23 Feb 2024

Blog: 23rd February 2024 - Womble Bond Dickinson, Corporate Partner

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Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, Part 11: Contractual controls over land

Womble Bond Dickinson's Tim Burbidge and Sarah White get us up to speed with changes affecting the disclosure of contractual controls over land

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act is the gift that keeps on giving. Last month, DLUHC launched two consultations on Part 11, which deals with control of land (as distinct from registered ownership). The first considers disclosure of beneficial ownership, while the other - the focus of this blog - addresses the disclosure of contractual controls.

Currently, details of contractual arrangements for the control of land are confidential to the parties because there is no obligation to disclose those details, even if a notice or restriction is registered at the Land Registry. You will only know who has control over what land if both parties agree to disclose that information. Part 11 is designed to change that.

What will change?

A public register of "contractual controls" will be established and maintained by the Land Registry. Only agreements which are intended to secure land for development will be covered, including:

Option agreements
Pre-emption agreements
Conditional contracts
Promotion agreements

The key information required will be:

the type of agreement
the parties
the agreement's expiry date (with any provisions for extension); and
the extent of the affected land

It will be a criminal offence not to register a contract caught by the regulations, so expect a high level of compliance.

When will this happen?

The register will come into force from April 2027. However, the register will be backdated to cover all affected agreements from April 2021 (which will present a practical challenge to anyone with less than immaculate record keeping). Nevertheless, it will take a while before the register provides a comprehensive list of all live contractual control agreements as they can continue for ten or more years.

What are the implications?

This public register could have far reaching implications for the plan making process for local authorities. Planning officers, members, competing promoters and objectors will all be able to see what land is controlled by whom and for how long.

On the one hand, knowing how much, by whom and for how long land is controlled would be useful for authorities to understand the deliverability of a site. On the other hand, opponents could use this information to challenge the deliverability of a site under scrutiny for allocation for development, but which is controlled only for a short period of time. In opposing allocations, members of the public could highlight alternative sites which are not under consideration but which are subject to long term options as being more suitable for allocation. This could be unhelpful to local authorities and site promoters.

Whilst these are draft proposals, the government has published draft legislation alongside the consultation so their intention is clear.

DLUHC's consultation closes on 20^th March 2024. If you would like more information please contact Womble Bond Dickinson: