Committee discusses self-build and custom build housing provisions of housing bill

The Bill will require councils to ensure sufficient permissions are put in place to meet the level of interest for self-build and custom build housing in their area, as evidenced by the number of people on a statutory register of interest.

Housing and planning minister Brandon Lewis confirmed to the committee that the government's definition of self-build and custom build homes is limited to circumstances where individuals "have significant input and choice over their finished home and intend to live in it as their main and sole property". He said this excluded "off-plan homes, where the developer agrees to minor changes to the property".

Lewis said regulations will be produced detailing how long councils will have to grant sufficient permissions. He said regulations will also set out the circumstances under which local authorities will be able to apply for an exemption from their duty to meet the demand and exempt councils will still have to take the level of demand into account in the operation of their functions.

The minister noted that non-exempt councils will be able to set criteria for individuals to be eligible for inclusion on their register, but that "these are expected to be restricted to a local connection test and ... a financial solvency test".

Lewis said it is expected that people failing any local connection test will be added to a separate part of the register and councils will have to have regard to their interest "when undertaking their planning, housing, regeneration and land disposal functions". He said this will allow those living in areas with a restricted ability to provide self-build and custom build homes "to register in nearby areas where land might be more widely available".

The minister said the government would set money aside to ensure that councils "are not disadvantaged by the introduction of this policy" and suggested the government "may consider whether it is appropriate to charge those people on the second part of the register".

Planning expert Ben Mansell of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "This policy forms part of the government's housing drive. The Bill's provisions support existing legislation on self-build and custom housebuilding by requiring local planning authorities to ensure sufficient serviced permissioned plots are available to meet demand in their area, as identified by the register of persons requiring self-build plots. However, the legislation and related regulations intend to tightly control who can provide this type of housing. It should be noted no mention has been made yet as to whether section 106 contributions or a Community Infrastructure Levy would be associated with self-build plots."