What commercial developers, housebuilders and investors in England and Wales should know about the contractual controls register

Agreements entered into on or after 8 June 2026 that grant contractual control rights over land must be registered on the new contractual control register, provided they meet the qualifying criteria and are not exempt. 

The government's intention is to improve transparency to assist local authorities to plan housing, boost national housebuilding targets and support small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) housebuilders. 

Although policy focus has largely been on housebuilding, the regime is significantly broader. It applies to all commercial agreements that meet the registration criteria, and development does not need to be the sole purpose of the arrangement.

The regulations, which are in the same form as the draft issued early in the year, do not come into force until 6 April 2027, but will apply retrospectively to agreements entered into from 8 June 2026, with a transitional period applying from that date. The registration deadline will be 60 days from the date a right is granted, varied or assigned, or by 6 October 2027 for those entered into before the commencement date.

The register is still under development. Registration applications will only be possible once the regulations come into force and the register opens, so records of qualifying agreements should be maintained in the meantime. Given the uncertainty around the scope of certain exemptions, it would also be prudent to keep records of agreements whose registration status is unclear until further government guidance is issued.

What are contractual control rights?

The regulations apply to rights which grant the beneficiary a right to acquire land at a future date, but stop short of full ownership. The right must relate to the transfer of a registered freehold or leasehold title, or the grant of a lease, and in each case the lease must have an unexpired term of at least 15 years. Generally, the rules will apply as follows:

Many core arrangements used by developers in land assembly could therefore be subject to registration. Collaboration and consortium arrangements will also need careful consideration. It will be the substance of the right which determines whether registration is required rather than the label it is given.

Which agreements are within scope?

Agreements granting contractual control rights on or after 8 June 2026, and existing rights which are varied or assigned on or after 6 April 2027, are potentially within scope if they satisfy each of the following criteria:

• The agreement is in writing
• The affected land is registered
• The right is either: granted on or after 8 June 2026; or varied or assigned on or after 6 April 2027 
• The right relates to the acquisition of a freehold or leasehold (not less than 15 years) interest
• The right is an option, conditional contract, pre-emption right or promotion agreement
• No exemption applies (including non-development related rights and short term rights)

Does an exemption apply?

In some cases, careful judgement will be required to determine whether  an agreement falls within an exemption. 

Right is held exclusively for non-development purposes 

The key exemption is where the right can be classed as not relating to future development. If provision of one or more dwelling-houses (including flats) is contemplated, or floorspace to be created by the development is 100 square metres or more, the agreement will not fall within the exemption and will need to be registered. 

The precise scope of the non-development exemption is unclear, and uncertainties include whether "development" includes a change of use of qualifying floorspace or where development is not intended to take place immediately or within a relatively short period after the right is exercised. 

Additionally, although the government's consultation response indicated that occupational or operational arrangements are not intended to be caught, they are not expressly excluded. Similarly, it is uncertain to what extent properties acquired for investment purposes with development potential are technically caught. 

Other exemptions

These include:

• Short-term rights where the total control period (including any contractual triggers or grantee extension rights) is less than 18 months. 
• Contracts entered into for defence or national security purposes. 
• Rights in section 106 agreements relating exclusively to the provision of infrastructure, amenities or services in connection with the grant of planning permission. "Infrastructure" is likely to include affordable housing, although this is not expressly stated. 
• Rights necessary or incidental to security for a loan or security for overage. 

What information must be disclosed? 

When a qualifying right is granted, varied or assigned, the grantee must submit key information to the Land Registry, including the land and parties, the type of right, the date from which it can be exercised, any conditions to exercise, the initial term, contractual extension periods, grantee extension rights, and termination rights. Where the grantor is an individual, their date and place of birth must also be provided, although this will not form part of the public register.

Further notification is required when the right ends, whether by termination, expiry or exercise. Where a right is only partially exercised or terminated, the affected part must be identified.  These ongoing requirements will add to the administrative burdens imposed by the regime, particularly for larger and phased development sites with complex land assembly arrangements.

Osborne Clarke comment

The registration of contractual control arrangements comes at a time when the housebuilding sector is already under strain both from economic factors and other increasing regulatory burdens. 

Mandatory disclosures could reveal to competitors commercially sensitive development pipeline data and strategic land positions, which may influence how future transactions are structured. Additionally, landowners may be deterred from granting rights if public disclosure is likely to trigger earlier local opposition. 

The public nature of the register may also affect due diligence practices for property transactions, as third parties will gain access to information about options and pre-emption arrangements that were previously private.

At this early stage, developers, housebuilders and others holding potentially registrable rights should maintain records of those agreements, including those where the position is uncertain, to enable registration at the end of the transitional period when the new register opens. It is hoped that the government will issue sufficiently detailed guidance, with illustrative examples, to help parties categorically determine whether more complex rights fall within scope well in advance of the registration deadline.

Please join our experts to discuss this and other important developments at our webinar on 17 June 2026: Commercial property in flux - lease renewals, rent reform and land transparency in 2026.