A new scheme designed to help combat the housing crisis and get more people building their own homes, has opened. It is called the Right to Build.
What is the Right to Build?
In a bid to boost housebuilding and address concerns about affordability, the Government has passed legislation to make more individual and serviced plots available for those wanting to build their own homes. As part of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, local authorities are now required to help find land for those who have an interest in building their own home. This is done through the Right to Build register.
As of 1 April 2016, councils in England have had to keep a list of people or groups who would like to self build. From the end of October the Right to Build Act will come into force meaning that local authorities in England have to make enough serviced plots available to meet the demand (which can be ascertained by the number registering for the Right to Build).
What if I Live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
NaCSBA has recently visited the Welsh Government to encourage them to adopt the same Right to Build policy, and work is underway with the Scottish Government to bring forward more opportunities for custom and self build.
In Northern Ireland, land supply has always been much less of an issue and 15 percent of all new homes are commissioned by their owners, compared with eight percent or so across the UK.
What Kind of Plot Will I Get?
When you register for the Right to Build you are asked whether you are applying as an individual or as part of a group. Those applying as a group will get the chance to take on what is known as a co-housing project or community self build. The council will try to provide a plot for the group to build several homes, or flats.
If you apply as an individual (or family unit), you will be asked which areas you would like to build in. You must be looking for a plot to build your sole residence on (so it can’t be used to build holiday homes or a buy-to-let) and you must also be a British Citizen or a national of an EEA or Switzerland. When you apply, the council will ask you to attend their offices with proof of identification.
The application forms also ask what kind of plot you had in mind and what kind of home you would like to build on it. However, what becomes available will largely be dependent on how many homes are required to be built in your area, and whether you are applying in an urban or rural setting. For example, urban applicants might find that the majority of plots are brownfield or infill and you should expect to see more custom build apartments or flats in these settings.
Also, bear in mind that many plots will be available as sites of several serviced plots (with utilities connected) so if you are determined to get an individual plot in rolling countryside, you might have to compromise on that dream and accept that you will be sharing it with a few neighbours.
What if Your Local Authority Doesn’t Meet Their Duty With the Right to Build?
Some councils are already embracing this, but if yours is not, you need to put pressure on them to meet their legal obligations. Write to them and to your local MP and ask others who are interested in building their own home to do the same.
Homebuilding & Renovating, alongside NaCSBA, is now campaigning for local planning authorities that have failed to meet their legal duty by signing up for the scheme to take urgent action. It is also working to persuade the Scottish Government to live up to its promise to establish a self-build initiative for Scotland as set out in Homes for the 21st Century, it’s Strategy and Action Plan for Housing in the next decade.