Revised model 106 agreement

On Monday (14 June), the Law Society announced the publication of the second edition of their standard draft planning agreement, which has been revised to take account of legal and economic developments since the first edition. In particular it expands on the provisions for affordable housing, which was one of the weaknesses which I identified in the original version of the agreement when commenting in this blog on that first draft (in 2006). Other comments by users have also been taken into account and incorporated in this revision.

The draft agreement is intended to provide a starting point for negotiations over planning agreements with local authorities, to reduce the time spent negotiating standard matters and to encourage greater standardisation in drafting planning agreements and the use of common provisions.

I have not had time yet to look at the new draft in any detail, but the provision of an updated version of the draft agreement is welcome. Such a model agreement can be no more than a guide to drafting, because the specific requirements of a particular development will inevitably call for bespoke drafting to make detailed provision for those requirements, and this applies particularly to the provision of affordable housing which, in my experience, has to be tailored to the particular requirements of individual LPAs and their chosen RSLs (which can vary widely). Nevertheless, a widely accepted model agreement is a good starting point from which to work.

© MARTIN H GOODALL