Land Data awarded Government grant to build next generation of the National Land Information Service

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has awarded Community Interest Company Land Data, the National Land Information Service (NLIS) regulator, grant funding to develop the next generation of NLIS, an independent, regulatory platform for Official land and property data.  

The UK Government’s Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) funds regulators and local authorities to trial new and innovative regulatory approaches enabling businesses to bring innovative products to the market quicker.  In October 2025, through the Fourth Round of the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund (RPF), the RIO has awarded Land Data a grant of £999,592 to deliver the next generation of NLIS, alongside Land Data’s own reserves.  

The new, independent platform will be used to access Official conveyancing searches and requests for upfront information, a focus of the Government’s Plan for Change which aims to overhaul the home buying and selling process.  

The next generation NLIS will create a fair and open environment where search intermediaries and Proptech can deliver Official data efficiently to their customers. Land Data invites all search intermediaries and Official data providers to collaborate through the new NLIS. 

Official Conveyancing Searches are a crucial component of due diligence and compliance when moving home. They rely on Official data that is maintained by public-sector data providers, including local authorities, the Mining Remediation Authority, Drainage Boards, Water Authorities and HM Land Registry.  

The new independent platform will continue to use data standards, a first-of-its-kind market data model and incorporate full use of the UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number) to bring greater consistency and efficiency to requests for Official land and property data. (See more on Official Searches in notes to eds). In time it will scale to enable greater innovation in the sector, providing access to Proptech companies and supporting data providers to publish new data products. 

Development of the next generation of the NLIS platform has begun and it will launch in 2027.  

Platform benefits:  

1. Consumer protection. Home buyers and sellers will continue to benefit from Official data provided directly from source by trusted central and local government organisations. Commercial and social housing transactions almost always require Official Searches. 

2. Sustainable data management for local authorities. Safeguard data quality by ensuring local authorities have the cost-recovery revenue from Official data requests, enabling them to properly maintain and improve their data and services. 

3. Market efficiency & transparency. Reduce friction, duplication and fragmentation in the conveyancing searches market by introducing data standards and transparency around search volumes and turnaround times, supporting the Government’s home building targets.   

4. PropTech innovation. Enable data providers to offer new products to the market, and provide greater data access to innovative PropTech companies. 

Fiona Barron, Chief Executive at Land Data, said:  

“Crucially, this independent, technical and regulatory platform will benefit the market as a whole. It will help bring greater certainty and assurance to home buyers and sellers by ensuring that the data underpinning property transactions is current, accurate, and delivered with provenance, meaning it comes directly from trusted central and local government sources.” 

"Our aim is to create something that meets the long-term needs of those who rely on Official property data, while laying the foundations for a more flexible and resilient system. This is about making the system work better for everyone — and that starts with ensuring consumers can make decisions based on information they can trust.” 

The creation of the platform follows extensive market research in spring 2025 with 45 organisations from across the home buying and selling market, and a successful proof of concept (PoC) project carried out over the summer by Data Clan. The PoC proved how the market data model can harmonise data standards to streamline the flow of quality data for Official Searches and the wider home buying and selling process, increasing market efficiency, transparency and confidence. 

The new platform will replace the existing NLIS Hub, offering all the current functions but going far beyond it in terms of benefits and functionality, with future-proof technology.   

Land Data was set up by a central and local government consortium in 2001 to improve the Official Searches market. This new funding will allow Land Data to continue to deliver its mission with a new vision for a modern, efficient market where Official data safeguards consumers.  

Science and Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: 

“Every day across the country new products are being invented that have the potential to transform lives and revolutionise public services.

“But all too often, we are held back from taking advantage of them by red tape that simply hasn’t kept pace with the scientific and technological advances.

“That’s why we’re backing our regulators to work together with industry, to make the rules fit for purpose, and unlock breakthroughs that will deliver national renewal by driving our economy forwards faster, easier, and safely.”

Nick Chapallaz, Managing Director at GeoPlace and Land Data Board member said:  

"Creating the next generation of the National Land Information Service is a vital step forward in modernising the infrastructure that underpins property transactions across England and Wales. The integration of the Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) into the platform is essential, bringing consistency, accuracy and confidence to the search process, benefiting consumers, local authorities, and the wider market. GeoPlace is proud to support this platform." 

Juliet Whitworth, Head of Research and Information at the Local Government Association and Land Data Board member said:  

"The new NLIS platform has clear benefits for local authorities and their residents and is very much supported by the Local Government Association. It will modernise and streamline the channels of communication local authorities have with search companies and conveyancers, saving time for all parties. It will also ensure the sustainability of essential Official Search data in the long term through cost recovery charges. Lastly, Land Data will bring regulation and governance to the Official Search process, protecting consumers and raising the bar for everyone in the market." 

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

“I'm delighted to see both Land Data, and the Open Data Property Association in partnership with the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, awarded funding through the Regulators' Pioneer Fund Fourth Round to develop essential data infrastructure for our home buying and selling market. Our Smart Property Data Trust Framework shares Land Data’s vision for improving transparency, interoperability and trust in the home buying and selling process. Together, our Framework and the next generation of the National Land Information Service are laying the foundations for a more connected, efficient and consumer-focused digital property market.” 

Notes to editors 

For more information, please contact Helen Desmond, 07984 813831, helen.desmond@land-data.org.uk. 

To read more about our market research work and the PoC, go to Fiona Barron’s blogs on evolving NLIS here. 

About Official and personal conveyancing searches 

Conveyancing searches are an essential part of the homebuying process for most home buyers and contain key information about a property, including planning permissions, tree preservation orders and highway notices. Search reports play an important role in helping home buyers and their legal representatives decide whether to proceed with a house purchase or not and can affect lending decisions.  

The conveyancing searches market is broken down by Official Searches, produced by local authorities themselves on a cost recovery basis, and personal searches, undertaken by commercial search companies and individual search agents who inspect and collect data from local authorities, either in person, or over email. Personal searches usually carry no local authority fee for accessing search data. Both searches rely on local authority data. 

About Land Data 

Land Data was set up in 2001 to regulate and run (under licence) the National Land Information Service (NLIS), a newly-created ‘Hub’ providing a single point of access to official sources of land and property information from every Local Authority in England and Wales, HM Land Registry and The Coal Authority.  

A cross-Government initiative, NLIS was launched by HM Land Registry, the Improvement & Development Agency for Local Government (IDeA, now part of the Local Government Assocation), Ordnance Survey, Valuations Office Agency, DEFRA and the Cabinet Office central IT unit. Its goal was and is to make property information available to everyone. 

To date the NLIS Hub has processed over 27 million searches. 

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash