This question comes up often in land deals between housebuilders where part of the deal is that the buyer can rely on certain existing reports. To that end, the seller &amp;“assigns&amp;” or arranges the assignment of those reports to the buyer. But the reports are not contracts in themselves but are the end product of a contract, ie an appointment - so we need to look at whether those contracts are generally assignable. <p></p><p> Of course contracts are made up of rights and obligations on both sides. In general, the obligations (the burden of the contract), are not assignable without specific agreement of the party to whom those obligations are owed. </p><p> On the other hand, the rights (the benefit of the contract) are generally assignable, ie without needing the consent of the other party and unless of course the contract provides otherwise but there are different types of assignment and different consequences.</p><p> This is a generalised view with many exceptions to it. It is going to be important to make a complete assignment of the benefit of reports so that the buyer of the land can properly rely on their accuracy and take action on them if necessary. </p><p> …