Disclosure of Contractual Control Agreements: What you need to know

The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 gave the Government power to require the disclosure of certain information relating to land ownership and contractual control as part of plans to increase transparency and the availability of information relating to the control of land secured for development.

The structure of the new disclosure regime was first set out in a Consultation Paper published in 2024. The regulations to bring the new regime into force The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) were published in March 2026 alongside non statutory Government Guidance.

The new regime will come fully into force in April 2027, with interim reporting obligations to apply to new agreements entered into from the date that the Regulations come into force later this year).

Contractual control agreements

The Regulations will require developers, and others with the benefit of interests contained in contractual land agreements, including conditional purchase agreements, pre-emption agreements, promotion agreements and option agreements to disclose certain “contractual control” information to HM Land Registry. The information, including details that would not previously have been open to public scrutiny, will be maintained by the Land Registry on a new contractual control register that will be open to public view.

Implementation

The Regulations will apply to:

• New rights granted on or after the date that the Regulations are made (expected to be in the first half of 2026).
• Existing rights (granted at any time) that are varied (in a way which alters the contractual control information) or assigned after the Regulations come into force on 6 April 2027.

The new contractual control register

HM Land Registry will launch a digital service for submitting the contractual control information on 6 April 2027 and aims to have the register up and running by April 2028, in a form that will allow the public to search and download information (excluding certain limited suppressed information).

The person with the benefit of the contractual control right (in most cases the developer or land promoter) will be responsible for providing HM Land Registry with the required information. The Regulations require all such submissions to HM Land Registry to be made by a qualified solicitor.

The contractual control information must be submitted to the Land Registry within 60 calendar days of the date of the grant. This means that information relating to agreements entered into after the date that the Regulations are made, but before the register is operational on 6 April 2027, will need to be held pending the launch of the new register and then submitted for registration no later than 6 October 2027.

In practice most contractual control rights will be protected on the title register by the entry of a notice or a restriction (protecting the grantee but falling short of the full disclosure requirements set out in the Regulations). The Land Registry may refuse an application for a notice or restriction to be entered in respect of a contractual control right if the information required by the Regulations has not been provided.

Information to be disclosed

The contractual control information required under the Regulations is intended to allow clear identification of the type of right granted, who it has been granted to, what land it affects and how long it may remain in effect.

To achieve this the following core information will be required. The Land Registry do not require sight of the full agreement setting out the rights.

• Name of the grantee and grantor
• Entity identification (if applicable)
• Date and place of birth of the grantor (if an individual
• Type of contractual control right
• Date, parties and title or description of the underlying agreement
• Date from which the right can be exercised
• Initial period of control (including details of any expiry date or provisions to renew or terminate)
• Title number of the affected registered estate
• Address and postcode of the land
• Details of sub-surface land (where applicable)

Ongoing compliance

The Regulations require ongoing compliance to ensure that information on the Register is kept up to date including notification of any variation, assignment or expiry of a contractual control right.

Failing to comply with the Regulations, or knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information will constitute an offence under section 225 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act (“LURA”) 2023. Offences under section 225 may be committed by individuals, partnerships or corporate entities, and by officers or employees acting on their behalf.

Scope and exemptions

The Regulations will apply to contractual control rights held for the benefit of a business, charity or the exercise of functions of a public nature (i.e. not individuals) relating to registered land.

The Regulations will not apply to leasehold interests with less than 15 years remaining at the date of the grant of the right or unregistered land.

Certain rights will be exempt from the Regulations including rights granted to secure the repayment of a loan or mortgage, short term rights (with a total period of control of less than 18 months taking into account rights to renew), rights relating exclusively to section 106 agreements and rights made for the purposes of national security. These exemptions are likely to be interpreted narrowly.

Potential commercial impact

The Regulations present a number of potential areas for concern. Whilst it is not uncommon for developers to choose to note and protect rights against the grantee’s title at HM Land Registry this is currently an entirely voluntary exercise and the information that becomes available as a result of such registration is limited and difficult to collate and view in a single place.

Looking ahead, the availability of potentially sensitive information, that would previously been confidential, may result in higher land prices and other hurdles for those looking to develop sites, whilst perhaps strengthening the hand of those that may be looking to sell land or looking to prevent and or object to a development.

There is also the question of the unforeseen disclosure of information relating to existing agreements that pre-date the Regulations. Whilst such agreements will not require retrospective registration, the variation or assignment of such an agreement after April 2027 will trigger the disclosure and registration requirements set out in the Regulations meaning that potentially sensitive information will need to be disclosed.