Only you can press submit. Build the intake before April 2027.

Why this departs from normal HMLR practice

Most Land Registry applications can be lodged by a wide cohort of staff inside a conveyancing firm. The contractual control service is restricted to individually regulated conveyancers acting in their own capacity. Firms that rely on paralegal-heavy registration teams need a different workflow for these submissions.

What HMLR has said about the service

HM Land Registry is developing the service with conveyancers and has run user research since mid-2026. Feedback about the number of steps led them to combine related contract details into a single workflow. HMLR will also provide online mapping tools so a conveyancer can identify affected land without uploading a spatial file where that is simpler. A further practice guide with technical detail is promised; it has not been published yet.

Data you will need per right

• Type of right: option, conditional contract, pre-emption, or qualifying promotion right.
• Grantor and grantee, with company registration numbers where companies. Individuals may need date and place of birth for identification.
• Registered title numbers affected, and whether the whole or part.
• Date of grant, control period, extension provisions, and the conditions on which the right can be exercised.
• Spatial extent, as GeoJSON or Shapefile on British National Grid, where only part of a title is affected.

Deadlines you now own on the client’s behalf

Rights granted 8 June 2026 to 5 April 2027: submit by 6 October 2027. Rights granted, assigned, varied or exercised on or after 6 April 2027: 60 calendar days from the event. Build both into your matter management, because the consequence of missing one is HMLR refusing the notice or restriction that protects your client’s right.

Fee opportunity

Each reportable event is chargeable work. A firm with a clear intake, a named regulated submitter and a spatial-data process will win the developer clients who have 40 options to file by October 2027 and no idea where their plans are.