People looking to kick-start their dreams of building a home will find it much easier now with the launch of a new registers scheme designed to help them find plots.
Councils will have to keep a register of aspiring self and custom house builders when planning for future housing and land use from 1 April as part of the government’s solution to tackle the housing crisis.
The registers should make it easier for those looking to build their own homes to find a plot of land when one becomes available.
Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said the move will help unlock the massive potential the custom build industry has to meet the UK’s future housing needs.
Lewis said: “Many other countries have a track record of delivering large numbers of local homes through self-build and we’re determined to ensure self and custom house building grows significantly.
“The new registers are a fantastic example of our commitment to double the number of custom and self-build homes by 2020 – so anyone who wishes to design their dream house can do so.”
According to Halifax, average house prices rose 9.7% to £212,430 in the year to January.
As a result of the housing crisis, many people now fear they will never get on the property ladder. Rising prices have been blamed on the shortage of supply as well as increasing demand.
The government pledged to build 400,000 new homes by the end of the current parliament as part of its commitment to boosting home ownership in the Autumn Statement.
However, the UK currently only builds about half the number of the 250,000 homes which are needed each year.
The registers are in addition to the measure in the Housing and Planning Bill which will require authorities to ensure they have sufficient shovel ready plots to match the local demand on their register.
The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Bill was first presented to Parliament by Richard Bacon MP and placed a duty on local authorities to keep a register of those seeking an interest in bringing forward self and custom build projects.
In the Spending Review the government announced the Housing Development Fund which aims to provide access to £1 billion of loan finance for up to 5 years supporting the provision of over 25,000 homes through to 2024 to 2025.
The fund is for custom build, small and medium builders and innovative new building methods.
