Whilst no official response has been published to the 2020 DCLG call for evidence: Transparency and competition: a call for evidence on data on land control, it appears this has not been overlooked. As this extract from the explanatory notes to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill makes clear, Part 9 of the Bill will implement proposals included in the consultation.

Part 9 will enable the Land Registry to collect transactional information about contracts affecting interests and rights relating to land in England & Wales. The ‘transactional information’ which can be sought may include details of the parties,  or agents acting on their behalf, the terms of the transaction, details of persons providing professional services, sources of funds and documents evidencing the transaction. Precise details of what should be disclosed will depend on the regulations and it is unclear when the new regime will be implemented. 

Commentators expressed concern that the system proposed in the consultation would result in noticeably increased administrative time and costs, as well as about the impact on the development pipeline of confidential commercial agreements reaching the public register. We will have to await the draft regulations to find out if these fears will in fact be realised.