Last Updated: 7 October 2026 I Reading Time: 5 minutes I By Alex Mccrakan, Solicitor in the Commercial Team at GLP Solicitors
Summary
When a landowner is approached about telecommunications equipment, attention usually goes to the rent, the length of the agreement and any other payments. The rights granted to the operator can matter just as much.
Access, parking and working areas may look routine on a plan or draft agreement. They can work very differently once an operator starts using the site.
This article explains why telecoms agreements should be considered against the reality of the property, using a recent matter as an example.
Quick answer
A telecoms agreement is about more than rent and length of term. The access, parking and working-area rights given to an operator must work on the actual site, and they must be rights the landowner can genuinely grant. Checking who else uses the access road, who owns it and where contractors can park before signing helps landowners avoid disputes and protect their property and existing operations.
In this article
- Understanding how the site actually works
- Avoiding rights that are too rigid
- Look beyond the rent
- Practical problems do not necessarily prevent an agreement
- How GLP Solicitors can help
- Frequently asked questions
Key takeaways
- Rent and term are important, but the rights granted to the operator can be just as significant.
- Draft agreements and plans should be considered against how the site really works.
- A landowner should not purport to grant rights beyond those it is entitled to provide.
- Shared access roads need particular care, as an operator’s use could restrict other people’s access.
- Fixed set-down areas can cause problems if the landowner lacks full control of the land or its use may change.
- Drafting that allows a location to be reasonably agreed when required can be more flexible and practical.
- Operators and landowners often share the same objective, so practical issues can usually be resolved through sensible drafting.
- Issues are best identified before the agreement is completed.
When a landowner is approached about the installation of telecommunications equipment, it is easy for attention to focus on the headline commercial terms: the rent, the length of the agreement and the compensation or other payments being offered.
The rights granted to the operator can be just as important.
A recent matter provided a useful example of why those rights need to be considered against the reality of the site rather than simply negotiated from a plan or draft agreement.
Understanding how the site actually works
The operator required access to the proposed telecoms site along a shared road. That created an immediate practical consideration for the landowner because the road was also used by others and the exercise of the proposed rights had the potential to restrict their access.
There was also a more fundamental point. A landowner should not purport to grant an operator rights which go beyond the rights the landowner is itself entitled to exercise or provide.
A visit to the site helped put the proposed drafting into context. It allowed us to understand how the shared access operated, how the wider property was used and what the client could realistically agree to without creating difficulties elsewhere.
The access provisions could then be amended so that the rights granted to the operator were appropriately limited to those which the landowner was entitled to provide.
Avoiding rights that are too rigid
Another issue arose in relation to the operator’s proposed set-down area.
It might seem sensible for an agreement to identify a fixed area where vehicles, equipment or materials can be temporarily located when works are being undertaken. However, that approach did not suit this particular property.
The layout and ownership arrangements within the car park meant that the landowner did not have complete control over the entire area. Its future use could also change.
Rather than fixing a set-down area in a location which could later prove unsuitable, the drafting was amended so that an appropriate location could be reasonably agreed when required.
This gave the operator the practical ability to exercise its rights while avoiding the landowner committing to something that might not work in the future.
Look beyond the rent
The wider point for landowners is that a telecoms agreement should be considered as a package of rights and obligations, not simply as a means of receiving an annual payment.
Before agreeing access provisions, it is worth considering how the site works on an ordinary day.
Who else uses the access road? Who owns it? Could an operator’s vehicle prevent somebody else getting through? Where can contractors safely park? Where could equipment be temporarily stored? Does the landowner actually have the ability to grant all of the rights shown on the operator’s plan?
These questions can appear mundane compared with negotiating rent or the length of the agreement, but they can become very important once an operator starts exercising its rights.
Practical problems do not necessarily prevent an agreement
One of the more positive aspects of dealing with telecoms agreements is that practical difficulties do not always need to become points of dispute.
There is often a shared commercial objective.
The operator wants to install and maintain infrastructure as part of its network. The landowner may be perfectly happy for that infrastructure to be installed and to receive the associated financial benefit, provided its property and existing operations are properly protected.
Where both parties want to reach that outcome, practical problems concerning access, parking or working areas can often be addressed through sensible drafting.
For landowners, the important thing is to identify those issues before the agreement is completed. A provision which looks perfectly reasonable in a draft document may operate very differently when applied to the site itself.
Taking the time to understand the property, the rights the landowner can actually grant and how those rights will work day-to-day can result in an agreement that works better for everyone involved.
How GLP Solicitors can help
If you have been approached about a telecoms installation or would like advice on a proposed or existing agreement, we can help you understand the rights involved and address the practical issues affecting your property.
To discuss your matter, please contact Alex Mccrakan, Solicitor in the Commercial Team at GLP Solicitors, at alexander.mccrakan@glplaw.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Look beyond the rent and the length of the agreement. Consider how the site works day to day: who else uses the access road, who owns it, where contractors can park and where equipment could be stored. Check too that you are able to grant every right shown on the operator’s plan. A draft that looks reasonable on paper can operate very differently on the ground.
A landowner should only grant rights it is itself entitled to exercise or provide. If a road is shared with others, the operator’s use could restrict their access, and your own rights over it may be limited. These points should be checked and reflected in the drafting before the agreement is completed.
It is an area where vehicles, equipment or materials can be temporarily placed while works are carried out. Fixing its location in the agreement can cause problems if you do not control the whole area or its use may change. An alternative is to provide for a suitable location to be reasonably agreed when it is needed.
A plan or draft agreement cannot show how a property is used in practice. A site visit helps show how shared access operates, how the wider property is used and what the landowner can realistically agree to without creating difficulties elsewhere. It can highlight issues that are easy to miss when negotiating from documents alone.
Not usually. Operators and landowners often share the same commercial objective, and the operator wants to install and maintain its infrastructure. Practical issues around access, parking or working areas can often be resolved through sensible drafting. The key is to identify them early, before the agreement is completed.
It is sensible to, whether the agreement is proposed or already in place. A solicitor can explain the rights being granted, check they are rights you are able to give and help address practical issues affecting your property. Advice taken before completion is usually more effective than trying to resolve problems afterwards.