Roadmap
Where we are and where we’re going
Section titled “Where we are and where we’re going”PDTF 2.0 is designed for incremental adoption. The architecture supports a gradual transition from the current state of property data — unverifiable documents passed between intermediaries — to a fully decentralised model where data sources issue Verifiable Credentials directly.
This happens in three phases.
Policy context
Section titled “Policy context”This roadmap does not exist in isolation — it is directed towards two external anchors that set the direction and the delivery vehicle for the work.
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MHCLG’s Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap (consultation outcome, June 2026) is the government mandate. It commits to publishing a call for evidence on a smart data scheme for the property sector (2026), creating a voluntary accreditation scheme to identify data standards and consulting on that smart data scheme (2027–2028), and legislating to support the secure sharing of data with digital sales packs and logbooks as a standard feature of transactions. It states that upfront information should be “drawn from trusted data sources, underpinned by clear standards, and updated as needed” — precisely source-signed, revocable Verifiable Credentials.
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CFIT’s Smart Data / Open Property coalition (Phase 2) is the industry delivery vehicle. It is co-designing and piloting a Digital Property ID built from Smart Data Clusters, and defining a common conformance framework to which existing property data standards — PDTF included — can map. Its Trust, Legal & Policy workstream targets exactly the reliance and consent conditions that let verified data be reused rather than re-checked by default.
The three PDTF phases below are the technical substrate both anchors point to: PDTF’s Trust Marks and OpenID Federation model are built to satisfy the accreditation and conformance hooks in the government roadmap, and its entity graph and Verifiable Credentials underpin the Digital Property ID that CFIT is proving in real transactions.
Phase 1: Trusted proxies
Section titled “Phase 1: Trusted proxies”Status: Current phase
In this phase, a small number of organisations act as trusted proxies. They connect to existing data sources (HM Land Registry, search providers, EPC registers) through their current APIs and interfaces, then re-issue the data as signed Verifiable Credentials.
The proxy model works because:
- It doesn’t require existing data sources to change anything
- It provides immediate value to credential consumers (conveyancers, lenders)
- It establishes the credential format, verification infrastructure, and trust registry
- It proves the model works before asking root sources to adopt it
What’s in place:
- The PDTF 2.0 specification suite (9 sub-specifications)
- Entity graph and Verifiable Credential data model
- OpenID Federation (relying on Trust Anchors, Federation Entity Statements, and Property Trust Marks like
title-data-providerandregulated-conveyancer) schema and initial entries - Reference implementations for credential issuance and verification
- Credential revocation via Bitstring Status List
What’s being built:
- npm packages for credential verification, DID resolution, and OpenID Federation checking
- CLI tools for developers
- Adapter reference implementations
Phase 2: Independent adapters
Section titled “Phase 2: Independent adapters”In this phase, third-party organisations build and host their own adapters. Instead of a single proxy issuing credentials, multiple organisations independently connect to data sources and issue credentials under their own identity.
This decentralises the issuance layer. A conveyancer receiving a title register credential might get it from one of several authorised adapters, each independently registered in the OpenID Federation.
What this requires:
- Published adapter specifications and guides
- Accreditation process for new issuers
- Multiple OpenID Federation entries per credential type
- Monitoring and trust level management
Why it matters: No single point of failure. No single organisation controlling the flow of verified property data. The trust model works because it’s distributed, not because it’s centralised.
Phase 3: Primary source issuers
Section titled “Phase 3: Primary source issuers”The end state. Data sources — HM Land Registry, local authorities, the EPC register, regulated professionals — issue Verifiable Credentials directly. No proxies needed.
When HMLR issues a title register as a Verifiable Credential signed with their own DID, the credential carries the highest possible trust level. No intermediary, no re-signing, no trust delegation. The source is the issuer.
What this requires:
- Government and institutional adoption of VC standards
- DID infrastructure at data source organisations
- Regulatory alignment (CLC, SRA, FCA recognising VC-based data)
- Maturity of the broader Verifiable Credentials ecosystem
Why it matters: This is the model that scales. Once data sources issue credentials directly, the entire property data ecosystem becomes self-verifying. New platforms, new tools, new AI agents — they can all consume and verify property data without asking permission or building bespoke integrations.
Timeline
Section titled “Timeline”| Phase | Focus | Horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Trusted proxies, core infrastructure | Now — 2026 |
| Phase 2 | Independent adapters, decentralised issuance | 2026 — 2027 |
| Phase 3 | Primary source issuers | 2027+ |
These are estimates based on current progress and industry engagement. The architecture is designed so that all three phases can coexist — Phase 1 credentials remain valid even as Phase 3 issuers come online.
How to get involved
Section titled “How to get involved”PDTF 2.0 is an open standard. The specifications, reference implementations, and tooling are all developed in the open.
- Data sources interested in becoming issuers: contact us via GitHub
- Developers building adapters or integrations: read the quickstart
- Industry stakeholders wanting to understand the impact: read the architecture overview