Taking control

Part of the levelling up agenda (within the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023) provided for the government to set up a register to find out which companies were land-banking and controlling development, in the hope that the increased transparency would help development companies and local authorities identify potential sites for development. 

Since then, the government has been consulting and proposing draft regulations and requirements on what this might involve. Policymakers have long argued that option agreements, conditional contracts, pre-emption agreements and promotion agreements can have a significant influence on whether land comes forward for development, despite those arrangements often remaining largely invisible to local authorities, communities and competing developers. The regulations are intended to reveal who controls land for future development, even where they do not own it.

For commercial property practitioners, the changes are significant because they impose a new statutory reporting obligation on the holder of the contractual control right, typically the developer or promoter. The regulations apply to registered land in England and Wales and will require information to be submitted not only when a qualifying right is granted, but also when it is assigned, varied, exercised or brought to an end. Practitioners involved in site assembly, strategic land transactions and development agreements should therefore consider contractual control reporting requirements as part of their transaction management and post-completion processes.

Which agreements are affected?

Although the register won’t go live until 6 April 2027, any option, conditional contract or promotion agreement dated on or after 8 June 2026 will have to be entered on the register by 6 October 2027.

What information must be disclosed?

The obligation is on the developer, not the landowner, to apply to register the contract. The following information will be on the public register:

• the location and extent of land affected
• the identity of the grantee (the developer)
• the type and duration of the control right, and
• the date the right was granted or exercised.

However, a great deal more information must be provided to HM Land Registry, including the following:

• Personal details of the landowner – including date of birth and place of birth (for identity verification purposes).
• Date, parties and title or description of the underlying agreement – identifying when the agreement which granted the right was entered into and what it is called.
• Date from which the right can be exercised – or, if this depends on specific conditions being met, a brief description of those conditions.
• Initial period of control – the period from the start of the agreement to the point at which the right must be exercised or may expire, including any provisions to extend, terminate or renew it.

Will this level of public knowledge deter landowners?

Chris Templar, partner at Bletsoes, agricultural and development consultants and chartered surveyors based in Northamptonshire, says:

“My initial view is that this is unlikely to deter most landowners from entering into an option or promotion agreement. The prospect of securing a meaningful development-related windfall will, in most cases, outweigh the drawback of the arrangement becoming visible on a public register. That said, I can see that some landowners may be uncomfortable with the public identification of land subject to contractual control, particularly where this could reveal strategic intentions before a planning application or wider promotion strategy is in the public domain.”

It’s likely, therefore, this won’t stop transactions going ahead, but practitioners need to be aware of the requirements. Beyond the initial registration requirement, developers will need to treat contractual control agreements as an ongoing compliance issue. The reporting obligation doesn’t end once the agreement has been entered on the register – subsequent assignments, qualifying variations and the eventual exercise, expiry or termination of the right may all trigger further notification requirements. For property practitioners, this means that transaction management processes will need to capture these later events, particularly where agreements are held within large strategic land portfolios or transferred between development vehicles. 

Practical steps for developers and landowners

Actions for developers 

• Add any options dated 8 June 2026 or later to the register by 6 October 2027.
• Add a clause to your agreements requiring landowners to provide the necessary information to register.
• Put systems in place to monitor assignments, variations and termination events.
• Ensure accurate plans and geospatial information are available. 
• Engage conveyancers early to manage submissions.

Actions for landowners 

• Understand what information may become public. 
• Be prepared to provide identity and property information for registration. 
• Consider the transparency implications before entering into new agreements. 
• Take advice on whether any statutory exemptions apply.

Government guidance on contractual controls is available on the GOV.UK website.