As planning policy changes, DevAssist is urging conveyancing solicitors to commission specialist development risk reports before clients commit to buying.
Your client is buying the house. But the view, the privacy and the quiet location may be what persuaded them to pay the price.
What happens if the land next door becomes a housing estate?
Development risk specialist DevAssist is calling on conveyancers and conveyancing solicitors to investigate the surrounding planning picture before exchange, rather than treating the absence of a nearby planning application as reassurance.
The warning comes amid significant changes to England’s planning system. The government’s National Planning Policy Framework, published in August 2026, introduced revised policies to support housing delivery, including stronger support for development around well-connected stations and higher densities in suitable locations. Updated Housing Delivery Test results were published alongside it.
These changes matter during a property transaction. A field can remain physically unchanged while the planning circumstances affecting its development potential shift substantially.
DevAssist’s recent analysis highlighted ten councils newly facing the presumption in favour of sustainable development following the latest Housing Delivery Test results. That does not guarantee permission, but it changes the context in which development proposals may be considered.
For conveyancers, the practical question is clear: does the information in front of you explain the development risk around the property your client is buying?
An application search can identify submitted proposals within its scope. It cannot, on its own, explain every factor that could influence future development. Emerging Local Plans, land assessments, housing supply pressures and a site’s planning history may warrant investigation before a developer submits an application.
DevAssist’s specialist reports bring these factors together. Produced by planning experts, they assess the wider location and interpret what nearby land, planning policy and development potential could mean for a specific residential or commercial property. They complement standard conveyancing searches and support a more informed assessment before exchange.
The consequences are personal as well as financial. A buyer may accept the possibility of nearby development. They may want further advice, reconsider the price or decide the property no longer meets their needs. Those choices are meaningful only if the information reaches them before they commit.
A clear search result should therefore prompt careful consideration of what has actually been checked. Has the surrounding land been assessed? Have emerging allocations been considered? Has the significance of the council’s housing position been interpreted?
For a client choosing a property because of its surroundings, these are central questions.
DevAssist is urging conveyancing firms to make specialist development risk assessment part of their due diligence where the location and neighbouring land could materially influence the purchase.
The time to investigate is before exchange. Once the client is committed, information that could have shaped their decision may arrive too late.
Conveyancers and conveyancing solicitors can order a DevAssess report or contact DevAssist to identify the appropriate report for their transaction.
Visit www.devassist.co.uk, call 01342 890010 or email info@devassist.co.uk.
This article was submitted by DevAssist as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the advertiser and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
