Housebuilders

Our top-tier housing team adds value throughout the full lifecycle of your residential developments.

With the much-needed push to provide more high-quality homes over the coming years, housebuilders need a reliable legal team that acts proactively and collaboratively to get the job done.

From advising on the initial structuring and financing of projects to assisting with planning and land acquisition, negotiating development and construction agreements and dealing with the critical disposals, management and refinancing — as well as advising on any disputes that arise along the way — our experts can support even the largest and most complex transactions.

We have the experience required to support all your legal needs, including delays in securing planning permission for development, access to funding, biodiversity net gain and Future Homes Standard compliance.

Our services for housebuilders

Full planning, development & construction services
Advice on Section 106 affordable housing requirements & planning constraints
Funding document advice (including grant-funding agreements)
Site acquisition & assembly services
Banking & funding advice
Financial modelling support
Corporate transactions
Commercial & contract law
Disputes & litigation
Governance arrangements (including shareholders agreements & articles)
Structuring options (including joint ventures & partnerships)
Fundraising & securitisation

“The services we have received across a broad spectrum of areas within our business have been of a high quality and the users within our business consistently provide positive feedback.”

Your Housing Group

“Helen Brown is noted for her expertise in regeneration work.”

The Legal 500 2025

“Excellent breadth of knowledge… Everything available from one firm.”

The Legal 500, 2024

“Excellent advice which is bespoke to our needs. The whole team is responsive, knows our organisation well and clearly invests in its people.”

The Legal 500, 2024

Proud to support

Case highlights

Acquisition, development and grant funding

Advising Cobalt on the acquisition, development and grant funding in respect of a former car park site for 88 affordable homes for a mix of tenures. This is a significant regeneration project in Cobalt’s heartland of Croxteth in Liverpool. Advice was provided by our development, planning, construction and corporate teams.

Acquisition of 260-unit site

Advising a significant registered provider on the acquisition and development of a 260-unit site for various tenures. We provided a full range of services, including charity, governance, funding, property, construction, planning and taxation advice for both the RP and its subsidiary Devco.

Landowner joint venture

Advising a property developer in a joint venture with the landowner, which involved a major supermarket, registered provider and residential developer, along with the redevelopment of a market hall. We advised on a range of matters including conveyancing, title investigation and vacant possession strategy, preparing and negotiating the JV, planning conditions and the acquisition of surrounding property.

New homes partnership advice

Advising Torus on its partnership with housebuilder Castle Green Homes, which will see the delivery of around 589 new homes across four sites for a variety of tenures including shared ownership, affordable rent and open market sales.

Brokering joint venture agreement

Advising a special purpose vehicle (SPV) on a novel lettings concept where the owners were several major registered providers. We acted as an ‘honest broker’ to put a fair joint venture agreement in place that met all parties’ commercial requirements — protecting them from a governance perspective while allowing the SPV to operate autonomously (save for key decisions). We minimised legal costs that might have been incurred if each owner had been separately represented.

Residential leases and leasehold schemes

Advising various registered providers on residential leases (conventional and new-build shared ownership) and leasehold schemes for the elderly, bespoke low-cost home ownership schemes and criss-cross (Tyneside-lease) disposals of maisonettes.

Financing advice

Advising various major RPs on the provision of financing and loan facilities, including around term loan and revolving credit, bond issues, cross-corporate guarantees and debentures.