Contractual Control Agreements

Further to the government announcement of 9 March, The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 (‘the Regulations’) legislation has been made and will come into force on 6 April 2027.

Information about certain land agreements such as options, conditional contracts and pre-emption rights where those agreements give a person the power to control how land is used or developed, is to be submitted digitally to HM Land Registry (HMLR) through a regulated conveyancer.

The Regulations cover registered land in England and Wales.

The following information is to be submitted: 

• date, parties and title or description of the underlying agreement: identifying when the agreement which granted the right was entered into, what it is called, and the parties involved.  

• the conveyancer reporting the information to HM Land Registry: the regulated conveyancer reporting the contractual control right must provide their individual professional registration number and the name of the authority that issued it. We will not publish this information.

  • details of the grantee and grantor:
  • name:
  • entity identification (if applicable): if either party is a company or other organisation, include a public registration number (for example, Companies House or Charity Commission) and the country of incorporation
  • date and place of birth of the grantor (if an individual): to ensure accurate identification. We will not publish this information.
  • type of contractual control right: as defined in the Regulations: option, conditional (right to acquire land under a conditional contract), pre-emption, or promotion (right to direct or request a transfer)

• date from which the right can be exercised: or, if that depends on specific conditions being met, a brief description of those conditions 

• initial period of control: the period from the start of the agreement to the point at which the right must be exercised or may expire, disregarding any provisions to extend it 

• total period of control: the period from the start of the agreement to the point at which the right may be exercised or may expire, after taking account of any provisions or entitlements to extend it 

• any entitlement for either party to terminate the right 

• location of the land affected by the right: 

  • title numbers: of the affected registered estates
  • geospatial data: to sufficiently indicate where the right is located, where it affects only part of a registered title

• address of the land: description of the physical location of the site covered by the right, including postcode (if available) and Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) (if available) 

• sub-surface land and airspace: whether the land subject to the right includes land held apart from the surface

These Regulations are part of the government’s wider commitment to increasing transparency in the land market.

A Practice Guide and regular updates on how to submit the required information and the necessary formatting will be provided over the coming months.

For more information, visit: Contractual control agreements - GOV.UKGOV.UK.