On 9 March 2026, the UK government published its response to its consultation on contractual controls on land.1 Part of the response included the publishing of new draft regulations: the Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 (the 'regulations').2 These are expected come into force on 6 April 2027 but will impact housebuilders, developers and promoters almost immediately.
The regulations will impose a duty to provide previously confidential information to HM Land Registry which is contained in certain land agreements which give a person/entity the power to control how land is used or developed. This information will be available on a public register maintained by HM Land Registry.
Read our article here for further details about the regulations including the types of agreements caught, the information to be registered and enforcement.
What these regulations mean for housebuilders, promoters and developers
- Information that previously sat off register will become visible to local communities, planning authorities, competitors and other market stakeholders. This might impact negotiations and result in greater transparency and scrutiny of development strategy. Strategic land opportunities will become easier to identify but may also become more contested.
- The registration responsibility falls to beneficiaries of the control agreements and it will be a criminal offence to omit to do so. It will be important for housebuilders, developers and promoters to work with their legal advisors to implement new data capture processes with sufficient lead in time to ensure they do not fall short of their reporting requirements.
- The regulations come into force in April 2027, but they will have retrospective effect to the date they are made (which is expected to be any time between now and June 2026). These regulations therefore require an immediate response by housebuilders, developers and promoters to tighten their record keeping procedures. Pre-existing control agreements will need to be registered where they are varied or assigned after the date of implementation and so housebuilders and developers will benefit from auditing changes to their existing agreements.
- Housebuilders, promoters and developers will need to consider whether contracts will need to be updated to include obligations on the beneficiary to supply the required information to HM Land Registry; warranties around the accuracy of such information; and indemnities for failing to comply although imagine this might be resisted by beneficiaries
- When a contractual control has come to an end there is additional obligation to remove the entry from the register within a specified time frame so any data manging process needs to capture this information and make it available to the legal team in a timely manner.
At DACB, we are well equipped to advise our clients on how they can navigate these new regulations. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team.
[1] Contractual controls on land consultation: government response - GOV.UK
[2] The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026
