Pick your route
- You know the LPA and the unit count. Go to the calculator. The 6-head breakdown is on the home page; combined CIL + BNG is on /cil-vs-s106/combined-load-calculator.
- You need to understand a specific head of contribution.Open the corresponding headspage; each is a peer-review committee-report register.
- You are appealing on viability. Start at /viability. NPPF para 58 sets the policy-compliant threshold and the RICS FVP guidance governs the residual land value test.
- The obligation has been in place 5+ years. Go to /modification for the s.106A statutory route.
What a section 106 agreement actually is
Under s.106 of the 1990 Act [TCPA 1990 s.106], a person with an interest in land may enter into a deed binding the land to planning obligations: restricting development, requiring works, or making payments to the LPA. The obligation runs with the land and binds successors-in-title and mortgagees. The CIL Regs 2010 reg 122[CIL Regs 2010 reg 122] test is mandatory: the obligation must be necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms, directly related, and fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind.
Trigger points in the application cycle
- Pre-app: Heads of terms typically discussed at pre-app stage but not binding.
- Outline: Heads scoped; deed drafted in parallel to determination.
- Reserved matters: Triggers tied to commencement, occupation, or a specified date.
- Discharge: Conditions discharged once obligations met or following a s.106A application after five years.
Who is bound
The deed binds the landowner, any mortgagee, and successors-in-title. Lenders therefore require sign-off on draft deeds before they release development finance; this is one reason Aprao output is increasingly accepted by lender underwriting teams (see /viability/aprao).
This is triage, not legal advice. The deed is drafted against the specific LPA SPD in force at the date of committee.