The Provision of Information (Contractual Control) (Registered Land) Regulations 2026 were made on 12 June 2026 and will come into force on 6 April 2027.
Under these Regulations, certain contractual rights over registered land relating to the future development of housing will need to be disclosed and recorded on a new register held by HM Land Registry. This includes option agreements, conditional contracts, and pre-emption rights.
Key Dates
Any new contractual control agreements entered into on or after 8 June 2026 but before 6 April 2027 must be registered at HM Land Registry by 6 October 2027.
Any new rights granted on or after the Regulations come into force on 6 April 2027 must be registered at HM Land Registry within 60 calendar days of the date of the agreement.
Any existing rights changed or assigned on or after the Regulations come into force on 6 April 2027 must be registered within 60 calendar days of the date of the agreement.
What Agreements Are Covered?
As summarised in our previous article, the Regulations will apply to:
- Options and conditional contracts to acquire a freehold or leasehold interest, or a new lease with an unexpired term of over 15 years (leases with fewer than 15 years unexpired are exempt);
- Rights of pre-emption (i.e. rights of first refusal) over such acquisitions; and
- Rights to direct the transfer or grant of a lease to a third party.
What Is Excluded?
The following are exempt from the registration requirements:
- Contracts that do not relate to the future development of dwellings, or where the new floor space to be created is less than 100 square metres;
- Rights expiring within 18 months, including any extension period;
- National security or defence contracts;
- Rights incidental to lending security, such as a bank’s step-in rights under facility agreements;
- Rights necessary to protect overage (i.e. additional payments owed to a previous owner, often linked to future planning permissions or increases in land value); and
- Rights under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that relate exclusively to infrastructure, amenities, or services.
What Happens If You Do Not Comply?
If the required information is not provided to HM Land Registry within the relevant time limits, the Land Registry will not allow registration of a notice or restriction protecting the contract. As a result, if the property is later sold or let, a new buyer or tenant may not be bound by the rights granted under the option, conditional contract, or pre-emption agreement. Those rights may therefore be unenforceable against a new owner or occupier.
Non-compliance is a criminal offence. Knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information is also an offence. Penalties on conviction may include fines and, in the most serious cases, imprisonment for up to two years.
What Should You Do Now?
To prepare for the new requirements, we recommend the following steps:
- Record-keeping: maintain a record of all contractual control agreements entered into between 8 June 2026 and 6 April 2027, so that they can be registered in good time by 6 October 2027.
- Review pipeline transactions: consider whether any ongoing or forthcoming deals involve agreements that will need to be registered.
- Build compliance processes: put internal procedures in place now so that your team is ready to comply when the Regulations take effect on or after 6 April 2027.
If you have any questions about how these Regulations may affect your transactions, please do not hesitate to contact our Real Estate team.
