Local authorities hold over £9 billion in unspent developer contributions across England and Wales, £6.6 billion of that from Section 106 agreements specifically. If your Section 106 agreement is more than five years old, your right to recover may already have arisen. We carry out the full forensic audit at no cost. Nothing is owed unless we recover something.
We handle the entire recovery process on your behalf, from reviewing your agreement through to receiving and accounting for the funds.
Complete our short enquiry form with the basics about your Section 106 obligation. We review the agreement and confirm whether a recovery entitlement exists, at no cost or obligation to you.
Free initial reviewWe write to your local planning authority and request a full account of how your contribution was spent. Once we have confirmed there is an unspent balance, we serve a formal repayment demand and take it forward from there.
We handle everythingWe deduct our success fee from the recovered sum and transfer the net balance to you within 5 working days of receipt. If nothing is recovered, you owe us nothing at all.
Success-only basis. Guaranteed.Many developers assume that the absence of an express repayment clause ends the matter. It does not always. In Hampshire County Council v Beazer Homes Ltd [2010] EWHC 3095 (QB), the High Court held that a repayment term can be implied into a Section 106 agreement, but only in limited circumstances where the parties plainly intended it to form part of the contract. Recovery under an express clause remains the materially stronger position. We will assess your specific position and advise you at no cost before proceeding.
We charge nothing unless and until a sum is recovered on your behalf. Our fee is deducted from the recovered amount. You receive the balance, having risked nothing.
All terms are set out in our engagement letter, which you will receive before any work begins.
The law sets clear deadlines. We enforce every one of them on your behalf.
We write to the local planning authority and ask them to account for every penny of your contribution. Every request is specific to your agreement and your site. We never send generic correspondence.
The local authority is required by law to respond within 20 working days. We review their response, challenge any incomplete or evasive answers, and confirm the exact balance available for recovery.
If the LPA fails to respond: We immediately file a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which can issue a Decision Notice compelling disclosure. Non-compliance is enforceable as contempt of court.
Once the unspent balance is confirmed, we serve a formal written demand citing the specific clause, the amount repayable including accrued interest, and a 28-day payment deadline.
In the majority of cases, payment follows receipt of a well-drafted professional demand. Most councils prefer to resolve matters quietly.
If the LPA fails to pay: We advise on the appropriate escalation route: debt claim (County Court or High Court), ICO complaint, external audit referral under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, or judicial review where the LPA's conduct is unlawful. The 12-year limitation period for deeds means time is rarely a constraint.
A local planning authority cannot lawfully refuse planning permission or treat a developer less favourably because the developer has exercised a legitimate contractual right. Planning decisions must be based on material planning considerations only. Any conduct to the contrary is challengeable by appeal or judicial review as an improper purpose. We address this directly in every engagement.
Clawback recovery is not theoretical. The following cases and datasets confirm that unspent contributions have been successfully recovered.
High Court held a repayment term can be implied into a Section 106 agreement without an express clause, but only in limited circumstances where the parties plainly intended it. Developers with express clauses remain in a materially stronger position.
80 local authorities, a third of those that responded, confirmed returning developer contributions over the preceding five years. Combined total returned: £20.6 million, against an estimated £6.3 billion held unspent nationally at that time.
Based on FOI responses from 171 local authorities, HBF confirmed over £2.8 billion in unspent contributions held across England and Wales. Approximately 25% held beyond the five-year contractual spending period.
HBF's most recent national report found over £9 billion in unspent developer contributions held across England and Wales, £6.6 billion of that from Section 106 agreements specifically. 243 local authorities responded to the survey.
Councils cannot lawfully penalise developers for exercising a contractual right. We address this in every client communication and monitor closely for any sign of retaliatory conduct.
We never take a one-size-fits-all approach. Every piece of correspondence we send to a local authority is specific to your agreement, your site and your circumstances. The council is given no room to respond in vague or incomplete terms.
ICO complaint, external audit referral, debt claim, judicial review. We pursue every available legal avenue and work alongside qualified solicitors where proceedings are required.
Reviewing historic agreements for unspent balances is not a sideline for us, it is the whole business, at no cost or risk to you unless a sum is actually recovered. That is a different proposition to asking an existing adviser to look at it as one item among many.
Tell us the basics and we will come back to you within 2 working days with a clear view of your recovery prospects.