Urban regeneration involves cooperation between public and private parties. Parties conclude urban development agreements (DAs) that contain the specific conditions under which they are willing to cooperate for the realisation of an urban development project. Based on a relational approach to contracting which holds that all contracts are embedded in relations, this paper presents five guiding principles for the drafting and negotiation of DAs for such projects. These guiding principles are used to analyse four urban development projects, located in Amsterdam (Zuidas), London (King’s Cross) and New York City (Battery Park City and Hudson Yards).