The Government is introducing a new transparency regime that will require details about certain property agreements to be disclosed on a public register. Although the new regime won’t come into force until April 2027, transitional provisions will capture agreements exchanged, or varied significantly, in advance of that date.
The new register is intended to provide greater visibility over who controls land for development purposes, not just who owns it. This represents a significant shift in how land arrangements are publicly recorded and will have practical implications for both landowners and developers.
What is changing?
New regulations made under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 will require parties to register information about certain agreements on a public register which is to be maintained by HM Land Registry (HMLR).
Once the regulations are in force, information submitted to HMLR will be collated into a publicly accessible dataset – effectively creating a new layer of transparency in the property market.
What types of agreements are caught?
The regime applies to contractual control rights – rights lasting more than 18 months and contained in a written agreement, which require a landowner with a qualifying estate (a registered freehold or registered leasehold estate with at least 15 years left on the lease) to sell – or to grant a lease for a minimum 15-year term of – all or part of their land.
Option agreements, conditional contracts, pre-emption rights, promotion agreements and any other contracts that allow a third party to direct a landowner to dispose of land will be registrable.
What must be registered – and by when?
The obligation to register falls on the beneficiary of the right (e.g. the developer). Only a conveyancer acting for the party acquiring the rights can effect the registration, using HMLR’s online portal, which has yet to be finalised.
Once the regime comes into force on 6 April 2027, registration must take place within 60 days of:
- the grant of the right (i.e. exchange of the agreement);
- any assignment of the right; or
- any variation of the right.
In practice, registration may need to happen sooner. Where parties apply to HMLR to protect the agreement (e.g. by a notice or restriction), HMLR may require the contractual control information to be submitted first.
Transitional arrangements
Agreements entered into after the regulations are made but before 6 April 2027 must be registered by 6 October 2027. This means that the regime will affect transactions exchanging before the formal commencement date.
Given that HMLR’s registration portal will not be ready to receive registrations until April 2027, parties will need to keep a record of any new agreements entered into from the date the regulations are made until they come into force so that registration can be effected once the register opens.
What information will be made public?
Under the regulations, registrations require detailed information including:
- the identities of the parties (including personal data for individuals);
- details of the agreement and the nature of the control right;
- when the right can be exercised and on what conditions;
- the duration of the control period; and
- details of the land affected (including title information and, potentially, plans).
This level of disclosure may raise confidentiality and data sensitivity considerations, particularly for long-term strategic land arrangements.
What happens if you do not comply?
The regime is backed by criminal sanctions. Failure to comply, or providing false or misleading information, may result in:
- a criminal offence;
- a fine (and potentially further consequences for individuals involved, including company officers).
In addition, there may be practical implications – for example, difficulties in registering notices on registered titles if the contractual control requirements have not been satisfied.
Why this matters in practice
The new regime will affect how property transactions are structured and managed, with key implications including:
- Increased transparency: Developers and competitors will gain greater insight into who controls development land and on what terms. This could affect negotiating positions, reveal strategic landholdings and influence market behaviour.
- Additional administrative burden: Parties will need to gather and submit detailed information within tight timeframes. This will require earlier information capture during negotiations, coordination between legal and client teams and potential updates to transaction workflows.
- Documentation and drafting considerations: Agreements may need to be revisited to ensure required information is captured clearly, address how registration obligations are allocated and manage confidentiality and data disclosure risks.
- Risk management: Given the potential for criminal liability, compliance processes will be critical – particularly for developers with large portfolios of land agreements.
What should landowners and developers do now?
Although the regime does not come into force until April 2027, there are steps landowners and developers should take now:
- Pipeline audit of option agreements, promotion agreements and conditional contracts to identify those likely to be caught.
- Consider allocation of responsibility for registration in transaction documents (particularly in joint venture or promotion structures).
- Prepare internal processes to ensure compliance with the 60-day deadline.
- Assess confidentiality implications, particularly where commercially sensitive arrangements may become public.
Looking ahead
Further detail is expected from HMLR on how the register will operate in practice, including the format of submissions and the structure of the published dataset.
What is already clear, however, is that the regime marks a significant move towards transparency in land control arrangements – and will require careful planning by both landowners and developers.