The OPDA wants to share digital property information across the mortgage market as a way of speeding up the home buying service.

NatWest Group is the latest lender to join the OPDA. HSBC joined last month, while Nationwide joined in July and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) joined in March.

Other members of the association include Atom Bank, PEXA and Coadjute.

The OPDA is calling on the government to deliver digitised property data at source.

This includes information from the Land Registry, planning permissions, building safety and local authority searches.

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A fully digital home buying market

It is also asking for more clarity about executing a fully digital home buying market.

The association has already delivered open property data standards and models for trustable and shareable data following its launch last summer.

The free and open-source tools have been created and tested in collaboration across every sector across the property industry.

Those using its data standards for digital property packs have seen the time from mortgage offer and purchase accepted to exchange of contracts reduce to 15 days.

 

Open data standards

Maria Harris, chair of OPDA, said: “To have NatWest Group join us so soon after other large mortgage lenders is a key moment, not just for us at OPDA, but also for the home buying sector.

“NatWest’s support reinforces how absolutely vital open data standards are in digitising property transactions and the commitment from industry to make this happen.

“Together, NatWest and our other lending members’ ability to reduce the industry’s attachment to forms-based thinking and siloed approaches will have a fundamental impact on improving the poor customer experience of the home buying process.”

Brad Fordham, head of mortgage distribution at NatWest, said: “Speeding up the home buying journey and making it a simpler, clearer and more customer-focused process is core to what we’re trying to achieve as a bank.

“Joining OPDA is an important signal of our commitment to driving up standards of transparency and collaboration across all parts of the home buying journey and we look forward to seeing that continue to improve.”