A Section 106 agreement is one of the most significant documents attached to a planning permission — and one of the least understood by buyers. It runs with the land. It binds every subsequent owner. And its obligations can include payments of tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds that fall due when development starts.
A Section 106 agreement is a legal agreement between a developer and a local planning authority imposing planning obligations as a condition of planning permission. It is registered against the title and binds every subsequent owner of the land. Common obligations include affordable housing provision, financial contributions to infrastructure, restrictions on use, management obligations, and occupancy restrictions.
Planning conditions are attached to the decision notice and can be challenged on appeal. Section 106 agreements are negotiated contracts — legally binding once signed, and not subject to appeal in the same way. They can be modified by agreement or by application to the council after 5 years under Section 106A. CIL has replaced s106 financial contributions for general infrastructure in many areas, but s106 remains the primary mechanism for affordable housing and site-specific obligations.
Unspent financial contributions: a s106 agreement may require substantial payments on commencement of development, and these transfer to you as new owner. Rural exception site occupancy restrictions: dwellings built under Rural Exception Site policies are frequently subject to s106 local connection requirements restricting occupation to people with a connection to the area — these restrictions run with the land permanently and significantly affect resale value. S106 monitoring charges are also sometimes included.
Section 106 agreements are registered against the planning permission and should appear in the planning record — but they are lengthy legal documents whose effect is frequently not appreciated by buyers without a specific search. We retrieve the full planning history including any s106 agreements and summarise the obligations relevant to the transaction.
We retrieve the complete planning history for any UK property — including withdrawn applications, pre-merger authority data, and enforcement records from legacy systems. Formatted as a professional disbursement report. Delivered in 48 hours.
Commission a report — from £149 →