Expert legal advice when purchasing land for development
When buying land for development, a company or individual needs to ensure the land can actually be developed in the way that they want it to.
The process involved is the same whether you’re a developer planning a new housing estate or an individual wanting to build your own home.
Considerations when buying land for development
If you are looking to buy land for development, then you need to be aware of any restrictions or issues that may affect the land before you purchase it.
These can be things like:
- Access problems, restrictive covenants or historic rights-of-way that the land is subject to, or it could be related to the condition of the land, e.g. making sure the land is not affected by flooding or is contaminated, all of which can affect the viability of the development.
- You should also make detailed enquiries as to whether planning permission will be granted for your proposed development and be aware of any restrictions that could result in planning permission being denied.
- Local councils have local plans which dictate a range of uses and preferences for land development and you need to be sure that your intended use fits into this plan.
Type of agreements
There are three common types of agreement that you can enter into when purchasing land for development.
- A Purchase Agreement is the most straightforward. This is usually used where the required planning permission is in place and there are no legal or practical issues preventing the carrying out of the development.
- If you do have concerns over the land you are looking to buy, or if planning permission has not yet been granted for it, a Conditional Contract can be entered into. This allows you to secure the land on the condition that permission is granted or that any other criteria is met.
- For more complicated land transactions, there are Option Agreements. These allow you to secure the site for a fixed period of time to carry out complex investigations from ground investigations to planning. The price for the land on such agreements can be fixed or the price could be a percentage of the market value of the land once planning permission has been granted.
How we can help with buying land for development
At Nelsons, our team of commercial property solicitors can advise on the full spectrum of developments from small plots of land right through to multi-million pound deals for large scale developments. We tailor our service to the level of expertise you require to make sure you know exactly what is happening at every stage.
If you are experienced in this area and all you need is someone to handle the legal due diligence for you, then we can take care of that quickly and efficiently for you.
Alternatively, if it is your first time, or the development you have got in mind is more complicated, we have a team in place with the skills and expertise to advise you and take you through your development purchase.