Councils will be legally required to publish deals with housing developers after new rules were introduced.
The rules have been designed by the Government to give greater confidence to communities about the benefits new housing can bring to their area.
Residents will now be able to find out how every pound of property developers’ cash - levied on new buildings - is spent supporting new homes.
Housing minister Esther McVey said: ‘The new rules will allow residents to know how developers are contributing to the local community when they build new homes - whether that’s contributing to building a brand-new school, roads or a doctor’s surgery that the area needs.’
The Local Government Association’s planning spokesman, Cllr David Renard, said the work needed to be ‘fully funded and councils also need sufficient lead-in time’.