Adding a property manually and address lookup

Bringing in a whole spreadsheet isn’t always the job — sometimes you just need to add one address. This article covers adding a single property by hand, and the autocomplete that speeds it up.

What it is

Wherever an address field offers lookup, typing three or more characters shows live suggestions from Google Places, biased to the UK; selecting one fills in the address line and postcode for you from the structured result rather than whatever you typed. Where your organisation hasn’t configured address lookup, the same field still works as a plain text box — you type the full address and postcode yourself.

Before you start

Adding a property manually needs Edit-level access to Properties.

How to do it

1. Open Properties and select + Add property (or the equivalent manual-entry option wherever you’re adding an address, such as raising a survey for a new address).
2. Start typing the address — if lookup is configured, suggestions appear after a few characters.
3. Select a suggestion to fill in the address line and postcode, or continue typing to enter it manually.
4. Save. A property added with no UPRN is flagged for review — you can add one later by editing the record if it’s discovered.

How it integrates

Address lookup is powered by your organisation’s own Google Maps key or, if you haven’t set one, a platform fallback where available — configured under Settings → Data sources. A survey’s own structured findings (property type, construction material, age band, number of floors) write back onto the matching property record automatically once finalized — see The property register for how that write-back precedence works — so a manually added property fills out over time exactly the same way an imported one does.

Common problems

• No suggestions appear as I type. Address lookup isn’t configured for your organisation — the field still works as plain text; type the full address and postcode yourself, or ask an admin to add a data-sources key under Settings → Data sources.
• The suggested address is missing a flat or unit number. Lookup prefers the most specific unit Google returns; if a suggestion is too coarse, edit the address line after selecting it rather than starting again.
• I added a property with no UPRN and now have a duplicate from a later CSV import. Without a UPRN, nothing can automatically match the two — merge or remove the duplicate by hand, and add a UPRN to the surviving record if you have one.