A developer’s letter drops through the door. It’s polite. It’s confident. It names a number.
And that number feels… oddly specific.
Here’s what’s really going on: that first offer is rarely “the value” of your land. It’s an anchor. The developer is trying to buy certainty (and upside) as cheaply as possible. Fair play. But if you don’t know what you’re selling, you’re negotiating blind.
This guide is written for landowners who want sensible, layman’s advice – and who’d rather not discover, 18 months later, that the “safe” deal quietly gave away the planning uplift.
As development land and planning consultants, we can tell you what’s possible, in plain English.
Tips for selling land to a developer
Step one: stop negotiating a price – negotiate a range
Land isn’t a house. Houses are priced off comparables. Land is priced off potential. And potential is messy: access, services, policy, constraints, ecology, deliverability, local politics, timing.
So, the right question isn’t:
“What’s the best offer I can get?”
It’s:
“What are the realistic scenarios for this land – and what’s each one worth?”
That’s exactly what Intelligent Land built the Land Value Accelerator™ (LVA Method™) for.
The Land Value Accelerator™ (LVA Method™): what it does (in normal English)
Land Value Accelerator™ – Unlocking Hidden Millions.
Black-Box Insights, White-Glove Results.
The LVA Method™ is a three-step process designed to turn “maybe” into a decision:
- Review Planning Permissions – what you’ve got, what you haven’t, and what that really means.
- Undertake Research – planning, technical constraints, legal, BNG/ESG implications, viability signals.
- Scenario Testing – AI-driven modelling to test routes that can change the value outcome.
The positive outcome: you go into developer conversations with evidence, not hope. Intelligent Land often identifies £1m+ value uplift within 24 hours in many cases by finding the best scenario – or by proving a scenario is fantasy before you waste months chasing it.
The three deals you’ll be offered (and what they mean)
Most “selling land to a developer” conversations end up in one of these structures. The names sound technical; the reality isn’t.
1) Conditional contract
Plain English: “I’ll buy it if I get planning.”
A conditional contract typically completes only once conditions are met (often planning permission). A developer may like this because it reduces risk; you may like it because it can support a higher price if planning lands.
Watch-outs: how long the buyer gets, what standard of planning permission counts, and who controls the application strategy.
2) Option agreement
Plain English: “Pay me to reserve the right to buy later.”
The developer pays (sometimes a small amount) for the option to buy within a period. If planning is achieved, they “exercise” the option and buy.
Watch-outs: option period length, price mechanism (fixed vs formula), and whether you’ve effectively parked your land for years.
3) Promotion agreement
Plain English: “Someone gets planning for you, then you sell on the open market, and they take a fee.”
Promotion agreements typically involve a promoter running the planning process and marketing the land; they’re paid a percentage of net sale proceeds once sold.
Watch-outs: who decides the sale price, how promotion costs are controlled, and how “best price” is defined.
None of these is automatically “good” or “bad”. The right one depends on the scenario your land is actually capable of. That’s why value discovery comes before deal structure.
The clause that matters more than headline price: overage (clawback)
If there’s even a chance your land becomes more valuable after you sell it – through planning permission, a change of use, a bigger scheme, an extra access point – you’ll hear the word overage.
Overage is a contract mechanism intended to share some of the uplift if the buyer later secures planning or otherwise increases value.
In practice, overage succeeds or fails on details:
- what triggers payment (planning permission? implementation? sale-on?)
- how uplift is calculated
- time limits (and how easily they can be waited out)
- how it’s secured (so it’s actually collectible)
Layman’s takeaway: if you don’t define “uplift” tightly, you may end up with an overage clause that sounds comforting and pays nothing.
The 10-point landowner checklist before you sign anything (including “Heads of Terms”)
You can keep this simple. Before you agree a structure, get clarity on:
- What exactly is being valued? Current use only, or a probable planning outcome?
- What’s the developer’s plan? (Not the brochure. The planning route.)
- How long are you tied up? Options and promotions can restrict selling elsewhere for years.
- Who controls the planning strategy? And what happens if they go quiet?
- What standard of planning permission counts? “Satisfactory” means different things to different people.
- What does “best endeavours” actually require? (And what doesn’t it require?)
- How will price be calculated? Fixed, formula, valuation, or market sale?
- What’s the overage trigger and calculation? Make it hard to dodge.
- How is overage secured? (Because unenforceable overage is just a bedtime story.)
- Who pays fees and surveys? And what happens if the deal collapses?
Note: This is commercial guidance, not legal advice – always use a specialist solicitor for drafting.
BNG, “nature rules”, and why they can change your land value (even if you’re not a “nature person”)
Since 2024, Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) has been a core part of the planning conversation in England: planning permissions are generally subject to the biodiversity gain condition, aiming for at least 10% biodiversity net gain, with delivery evidenced through the statutory metric and a Biodiversity Gain Plan.
BNG became mandatory for:
- major developments from 12 February 2024, and
- small sites from 2 April 2024 (with exemptions in some cases).
The important update (December 2025)
The government has announced targeted reforms: sites below 0.2 hectares are intended to be exempted from BNG requirements, alongside consultation on further targeted brownfield exemptions – but it also states that BNG continues to apply in its current form until changes are officially implemented.
Why this matters when selling land to a developer:
BNG can affect layout, developable area, costs, and programme – which affects what a developer is willing to pay. If you understand the BNG implications (and the likely direction of policy), you can separate:
- genuine cost/risk that should affect price, from
- “BNG is complicated” as a negotiating tactic.
This sits squarely inside LVA step 2 (Undertake Research) and step 3 (Scenario Testing): model the value impact of different layouts and delivery routes *before* you accept a discounted offer.
How Intelligent Land uses LVA to turn “developer interest” into “landowner leverage”
Here’s the shift in mindset that changes outcomes:
Most landowners treat a developer offer as a verdict.
Intelligent Land treats it as a starting signal.
What you get from an LVA-style value discovery
- A clear view of what planning status you have (and what it doesn’t give you).
- Constraints that can kill value (or be engineered around).
- A set of scenarios: conservative, realistic, ambitious – each with implications and value signals.
- Practical negotiation moves: where to push price, where to demand overage, where to insist on open-market sale.
The “two numbers” negotiation (simple, effective)
Instead of one price, you negotiate:
- Price today (for the land as-is), and
- Price if planning lands (captured via overage or a conditional structure).
It’s not adversarial. It’s accurate. Land value is probabilistic – so price it that way.
FAQs: selling land to a developer (quick answers)
Should I get planning permission before I sell?
Sometimes. Sometimes not. The right answer depends on whether planning is likely, bankable, and value-accretive for your site – which is exactly what scenario testing is for.
What’s better: option, promotion, or conditional contract?
There isn’t a universal “best”. Options can be quick but can tie you up. Promotions can maximise price but take time. Conditional contracts can work well if the conditions and timetable are tight and fair.
How do I know if the developer’s offer is fair?
If you’ve only seen one offer, you don’t. “Fair” comes from understanding your land’s credible scenarios, costs and risks – then benchmarking offers against that range.
Will overage protect me?
Only if it’s drafted with robust triggers, calculations, time periods and security. Overages are common precisely because they can capture planning uplift – but they’re also common sources of disappointment when the detail is loose.
The bottom line when selling land to a developer
Selling land to a developer isn’t a single transaction. It’s a negotiation about who captures the upside.
If you want speed and certainty, the smartest move is often to run a short, high-intensity value discovery first – then pick the deal structure that fits the best scenario.
Intelligent Land unlocks hidden millions in land value by combining proprietary AI algorithms with 30 years of planning expertise. We don’t just advise; we accelerate outcomes.
If you’re considering selling land to a developer, contact us now for a no-obligation chat.
We will help you to:
Review Planning Permissions → Undertake Research → Scenario Testing
Then go back to the developer with facts – and a deal structure that protects your upside.
Unlock hidden millions today.
