Housebuilding & Strategic Land

We have a long history of work in this sector and act for large and small housebuilders nationwide as well as landowners, promoters, social housing providers, contractors and local authorities. We are proud of our reputation as one of the leading law firms for housebuilding and strategic land in the country. Our external recognition includes winning ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at the Midlands Residential Property Awards 2024.

Our experienced and specialist lawyers can advise you on a wide range of transactions, from small residential development sites to major strategic land acquisition and promotion. We have the depth of expertise across the sector to bring to every project.

National Presence and Local Knowledge

Our national reach sets us apart, with housebuilding and strategic land capabilities across our 13 offices within England and Scotland. This geographic spread means we have true local market knowledge and contacts to draw upon, rather than being centred on a particular region or a handful of cities. We can therefore add value to our clients in every location.

Client Service

We provide outstanding client service, by delivering what matters to our clients most: responsiveness, clear and reasonable pricing, pragmatic and commercial solutions, appreciating the ‘big picture’ of transactions and relationships, and a passion to achieve mutual success.

We can advise on strategic land, joint ventures, acquisition and development of residential estates, together with Social Housing disposals, residential property portfolio management, site assembly, funding, and planning and infrastructure agreements.

True Experts

As part of our wider Real Estate team, consisting of several hundred lawyers, we are ranked ‘Band 1’ (Chambers and Partners) and ‘Tier 1’ (Legal 500). This allows us to draw upon the resource of a very large and capable Real Estate team, with experts available to advise on any specialist area that clients require. We also have specialists across our wider firm that have in-depth knowledge of the key issues and ‘hot topics’ that matter most to our clients:

• Nationally-recognised Environmental law team including Natural Environmental, Contamination, Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality experts that can provide bespoke training and guidance for your team
• Social Housing lawyers that understand the intricacies of affordable housing development and sales
• Competition lawyers that can advise on issues such as the latest CMA market study into the housebuilding sector
• Agricultural lawyers to assist on matters such as secure farm tenancies
• Construction contracts experts who understand procurement for housebuilders
• A specialist Building Safety Group to advise on the implications of the Building Safety Act
• Market-leading clean energy lawyers that can shape your transition to net zero
• Planning lawyers and planning consultants to guide your applications, navigate the changing planning environment and review your portfolio
• Property litigation experts focused on the housebuilding sector
• Construction disputes lawyers to help manage your supplier and contractor risks plus a full spread of other legal specialists that can add genuine value to your projects.

Our other services include:

• Asset management & investment
• Biodiversity net gain
• Clean energy, waste & sustainability
• Commercial development
• Estate management
• Heat networks
• New Build & Social Housing Plot Sales
• Nutrient neutrality and water neutrality
• Occupiers
• Property disputes
• Public sector property
• Real estate finance
• Regeneration
• Social housing