys into interactive, digital assets. This approach ensures that open property data standards are met at the point of origin, allowing for real-time data capture using drones, cameras, and microphones during site inspections. Key metrics of their impact include:

• £10 million worth of surveys delivered annually to UK home buyers.
• A workforce of 40+ qualified surveyors providing front-line data.
• Transitioning to fully digital reports ahead of the 2029 legislative deadline.

By capturing structured condition data at the source, Novello ensures that buyers and brokers receive critical information early enough to influence the transaction, rather than weeks after an offer has been made.

Why is the OPDA membership significant for the UK property market?

Joining the OPDA allows Novello to contribute directly to the framework of standards that will govern the future of UK real estate. As the industry prepares for the Data Use and Access Act, Novello’s role is to provide a front-line perspective from the surveyors actually inspecting homes. This collaboration helps reduce transaction friction by ensuring that condition data is shareable and trusted across the entire mortgage chain, including the UK's six largest banks and major building societies.

What impact will the Data Use and Access Act have on home buying?

The upcoming legislation mandates that all property data must be digitised at source by 2029. Novello is solving this challenge for estate agents and sellers by building an upfront data platform that combines title information, seller forms, and condition surveys. This comprehensive data set ensures that offers are made on fully informed properties, significantly reducing the number of failed property sales and accelerating the timeline from listing to completion.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This move by Novello to embrace open property data standards is a significant needle-mover for the UK proptech sector. For too long, the physical condition of a property has been the 'missing link' in digital transactions. By moving surveying data from static PDFs to interactive, structured formats, Novello and the OPDA are finally addressing the root cause of transaction delays. This is a bold step toward a truly frictionless, data-driven housing market.