Methodology
Data Sources
Every datapoint in a HouseDossier report comes from an authoritative UK source, primarily under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| HM Land Registry - Price Paid ↗ | Sold prices, transaction history. |
| Environment Agency - Flood ↗ | River, surface water, groundwater and coastal flood risk; live flood warnings. |
| Ordnance Survey Places API ↗ | Address lookups, UPRN matching, lat/lon, classification. |
| Postcodes.io ↗ | Free postcode/address geocoding (fallback for OS Places). |
| MHCLG EPC Register ↗ | Energy Performance Certificate data. |
| Historic England - National Heritage List ↗ | Listed buildings & scheduled monuments. |
| British Geological Survey (BGS) ↗ | Bedrock and superficial geology, ground stability. |
| Coal Authority ↗ | Coal mining reporting area and surface hazard checks. |
| Police.uk ↗ | Reported crime statistics by location. |
| Ofsted ↗ | School ratings and recent inspection reports. |
| Ofcom - Broadband & Mobile ↗ | Broadband speeds and mobile coverage at address level. |
| DEFRA - Air Quality ↗ | NO₂, PM₂.₅ readings and air quality bands. |
| Office for National Statistics ↗ | Index of Multiple Deprivation, demographics. |
| Carbon Intensity API ↗ | Grid carbon intensity by region. |
| PVGIS (European Commission) ↗ | Solar PV yield estimates. |
| Food Standards Agency ↗ | Local food hygiene ratings (for area context). |
How we put it together
When you enter an address, we resolve it to a UPRN (Unique Property Reference Number) via the Ordnance Survey Places API. We then query each source in parallel using the UPRN, latitude/longitude and postcode. Responses are cached for 24 hours to stay polite to upstream services and to keep reports fast.
Limitations
Some datasets are aggregated to a 1km grid or a postcode area. Some are updated quarterly rather than daily. Public datasets do not include things like internal floor plans, current asking prices, or confidential survey results. Always pair a HouseDossier report with a professional survey before committing to a purchase.