New transparency rules for contractual control rights over registered land: What developers and promoters must do now

The government has laid The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 (the “Regulations”) before Parliament on 9 March 2026. For developers and promoters active in the strategic land market, these Regulations introduce mandatory disclosure obligations to a new digital register to be set up by the Land Registry, backed by criminal sanctions, that require immediate action.

What is caught?

The Regulations apply to contractual control rights over registered land in England and Wales. This includes options, conditional contracts, pre-emption rights and promotion agreements where the right could require the owner to enter into a transfer or lease of 15 years or more.

Key deadlines

The Regulations come into force on 6 April 2027, but agreements entered into after the Regulations are formally made (expected in the first half of 2026) are already caught.

• Rights granted after the Regulations are made but before 6 April 2027: Information must be provided to the Land Registry by 6 October 2027.
• Rights granted, varied, assigned or determined on or after 6 April 2027: Information must be provided within 60 days of the relevant event. An interesting point here therefore is that any agreements in the past will be caught if varied or assigned on or after this date.

The 60-day window is triggered on grant, variation and assignment. When a right comes to an end, whether because it has been exercised, has expired or has been determined, there is also an obligation to notify the Land Registry within 60 days. However, this end-of-life notification is only required where the right was previously reported to the Land Registry in the first place. Where it is required, the notification must confirm how the right ended and whether this affects all or only part of the land.

Missing these deadlines is a criminal offence. In addition, the Land Registry may refuse to register a notice or restriction protecting such an agreement if the disclosure obligations have not been met. As developers and promoters rely on a registered notice or restriction to protect their position against competing disposals, non-compliance creates a direct and serious risk.

What must be disclosed?

Key information that must be submitted to the Land Registry includes:

• Parties: Full names of grantor and grantee; company registration numbers or equivalent for corporate entities; and for individual grantors, date and place of birth (for identity verification only — not published).
• The right: Type of right; date and parties to the agreement; when and how it can be exercised; and the period of control including any extension or termination provisions.
• The land: Title number(s) (including details to identify part of a title); address and postcode; and whether the land includes airspace or subterranean rights held separately from the surface.

All submissions must be made by an individually regulated conveyancer via the Land Registry's new digital service which means that developers or promoters cannot do this themselves. From April 2028, the information will be published and updated monthly as part of the public record. 

Exemptions are narrow

A small number of exemptions exist, including security arrangements for loans or financial instruments, or for overage obligations to a former owner, rights over leases with 15 years or less remaining, non-development arrangements, short-lasting rights with a total period of control under 18 months, rights relating to section 106 agreements, and rights for national security or defence purposes.

Critically, the guidance confirms that exemptions must be interpreted narrowly. Where an agreement has any development purpose, it is likely in scope – regardless of how it is drafted. Do not assume that careful wording will bring an agreement outside the regime.

Four actions to take now

1. Update your land agreements immediately

Do not wait for the Regulations to be formally made. All new strategic land contracts (options, promotion agreements, conditional contracts, pre-emption rights) should include a carve-out from confidentiality provisions permitting regulatory disclosure to the Land Registry’s new digital system.

Building these provisions into the agreements now avoids the risk of entering into non-compliant agreements once the Regulations take effect.

2. Obtain grantor information before exchange – without exception

The criminal offence for non-compliance bites on the grantee, not the grantor. If a grantor refuses or fails to provide the required information post-exchange, the grantee faces criminal liability regardless of any indemnity.

Indemnities are not a substitute for compliance. Grantor information, including date and place of birth for individuals, must be obtained and confirmed before agreements are exchanged, as a non-negotiable pre-exchange requirement on every transaction.

3. Build disclosure obligations into solicitors' instructions

All submissions must be made by an individually regulated conveyancer within tight deadlines. Solicitors' instructions on every strategic land transaction must explicitly allocate responsibility for each disclosure event (grant, variation, assignment and determination) and set internal deadlines to ensure the 60-day window is met.

Treat disclosure as a live transaction management obligation, tracked from the moment instructions are received.

4. Factor conveyancer costs into transaction budgets

Because submissions must be made by an individually regulated conveyancer through the Land Registry's digital service, this cost should be agreed and scoped at the outset of every matter and not treated as an incidental.

Our view

These Regulations will affect almost every contract for development of land, including all strategic land agreements. The compliance burden sits with the grantee and there are severe penalties for failing to comply.

The time to act is now, before the Regulations are formally made. Update your agreements, review your transaction processes, and make grantor information collection a pre-exchange standard on every deal.