Option agreements for land in St Albans
If you own land in or around St Albans, option agreements is one of four ways you can sell it to us. Here's how it works and when it makes sense.
Options are the usual way to bring larger sites forward. They let us invest in planning while you keep ownership and the use of your land.
- No commission: we're the buyer
- No pressure to decide
- Independent advice encouraged
Selling land near St Albans?
Send the postcode and a rough size.
St Albans at a glance
Land around St Albans falls under England's planning system. The closest towns we also cover are Harpenden, 5 miles away, and Hatfield, 5 miles away, and Watford is 7 miles away.
| Town | St Albans |
|---|---|
| County | Hertfordshire |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | AL1 |
| OS grid square | TL10 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Harpenden (5 mi), Hatfield (5 mi), Hemel Hempstead (5 mi) |
| Distance from Watford | About 7 miles north |
| Planning system | National Planning Policy Framework and local plan |
| When you're paid | Option fee now, price when the option is exercised |
| Planning costs | Ours, sometimes recoverable from the price |
When an option agreement suits land near St Albans
- Land being considered in a local plan review
- Owners happy to wait several years for a higher price
- Holdings where several owners need to work together
- Owners who want to keep farming until development
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
How the money works
Minimum price
A floor that protects you if values fall.
Term
How long we have to secure permission and exercise the option.
Deductions
Which planning and infrastructure costs come off the price before you're paid.
Exercise triggers
What has to happen before we can buy.
Land near St Albans that an option agreement suits
Development land in St Albans
Suits larger fields where the planning route may take several years.
Land for affordable homes in St Albans
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Garden land and backland in St Albans
Useful when several neighbours' gardens are being assembled.
Landlocked land and access problems in St Albans
Useful while access is negotiated with neighbours.
From first call to completion
Tell us about your land
Send the postcode or address and a rough size.
We do the homework
We read the title and planning record and check flood risk and access.
You get a written offer
With the main figures behind it, so your adviser can check it.
The legal work
Your solicitor and ours handle the contract through to completion.
What England's rules mean for your land
Planning framework
Planning decisions in England follow the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026, and the local plan, prepared by the council or, in a national park, the park authority. Plans are reviewed periodically, which is when new housing sites are usually allocated.
Section 106 and CIL
Larger schemes often need a Section 106 agreement for affordable housing or contributions, and councils that have adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy charge it per square metre of new floorspace.
Awkward details we deal with
You want to be sure we'll actually pursue planning
Agreements can include obligations to use reasonable endeavours and set milestones.
You'd like your advisers' costs covered
Many option agreements include a contribution to the landowner's legal and agent costs. We'll tell you if ours does.
Useful to send us
- The address or postcode
- Your title number, if you know it
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
- How soon you'd ideally like to sell
Your questions answered
What is an option agreement?
A contract that gives the buyer the right to buy your land within a set period, usually after planning permission is granted. You receive an option fee now and the purchase price if the option is exercised.
How is the price set?
Usually as a percentage of the land's market value once permission is granted, minus agreed costs, with a minimum price. The percentage and deductions are negotiated.
Can I sell to someone else during the option?
Not usually. The option binds the land, and it's normally registered against your title.
Do you buy land in St Albans?
Yes. We consider land in and around St Albans and across Hertfordshire. Whether we can make an offer depends on the land itself, especially its access and planning prospects, and we'll tell you either way.
Other land types and routes
- Development land
- Land with planning permission
- Land without planning permission
- Large strategic sites
- Green belt and grey belt land
- Land for affordable homes
- Farmland and agricultural land
- Paddocks and equestrian land
- Barns and rural buildings
- Building plots
- Garden land and backland
- Infill plots and gap sites
- Small sites
- Garage sites
- Brownfield land
- Redundant commercial and industrial land
- Inherited and probate land
- Landlocked land and access problems
- Outright purchase
- Subject-to-planning sale
- Joint ventures
- All land in St Albans
- Option agreements in Hertfordshire
Find out what we'd pay for your land near St Albans
Send the postcode and a rough size. We'll check the title and planning position and come back to you.