Development Finance Documents Checklist (UK)
A development finance application needs three things evidenced up front: the scheme (planning, land ownership and a costed appraisal), the people delivering it (your track record and your contractor), and the money (how the numbers work and how the loan gets repaid). Assemble those before you approach lenders and you turn a slow, back-and-forth process into a fast decision.
This is the practical checklist. If you are new to the product, start with What Is Development Finance? and How Development Finance Works; this page focuses purely on the documents a lender expects to see, why each one matters, and where developers most often fall short.
Why the Document Pack Matters
Development lenders do not price a scheme they cannot see clearly. Every gap in your pack is a question the underwriter has to raise, and every question adds days. A complete, well-organised pack does three things: it lets a lender give you a realistic answer quickly, it signals that you run a tight operation, and it gives a broker the material to present your deal to the right funders in one go rather than drip-feeding information.
Nothing below is unusual. It is the same information any competent developer already holds; the value is in having it ready, current and consistent before the first conversation.
The Scheme
This is the project itself: what you are building, where, and what it will be worth.
- Planning permission (or the current planning position). Full or outline consent, the decision notice, and any conditions. If planning is not yet granted, lenders will want the application reference and a realistic view of timing; some will lend pre-planning at lower leverage.
- Land ownership or purchase details. Proof you own the site (title) or the contract/heads of terms if you are buying it. Ownership and how long you have held the land also feed how much equity counts as your stake.
- Development appraisal / costings. A line-by-line breakdown of total project cost: land, build cost, professional fees, contingency and finance costs. This is the single most scrutinised document, because it drives both loan sizing ratios.
- Schedule of works and build programme. What gets built, in what order, over how long. This underpins the drawdown schedule.
- Projected Gross Development Value (GDV). Your estimate of the finished value, ideally supported by local comparables. See GDV explained for how lenders use it.
The appraisal and GDV together set your maximum loan through LTC and LTGDV. Which ratio actually caps the loan is explained in LTC vs LTV vs GDV vs LTGDV.
The People
Lenders fund teams as much as bricks. They want to know the scheme will be delivered.
- Developer CV / track record. A short schedule of completed schemes: what, where, cost, GDV and outcome. This is what moves you up the leverage and pricing scale.
- Contractor details and build contract. Who is building it, their track record, and the contract (a JCT or equivalent for larger schemes). A named, credible contractor de-risks the build in the lender's eyes.
- Professional team. Architect, structural engineer, project manager and, where relevant, the planning consultant. On monitored schemes the lender will also appoint a monitoring surveyor (often a Quantity Surveyor) to sign off drawdowns; you do not supply this, but budget for the fee.
- Company structure. If you build through an SPV or limited company, the incorporation details, directors and shareholding, plus ID and address verification for the people behind it.
If this is your first scheme, the way you compensate for a thin track record (an experienced contractor, a monitoring surveyor, lower leverage or a JV partner) matters more than usual. That is covered in Development Finance for First-Time Developers.
The Money
How the scheme stacks up financially, and how the loan gets repaid.
- Proof of deposit or equity. Evidence of the cash or land equity you are contributing. If land equity is filling the gap, this ties back to the ownership documents above; see 100% Development Finance for how that works.
- Personal and/or company financials. Recent accounts for the company, and a statement of assets and liabilities for the individuals. Lenders look at overall financial strength, not just the scheme in isolation.
- The exit. The single most important part. How does the loan get repaid: sale of the finished units, refinance onto term or buy-to-let mortgages, or development exit finance? Support it with comparables or a broker's view of refinance appetite. No credible exit, no deal.
- Existing debt / charges. Any borrowing already secured against the site or against you, so the lender can see the full picture.
For how these numbers translate into rate, fees and the monitoring cost, see Development Finance Rates & Fees.
What First-Time Developers Most Often Miss
The pack falls down in predictable places:
- A vague appraisal with no contingency line, or costs that do not reconcile with the build programme.
- No credible exit, or an exit that assumes a sale price the comparables do not support.
- An unnamed or inexperienced contractor, which forces the lender to price in build risk.
- Planning conditions overlooked (for example, conditions that must be discharged before work starts).
- Stale or inconsistent figures across the appraisal, the GDV and the deposit evidence.
Fixing these before you apply is far cheaper than discovering them mid-underwrite.
How a Broker Packages It
A specialist broker does more than pass your documents on. We pressure-test the appraisal and the exit before a lender sees them, present the scheme in the format each funder expects, and match it to the lenders whose current appetite fits your leverage, location and asset type. Because the pack arrives complete and credibly structured, decisions come back faster and on better terms. It also means you are not repeating yourself to five different lenders with five slightly different versions of the numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents do I need to apply for development finance?
At a minimum: planning permission (or the current planning position), proof of land ownership or the purchase contract, a costed development appraisal, your projected GDV, your developer track record, the contractor and build contract, proof of your deposit or land equity, recent financials, and a credible exit plan. Lenders may ask for more depending on the scheme.
Do I need planning permission before applying?
Not always. Some lenders will consider a scheme pre-planning, usually at lower leverage and with the loan conditional on consent. Full or outline permission gives you the widest choice of lenders and the best terms, so it is worth having in place where possible.
What is a development appraisal and why does it matter so much?
It is a line-by-line breakdown of total project cost (land, build, professional fees, contingency and finance) set against the projected GDV. It matters because it drives both loan-sizing ratios (LTC and LTGDV), so an incomplete or inconsistent appraisal is the fastest way to slow or sink an application.
Can I get development finance without a track record?
Yes, but expect lower leverage and more scrutiny of the rest of the pack, especially the contractor, the monitoring surveyor and the exit. See our guide for first-time developers for how to compensate for a thin track record.
How long does the process take once my documents are ready?
It varies by lender and scheme complexity, but a complete, well-presented pack is the biggest single factor in a fast decision. Terms in principle can come back quickly; full drawdown then depends on valuation, legals and (on monitored schemes) the surveyor's sign-off.
Get Your Pack in Front of the Right Lenders
If your scheme is ready, the quickest route to a decision is a complete pack presented to the funders whose appetite actually fits it. Get in touch with your scheme details (site and ownership, planning status, build cost, GDV and your exit plan) and we will tell you what, if anything, is missing and which lenders to approach. For the wider picture, see the Development Finance Hub.