LandControl/Professionals/Grantors

From 2028 you will see what developers hold over the field next door.

The duty to report sits with the developer, not you. But the public dataset changes your position: you can see who controls neighbouring land, for how long, and when it lapses. So can everyone else, including over your own land.

Your dutyNone to report
You can seeGrantee, right, duration
Over your landAlso visible
Personal dataIdentity details may be required
Public fromApr 2028

What to do now

Four moves, in order.

01

Know what you have signed

If you granted an option, conditional contract, pre-emption or promotion agreement since 8 June 2026, the developer must report it. Ask them to confirm when they have.

02

Read the neighbourhood

From April 2028 search the dataset by location. An adjoining field under a seven-year option tells you who will knock on your door, and when.

03

Use the expiry

A right that lapses with no planning submitted is a negotiating moment. The developer knows it. Now you do too.

04

Take advice before you sign

Visibility cuts both ways. A promoter approaching you can see every other agreement in the area. Get a land agent or solicitor who can too.

What the regulations do for you

Parliament built this regime because contractual controls were invisible to landowners and communities. The stated aim is that a landowner entering an agreement with a developer or promoter has information about agreements over other land in their area. From April 2028, that is exactly what the dataset provides: location and extent of land, the grantee, the type of right, its duration, and the dates it was granted or exercised.

What you will not see

The price. Option fees, purchase formulas and promotion splits are not reported. Nor are agreements over unregistered land, overage and clawback deals, or agreements signed before 8 June 2026 that are never varied, assigned or exercised afterwards.

What is reported about you

Where the grantor is an individual rather than a company, HM Land Registry guidance indicates that date and place of birth details may be required for identification. How personal details are treated in the published dataset is for HMLR’s forthcoming practice guide; company identifiers are published, personal identifiers are handled separately. Ask your solicitor to confirm the position before the agreement is reported.

Negotiating in the open

Law firms advising developers are already warning them that adjoining owners will take a firmer stance on ransom strips, access and strategic parcels once agreements are visible. If you own one of those parcels, the dataset is the first place to look before any conversation about price.

If you are approached now

Anything you grant today is caught and will be public from 2028. Ask the developer which conveyancer will report it, confirm the control period and extension terms in plain English, and ask what happens at expiry. A good land agent will already be reading the register for you by the time it exists.

Our 2028 product

The control map

Every reported right on a map of England and Wales, searchable by place. See the agreements around your land before you negotiate.

See what we’re building

Briefing

Monthly, free

HMLR guidance as it lands, in plain English.

Join the briefing

Checklist

  • Copy of any agreement you granted since 8 June 2026
  • Developer’s confirmation of reporting
  • Control period and extension dates in your diary
  • Who owns and controls adjoining parcels
  • A land agent or solicitor who uses the dataset

The other three

Same regulations, different seat.