Disclosure of Contractual Control Agreements: What you need to know

A new disclosure regime that requires the disclosure of information contained in certain contractual control agreements is now partially in force. Details of the new regime were set out in Regulations published in March 2026 alongside non statutory Government Guidance. Whilst the new disclosure regime does not come fully into force until April 2027 interim reporting obligations to apply to new agreements entered into from 8 June 2026.

Contractual control agreements

The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 (the Regulations) 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

HM Land Registry will manage the digital service for submitting the required contractual control information and the maintenance of the Register of control agreements.

The Register will be up open for digital submissions from April 2027 and fully operational by April 2028, in a form that will allow the public to search the Register and download information (excluding certain limited suppressed information).

• New rights granted in agreements on or after 8 June 2026 and before 6 April 2027 will require registration once the register is operational in April 2027 and must be submitted for registration no later than 6 October 2027. Those required to register the details of any such agreements will need to ensure that the relevant information is preserved alongside a prompt to register once the Register is operational.
• New rights granted on or after 6 April 2027 must be submitted for registration within 60 calendar of the date of the grant.
• Existing rights varied or assigned after 6 April 2027 must be submitted for registration within 60 calendar days of the date of variation / assignment. The requirement to register applies notwithstanding that the agreement in which the control provisions were granted may predate the Regulations.

Applications to register

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.

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 further 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 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.

The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026

Contractual control agreements – GOV.UK

This article was first published in April 2026 and has been updated to reflect the introduction of interim reporting obligations from 8 June 2026, as well as further detail on implementation timelines, registration deadlines and ongoing compliance requirements under the Regulations.