The government is moving ahead with plans to create a public register requiring developers to disclose agreements that give them control over land in a move aimed at improving transparency in the development market and helping smaller builders compete for sites.
Under the proposals, developers in England and Wales will have to record Contractual Control Agreements – including option agreements, conditional contracts, pre-emption rights and promotion agreements – that give them rights over land prior to outright ownership.
Currently, many of these agreements are not easily visible in public records, meaning rival developers can spend significant sums assessing land only to discover it is already tied up in a deal. The government believes a central register could reduce wasted costs and improve access to opportunities for SME housebuilders.
The initiative stems from powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, which allows authorities to collect and publish information about land interests that fall short of ownership but still give developers control over sites.
The register will sit alongside HM Land Registry and is expected to require developers to submit key details such as the type of agreement, the parties involved, and the duration of the arrangement within a set timeframe after it is signed.
MORE RED TAPE
However, the policy has drawn mixed reactions from the industry.
Neal Kelly (main picture, inset), head of land and development at real estate adviser Bidwells, says: “Transparency in the land market is hard to argue against, but the Government risks introducing a problem in search of a solution.
“A new public register could create extra red tape and unintended consequences, particularly for the SME builders the policy is supposed to support. If ministers truly want to help smaller developers deliver homes, bringing back Help to Buy would have a far more meaningful impact.”
ANOTHER PROPERTY TAX
Kate Macmillan, founder and director of KMDC and former development director at St James Group and St William Homes, also questions the timing of the proposal.
She says: “This is yet another disincentive for developers at exactly the wrong moment. We’re in the grip of a housing crisis and measures like this risk becoming a costly distraction. There’s a real danger that the expense of maintaining such a register simply translates into an additional burden on development, functioning in practice as another property tax.
“The more fundamental point is that if you’re serious about acquiring a piece of land, you should be in direct correspondence with the landowner anyway not relying on a public register to do that groundwork for you.”
COMMUNITY IMPACT
And she adds: “There’s also a community impact that shouldn’t be ignored. Putting option agreements and heads of terms into the public domain before any pre-application engagement has taken place risks raising expectations or fears in local communities long before there’s any real clarity about what a site can actually deliver.
“And for SMEs in particular, pre-emptions and options are genuinely valuable tools. They allow smaller developers to de-risk a scheme and manage cash flow in a way that makes marginal sites viable. Anything that undermines confidence in those mechanisms will hit the smaller end of the market hardest.”
The government says the new system will provide a clearer picture of who controls development land across England and Wales, but the industry remains divided over whether the additional transparency will meaningfully improve housing delivery.
