Government To Repeal Land Agreements Exclusion Order

The government has published its response to the consultation on the Competition Act 1998 (Land Agreements Exclusion and Revocation Order) 2004 (the "Order") with the government deciding to repeal the Order from 6 April 2011. The Order currently is based on the premise that most agreements relating to land do not raise competition issues and therefore land agreements do not need to be notified to the OFT. This view is, however, outdated following the modernisation of competition law which requires parties to self-assess agreements for their compatibility with competition law.

In its response, the government states that since it was its aim to promote effective competition in all markets, there was no policy reason to exclude land agreements from a competition law analysis. The government also stresses that there was no practical justification for excluding land agreements as presently, although such agreements do not need to be notified, the OFT can