What is a responsible body?
A responsible body is an organisation designated by DEFRA to enter into conservation covenant agreements with landowners. In the BNG context, responsible bodies are the essential counterparty that monitors and enforces habitat delivery over the 30-year obligation period.
Without a responsible body, a landowner cannot secure their land via conservation covenant — and therefore cannot register off-site gain sites on the national register through the covenant route. Responsible bodies are, in effect, the infrastructure that makes the covenant-based BNG market function.
Who can become a responsible body?
DEFRA designates responsible bodies from three categories of organisation:
| Category | Requirement | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Public body or charity | At least some of its main purposes or functions must relate to conservation | Wildlife Trusts, LPAs, National Trust, conservation charities |
| Other organisation | At least some of its main activities must relate to conservation | RSK Wilding, ecology consultancies with conservation arms, environmental companies |
| Secretary of State | Automatically designated — acts as fallback if no other body is available | DEFRA (interim custodian only) |
There is no anticipated limit on how many responsible bodies can be designated. DEFRA maintains and publishes the full list of designated responsible bodies.
The designation process
Applying to become a responsible body involves the following steps:
- 1Assess your eligibility. Confirm that your organisation meets the criteria: conservation-related purposes or activities, UK operating base, adequate capacity, and financial viability.
- 2Prepare your application. Include evidence of your organisation's conservation expertise, governance structures, financial stability, monitoring capability, and dispute resolution processes.
- 3Include two signed declarations as part of the application, confirming that the information provided is accurate and that your organisation meets the designation criteria.
- 4Submit to DEFRA at conservation.covenants@defra.gov.uk with all supporting documentation.
- 5Wait for assessment. DEFRA aims to inform you of the outcome within 12 weeks of receiving a correctly completed application. They may request additional information.
- 6If successful, DEFRA adds your organisation to the published list with contact details and main areas of expertise.
If your application is unsuccessful, you can apply again with new information.
Designation criteria in detail
DEFRA assesses applications against several criteria. Understanding these in advance will strengthen your application:
| Criterion | What DEFRA looks for |
|---|---|
| Conservation purpose | That your organisation's main purposes, functions, or activities genuinely relate to conservation of the natural or heritage environment |
| Workforce & capacity | A structure and capacity that allows effective delivery of conservation covenants, collaborative working with landowners, and monitoring/evaluation of projects |
| Financial viability | Adequate internal fiscal and administrative control for long-term financial viability. DEFRA will check your filing history on Companies House and assess any financial difficulties |
| Monitoring & enforcement | Ability to monitor compliance with covenant terms and take action to address breaches |
| Dispute resolution | A track record of resolving disputes, or proposed processes for doing so |
| Contingency planning | Ability to plan and develop contingency measures for unplanned changes (e.g., ecological failure, financial difficulty, landowner disputes) |
| Governance | Clear structures that ensure effective reporting, escalation of issues, and identification and management of conflicts of interest |
| Track record | Proven record of environmental or heritage responsibility (where available) |
| UK operating base | Main activities and delivery personnel must be located in the UK |
Ongoing obligations
Once designated, a responsible body has continuing obligations to DEFRA and to the landowners it enters into agreements with.
Annual returns
All responsible bodies must submit an annual return to DEFRA by 31 March each year, detailing:
- The total number of conservation covenants held
- The area of land each covenant covers
- Optionally: whether covenants are for nature or heritage purposes, and other additional information to help DEFRA evaluate covenant effectiveness
Submit completed forms to conservation.covenants@defra.gov.uk.
Notify DEFRA of changes
You must notify DEFRA as soon as possible if your organisation's circumstances change in any way that might affect your ability to perform as a responsible body. This includes:
- Disputes with landowners that cannot be resolved and affect covenant delivery
- Criminal prosecutions, civil sanctions, fraud, or insolvency proceedings
- New conflicts of interest affecting covenant delivery (plus how you will resolve them)
- Significant changes in financial situation affecting covenant delivery
- Changes in the expertise required to deliver covenants
- Any other changes that may affect your ability to perform your functions
Failure to notify DEFRA of relevant changes may result in removal from the list of designated responsible bodies.
Entering into conservation covenants for BNG
When entering into a conservation covenant with a landowner for BNG purposes, responsible bodies should:
Before the agreement
- Conduct thorough due diligence on the site — ecological analysis, legal investigation of title, and risk assessment
- Engage with local Natural England and Historic England representatives to understand local conservation priorities
- Review relevant Local Nature Recovery Strategies and other local conservation schemes
- Ensure the landowner understands the long-term implications and has sought independent legal advice
- Check for any conflicts of interest
The covenant agreement
- Must be executed as a deed by both landowner and responsible body
- Must have a conservation purpose and be for the public good
- For BNG, must run for at least 30 years
- Must set out positive obligations (what the landowner must do) and/or restrictive obligations (what the landowner must not do)
- Must be registered as a local land charge — DEFRA provides guidance on this process to newly designated bodies
The Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan
Every BNG covenant should be accompanied by an HMMP setting out:
- Target habitats and condition objectives
- Management prescriptions and schedules
- Monitoring frequency and methodology
- Trigger points for remedial action
- Reporting requirements and intervals
- Financial provisions for the full 30-year period
After registration
- The landowner can apply to register the site on the national Biodiversity Gain Sites Register
- Natural England assesses the application against eligibility criteria
- Once registered, units can be sold to developers
- The responsible body's ongoing role is to monitor compliance, receive reports, and enforce breaches
Building a sustainable practice
For organisations operating as responsible bodies at scale, several practical considerations apply:
Funding model
Responsible body costs are typically split into three stages:
- Due diligence stage: Ecological analysis, legal investigation, risk assessment
- Drafting and registration: Covenant drafting, negotiation, land charge registration
- Monitoring: Ongoing site visits, report review, and enforcement over 30 years
Costs are bespoke and depend on scheme size and complexity. Seek legal advice to ensure your funding model does not conflict with your obligations under the agreement. Natural England is reviewing covenants thoroughly before accepting units on the register, so quality and rigour in the covenant and HMMP are essential.
Portfolio management
As your covenant portfolio grows, consider:
- Monitoring systems: How will you track multiple covenants, schedules, and reporting deadlines across a growing portfolio?
- Risk management: What happens if a landowner fails to meet their obligations? What enforcement escalation process will you follow?
- Insurance: Consider professional indemnity insurance for your responsible body activities
- Succession planning: If your organisation were unable to continue, what is your plan for transferring covenants to a replacement responsible body?
- Scaling capacity: As demand grows (particularly with NSIP BNG from May 2026), do you have the capacity to take on additional covenants without compromising monitoring quality?
The relationship with LPAs
An important nuance: conservation covenants are private agreements. The LPA is not directly involved. However:
- The LPA will assess the developer's Biodiversity Gain Plan and check that off-site allocations are on the register
- Some LPAs are themselves designated responsible bodies
- There is no legal obligation to share monitoring data with the LPA (though you may choose to)
- Good relationships with local LPAs can facilitate smoother processing of gain plans that reference your covenanted sites
Key contacts and resources
- Designation applications: conservation.covenants@defra.gov.uk
- Annual returns: Same email — due by 31 March each year
- Designation criteria: GOV.UK — criteria for being a responsible body
- Covenant guidance: GOV.UK — getting and using a conservation covenant
- Designated bodies list: GOV.UK — list of designated responsible bodies
- LGA/PAS guidance: LGA — responsible bodies and conservation covenants