Council failing to comply with Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act

NaCSBA: You have the right to build

Rochdale Borough Council has failed to put in place a register to assess demand for custom and self-build homes in their area, which it should have done to comply with the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act which came into force in England on 1 April 2016.

By law, all councils have to provide a register to assess self-build demand in the area. As a minimum requirement, each relevant authority is recommended to have a page on their website that is dedicated to self-build and custom housebuilding. This should be used to set out what the authority is doing to promote opportunities for self-build and custom housebuilding in their area, explain the purpose of the register and how to apply for entry on the register. Councils are recommended to consider additional methods of publicising their register to increase awareness of it.

The council will ultimately have to ensure the delivery of sufficient serviced building plots to meet local demand when a new legal duty within the Housing and Planning Act 2016, dubbed ‘The Right to Build’, commences on 31 October 2016.

According to an Ipsos Mori survey commissioned by the National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA), around one in fifty adults expect to progress plans for their own bespoke home in the coming year. The survey also revealed that 77 per cent of Brits were unaware of their local council’s duty to keep a register of people looking to buy land in the local area to build their own home. 

• http://www.righttobuildportal.org/

Michael Holmes, chairman of NaCSBA and property expert for The Homebuilding & Renovating Shows, said: “Those local authorities in England that do not have a register are not only failing to meet their legal duty under the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act, but are letting down their local community, as there are hundreds of thousands of people who would like to build their own home yet cannot find a plot. Without a register in place, they will not have an indication of local demand and how many individual building plots they need to permission. As a consequence, they may face appeals against refusals of planning permission for custom and self-build homes as well as the risk potential legal challenges, so it’s imperative for them to start implementing without delay to meet the end of October deadline.”

• http://planningguidance.communities.gov.uk/blog/guidance/self-build-and-custom-housebuilding/self-build-and-custom-housebuilding-registers/