Transparency in property: The journey from ambition to expectation

By Matt Gilpin, Founder and CEO of Sprift

For years, property professionals have shouldered the frustration of watching deals slow down or fall apart because essential information surfaced too late.

As a property investor myself, I’ve experienced the same pain points that agents, conveyancers and buyers face every day: delays, uncertainty, missing details and avoidable fall-throughs.

Deals rarely stall because people lack motivation. They stall because the information isn’t available when it’s needed.

Missing EPC details, unclear tenure, overlooked flood risks, incomplete planning history, the list goes on. Time and again, these gaps lead to delays, uncertainty and a loss of trust, even when everyone is doing their best to keep the transaction moving.

This is why the government’s plans to make upfront information mandatory represent more than a policy update. They mark a genuine turning point for the industry. What was once a shared ambition is fast becoming the expected standard. Buyers get clarity from the outset. Sellers become better prepared. Agents can progress transactions with confidence, rather than reacting to surprises halfway through the process.

Raising the bar for the property industry

Under the new proposals, sellers and agents will be required to publish key information before a property is listed; a significant shift from the reactive processes that have shaped the sector for decades.

The information required includes tenure, council tax, EPC, legal title information, ID verification, building safety data, searches, condition assessments, service charges, planning consents, flood risk data, chain status and floor plans alongside a growing set of legal, environmental and digital requirements.

These aren’t minor additions. They represent a fundamental shift in how transactions will be expected to operate. The introduction of a new Code of Practice for agents, along with greater encouragement to use digital tools, signals a clear direction of travel: transparency must become the norm.

Why upfront information changes everything

Those who work at the coalface of property know the truth: surprises kill deals.

Uncovering issues late doesn’t just delay transactions. It erodes trust, increases costs and creates unnecessary friction between buyers and sellers in an already complex process.

Upfront information erases that. It supports faster decision-making, sets clearer expectations and contributes to a more confident, resilient market. It also meets the rising consumer demand for transparency when making major purchasing decisions. Technology isn’t just helpful, it’s essential

The effectiveness of these reforms will depend entirely on how well the industry embraces digital tools. Technology is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s central to turning regulatory requirements into everyday practice.

At Sprift, this belief has shaped our mission since day one, nearly a decade ago. Long before “upfront information” became a policy term, we were pioneering property data transparency.

Sprift was created because key property data didn’t exist in one place. I’d experienced first-hand how the lack of consolidated, verified information slowed transactions and created uncertainty. No one was aggregating and presenting reliable, property-specific insights.

So, we built a platform that does exactly that, Sprift. Consolidating hundreds of verified datapoints per property from thousands of trusted sources, all in one place. Our Interactive Property Reports were created to give estate agents, conveyancers, surveyors and financial services professionals the information they need at the start of a transaction, not weeks into it. They also give consumers the confidence they deserve.

For those already leaning into data and digital processes, these new standards aren’t a burden. They’re momentum.

A shared responsibility

Real progress will rely on collaboration across the entire ecosystem, not just from agents, but also from conveyancers, lenders, mortgage brokers, surveyors, insurers and technology providers.

For too long, property transactions have relied on fragmented, reactive steps. Now is the moment to rethink that approach.  

When information flows seamlessly between sectors, everyone benefits from faster decisions, fewer fall-throughs, less friction and happier clients.

This belief has guided Sprift from the very beginning. With more than 300+ data points on over 30 million UK residential properties, our shareable dashboards give agents, surveyors, conveyancers and financial services professionals the insights they need from day one, helping reduce fall-through rates and shorten transaction times.

An opportunity to lead

This moment shouldn’t be viewed as a compliance burden. It’s an opportunity to modernise the market, differentiate your service and deliver a more transparent, better experience for consumers.

Those who act now will be the ones who build trust, grow market share and set the new standard for the future of property transparency.

At Sprift, we stand ready to support that journey, not because we’ve adapted to these changes, but because we’ve been preparing for them from the outset.

To learn how Sprift can help you prepare for the new requirements, join the professionals already leading the way and book a demo with our team today.

https://sprift.com/book-a-tour/

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