What the owner is owed · EU Data Act
The rights
What the EU Data Act gives a connected building’s owner or operator over the data its systems make. Written to the owner, in plain words; each one backed by articles.
- The data your building makes is yours to take. Free, machine-readable, continuous — on request, at the same quality the vendor sees.
- You can send it to anyone — even their competitor. Point at a third party; the vendor must deliver your data to them on the same terms.
- New devices must be born open. Products placed on the market after Sep 2026 must make their data accessible by design.
- Leaving is your right — and the exit fee is dying. Switching between cloud services is protected now; switching charges end 12 Jan 2027.
- Take-it-or-leave-it data clauses can't bind you. Unfair terms imposed unilaterally about your data are void — old contracts get caught too.
- Your data can't be quietly reached across borders. Providers must publish where it lives and shield it from unlawful foreign access.
- The event log isn't their database — it's your data. Vendors can't rebuild lock-in by claiming database rights over what your building generated.
Not legal advice. This is the author’s own reading of the law, written to help facilities managers ask better questions. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer. For decisions, read the official text and take legal advice.