Housebuilding is an industry under scrutiny; the consistent pressure to resolve the housing crisis has placed the sector firmly in the limelight.

Our experienced team can help you to navigate through both challenges and opportunities by drawing insights from both our sector market knowledge and our extensive network of clients and translating this into practical advice.

Our team has acted for housebuilders for a number of years, including Linden Homes, Beal Homes, Bellway, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon. Our clients range from SMEs through to national housebuilders, lenders, public sector regeneration vehicles, local authorities, registered providers, property development companies, investment funds and professional service organisations.

We act as a trusted advisor to many key sector names, delivering a full service, one-stop shop with a team of lawyers across all disciplines with bespoke experience in this sector. 

Whilst each of our clients has a different focus, they are all trying to address the housing shortage in the UK, whether that be through traditional homes or innovative modular models on brownfield sites. We see our role as helping them achieve that through our experience, expertise and unique skill set and through market wide intelligence, introduction of clients, projects and land opportunities and facilitating joint ventures and partnerships where appropriate. 

What we do

  • Residential development
  • Strategic land
  • Collaboration agreements
  • Affordable housing
  • Plot sales
  • Planning
  • Property litigation 
  • Tax
  • Agriculture, mines and minerals
  • Construction
  • Regulatory
  • Health and safety
  • Environmental 
  • Employment 
  • Pensions
  • Corporate
  • Commercial

Examples of work

  • Acted for Bellway on one of the largest brownfield residential developments in the UK – approximately 10,900 units at Barking Riverside, a £3.5bn scheme
  • Advised Linden Homes and Taylor Wimpey on the 925 dwelling Sowerby Gateway development. This has included multiple phases and landowners; complex tax and equalisation provisions; security documents and inter-developer agreements. Our advice has included procurement, tax, SDLT, highways, planning and site assembly. 
  • Advised Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey on Newcastle Great Park scheme resulting from a substantial green belt release - 484 hectares, delivering 2,500 new homes including drafting and negotiating a complex s106 agreement 
  • Worked with CEG on a 600 hectare “work, live, play” development site abutting the M40 at Lighthorne, Warwickshire, involving multiple options, multiple landowners and a promotion agreement with a consortium of landowners in a “Land Pool Trust”.  The scheme involves an inbuilt option (within the promotion agreement) for CEG to acquire all the commercially consented land (including the District Centre and its related housing) as part of a mixed use but residentially led scheme.  At least 5,000 homes are being planned
  • Assisted Bournemouth Development Company LLP on a range of projects so far including residential schemes with social housing (e.g. Radian as the social housing provider), student accommodation, residential with commercial retail units on the ground floor, a new multi-storey car park.

Housebuilding is an industry under scrutiny; the consistent pressure to resolve the housing crisis has placed the sector firmly in the limelight.

Our experienced team can help you to navigate through both challenges and opportunities by drawing insights from both our sector market knowledge and our extensive network of clients and translating this into practical advice.

Find an expert

Key contacts

People with expertise in housebuilding law

Our team has acted for housebuilders for a number of years, including Linden Homes, Beal Homes, Bellway, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon. Our clients range from SMEs through to national housebuilders, lenders, public sector regeneration vehicles, local authorities, registered providers, property development companies, investment funds and professional service organisations.

We act as a trusted advisor to many key sector names, delivering a full service, one-stop shop with a team of lawyers across all disciplines with bespoke experience in this sector. 

Whilst each of our clients has a different focus, they are all trying to address the housing shortage in the UK, whether that be through traditional homes or innovative modular models on brownfield sites. We see our role as helping them achieve that through our experience, expertise and unique skill set and through market wide intelligence, introduction of clients, projects and land opportunities and facilitating joint ventures and partnerships where appropriate. 

What we do

  • Residential development
  • Strategic land
  • Collaboration agreements
  • Affordable housing
  • Plot sales
  • Planning
  • Property litigation 
  • Tax
  • Agriculture, mines and minerals
  • Construction
  • Regulatory
  • Health and safety
  • Environmental 
  • Employment 
  • Pensions
  • Corporate
  • Commercial
In need of a housebuilding lawyer? Look no further.
At Womble Bond Dickinson we have an exceptional team of talented lawyers and business professionals who can offer guidance and find the solutions right for your business. We have both broad and niche expertise across all our UK and US offices.
Low angle view of modern skyscrapers with glass facades under a clear blue sky in a bustling city centre, showcasing contemporary urban architecture and commercial real estate development.

Examples of our work and how we’ve helped companies of all sizes with a wide range of challenges.

  • Acted for Bellway on one of the largest brownfield residential developments in the UK – approximately 10,900 units at Barking Riverside, a £3.5bn scheme
  • Advised Linden Homes and Taylor Wimpey on the 925 dwelling Sowerby Gateway development. This has included multiple phases and landowners; complex tax and equalisation provisions; security documents and inter-developer agreements. Our advice has included procurement, tax, SDLT, highways, planning and site assembly. 
  • Advised Persimmon Homes and Taylor Wimpey on Newcastle Great Park scheme resulting from a substantial green belt release - 484 hectares, delivering 2,500 new homes including drafting and negotiating a complex s106 agreement 
  • Worked with CEG on a 600 hectare “work, live, play” development site abutting the M40 at Lighthorne, Warwickshire, involving multiple options, multiple landowners and a promotion agreement with a consortium of landowners in a “Land Pool Trust”.  The scheme involves an inbuilt option (within the promotion agreement) for CEG to acquire all the commercially consented land (including the District Centre and its related housing) as part of a mixed use but residentially led scheme.  At least 5,000 homes are being planned
  • Assisted Bournemouth Development Company LLP on a range of projects so far including residential schemes with social housing (e.g. Radian as the social housing provider), student accommodation, residential with commercial retail units on the ground floor, a new multi-storey car park.
Testimonials

“Womble Bond Dickinson are (and have been for around 15 years since we developed this side of our business) an integral part of our focus on land assembly on our most complex large-scale and innovative projects nationwide.”

Jon Kenny, Director of Commercial Estates Group