A new era of transparency: The contractual control regime goes live(ish)

On 8 June 2026 the Government made The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026, to create a new, public register of "contractual control rights" in relation to registered land in England and Wales.

Broadly, the register will capture agreements which give developers and promoters (and in certain cases future investors or occupiers) long term control over such land, but which do not result in an immediate transfer of ownership. The register is the latest in a long line of new measures and requirements designed to promote transparency in UK land ownership and control. It represents a significant additional layer of administration in the land assembly process, and developers and promoters must get it right, to avoid serious sanctions.

In this article, we explain how to identify “contractual control rights” and the rules for their registration, and we also explore the implications of the contractual control regime for developers and promoters.

Which agreements must be registered?

Under the regulations, any written agreement which creates a contractual control right must be registered on the new Contractual Control Register, unless it is exempt.

There are four categories of contractual rights which can qualify as contractual control rights. In each of the four categories, the rights are exercisable against the proprietor of a registered freehold or leasehold estate, with a minimum of 15 years left on the lease term. These are referred to in the regulations and this article as “qualifying estates”:

1. Rights under options to require the proprietor of a qualifying estate to sell, or grant a long lease for 15 years or more over, all or part of the estate (referred to collectively in the Regulations and this article as “relevant dispositions”).

2. Rights under conditional sale contracts to compel the proprietor of a qualifying estate to enter into a relevant disposition, once all the conditions to the contract are satisfied.

3. Rights of first refusal under pre-emption agreements in relation to a relevant disposition by the proprietor of a qualifying estate.

4. Rights to direct or request the proprietor of a qualifying estate to enter into a relevant disposition with a third party, which are typically found in promotion agreements.

These contractual rights will qualify as contractual control rights if three additional criteria are met:

1. They are held by the beneficiary for the purposes of an undertaking, meaning a business, charity or public office/function. Ostensibly, individuals holding rights for such purposes may be caught (for example, partners in a traditional business partnership, or individual charity trustees) but individuals holding such rights in a purely private capacity will not.

2. They are held for development purposes. The relevant option, conditional contract, pre-emption or promotion agreement must be entered into in connection with a proposed development comprising one or more dwellings or buildings with floorspace of at least 100 square metres.

3. They are exercisable at least 18 months or more after the date of the relevant agreement. Short term options, conditional contracts, pre-emptions and promotion agreements with a total lifespan of under 18 months are not caught.

Agreements entered into for the purposes of national security, defence, to secure a loan or overage or under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to facilitate the provision of new infrastructure, amenities or services are exempt.

What will registration involve?

The beneficiary of the contractual control right will be required to provide “contractual control information” to the Land Registry within 60 days of the grant/creation of the right. If an agreement creating a contractual control right is varied or assigned, the “contractual control information” must be updated (again within 60 days). The regulations require that information is provided via the beneficiary’s solicitor, although the Registrar has discretion in certain circumstances to accept applications from non-solicitors.

The required contractual control information is detailed. It includes:

1. Contract identifiers: The date, parties to and description of the agreement creating the contractual control right

2. Grantor and beneficiary identifiers: Details of the grantor and beneficiary of the right (including where relevant dates and places of birth and company numbers);

3. Key contract terms: In the case of options, conditional contracts and promotion agreements, details of the earliest date from which the right can be exercised and any conditions to the exercise of the right, and for all agreements details of the period over which the right will be exercisable, any provisions to extend that period, and any termination rights.

4. Property: The title number of the property which is the subject of the contractual control right and, where only part of the title is affected, sufficient details to identify the affected part.

The initial registration of the contractual control right is not the end of the registration process, however. The beneficiary must also notify the Land Registry within 60 days of the complete or partial (1) termination, (2) expiry or (3) exercise of the contractual control right, and where the right remains partially exercisable, update the contractual control information accordingly.

The Land Registry will publish the contractual control information on the new register, but copies of the underlying agreement will not be published or made available by the Land Registry.

Will there be sanctions for non-compliance?

Criminal sanctions

If the beneficiary (whether an individual or an entity) fails to comply with the registration requirements outlined above without good reason, or knowingly or recklessly provides false or misleading information as part of the registration process, they will commit a criminal offence, and conviction may lead to a fine or prison sentence. Where the beneficiary is an entity, and the entity commits an offence, the officers (or those that hold themselves out as officers) of that entity may also be guilty of an offence if they authorise or permit, participate in, or fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent the commission of the offence by the entity.

Proprietary sanctions

The Registrar may also refuse to make or to update a notice or restriction on the title to the land affected by the contractual control right, where the Registrar believes the requirements to provide contractual control information to the Land Registry haven't been met. Notices and restrictions are key protections for developers and promoters to ensure their contractual control rights are binding on future owners of the affected land. The regulations envisage that applications for registration of contractual control rights on the new register will be made simultaneously with and via the same system as applications to note (or enter restrictions to protect) contractual control rights on the title to the affected land. However, the Land Registry is still developing the registration process.

When will the registration requirements come into force?

The regulations will come into force on 6 April 2027. Contractual control rights granted, assigned or varied on or after 6 April 2027 will be subject to registration.

In addition, the regulations include transitional provisions requiring the registration of contractual control rights granted on or after 8 June 2026 but before the regulations come into force on 6 April 2027. Such rights will have to be registered before 6 October 2027.

There's currently no mechanism for registration, as the Land Registry is still developing the registration platform. Lawyers will therefore need to log all contractual control rights created in favour of their clients since 8 June 2026 to ensure that these can be properly registered once the Land Registry launches the registration platform.

What does this mean for developers and promoters?

These new registration requirements may have significant commercial and procedural implications for developers and promoters during land assembly.

Process

Developers and promoters will need to work closely with their compliance and legal teams to ensure deadlines for registration and updating the Land Registry aren't missed. It will be particularly important to develop systems to track the lifespan of contractual control rights, to ensure the Land Registry is notified if they lapse or are terminated. Traditionally developers might not involve their legal teams in relation to such events, but will need to do so going forwards.

Transparency

The new register will lead to much greater transparency in the land assembly process. Currently land assembly is largely not a matter of public record. Whilst some arrangements create interests in land, which must be protected at the Land Registry, this is often achieved via a unilateral notice on the affected title, to ensure the underlying agreement doesn't have to be provided to the Land Registry. As we have seen, the new register will require the provision of detailed information about contractual control rights to the Land Registry. One possible impact of this greater transparency is that land prices will be affected. It will be easier for landowners to identify if their land may be critical to a scheme and to adjust land price to reflect this.

If you have any questions on contractual control regime or other topics mentioned in this article, please get in touch.

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