Accessible Property Records for All
Executive Summary
The Coalition for Sensible Public Records Access (CSPRA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting open and reasonable access to public records.
CSPRA believes public property records are a critical layer of the national housing ecosystem. They underpin real estate transactions, mortgage markets, consumer decision making, disaster planning, taxation, research, and democratic accountability. Restrictions that limit access to these records, including redactions, excessive fees, complex formats, or exclusive control, impede market efficiency, obscure critical information from consumers, and constrain innovation during a time of unprecedented housing affordability challenges. Sensible reforms guided by standardized access, affordability, non-exclusive availability, and balanced privacy protections are all feasible and necessary for a transparent and equitable housing market.
What We Recommend What We Recommend
To modernize America’s property records systems, we recommend:
State adoption of model open records law provisions that mandate timely, affordable, and standardized access to property records in modern digital formats.
Creation of interoperable, machine-readable data standards based on open formats, common metadata, and transparent documentation.
Elimination of exclusive vendor contracts that restrict public access or impose prohibitive costs and licensing terms.
Balanced privacy protections that safeguard sensitive personal information while ensuring that real property records essential to market transparency remain public and accessible for use by all stakeholders, including housing professionals, researchers, journalists, policymakers, and the general public.
