What’s the difference between the Self-build and Custom
Housing act 2015 and the Housing and Planning Act 2016?
The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 is a law
that means since April 1st 2016, local authorities in parts of
England are required to keep a register of people interested in building their
own homes. This register is called the ‘Right to Build’ register.
Once the scale of demand for land is recognised, the local
authorities are lawfully required to make council owned land available to those
who registered, upon which to build a home. The homes must not be sold, rented
or built as a holiday home, it must be the primary residence of the builder.
The Housing and Planning Bill has recently received Royal
Assent, meaning this has also become law, this week in fact. The Housing and Planning Act
2016, is not the same as the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015.
This latest act of Parliament includes the subheading, ‘Get the nation building homes
faster’ and promises to;
- unlock brownfield land to provide homes faster, requiring local authorities to prepare, maintain and publish local registers of specified land
- support the doubling of the number of custom-built and self-built homes to 20,000 by 2020
- ensure that every area has a local plan
- reform the compulsory purchase process to make it clearer, fairer and faster
- simplify and speed up neighbourhood planning
Planning permission for development applied for by those on
the Right to Build register, must be granted, if deemed suitable, which could
include self-build homes. To clarify, the permission is for planning, which
could be improvements to existing properties, or new homes.
The Right to Build register – Facts as of May 13th 2016
- Since the 1st April 2016, when the Self-Build and custom Housebuilding bill was passed, local authorities are required to open a register to compile a list of people (18yrs+ and British citizens or EEA/Switzerland nationals), interested in self-build
- The Housing and Planning Act 2016 is now law and states that ‘an authority (to which this section applies), must give suitable development permission in respect of enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority’s area arising in each base period’
- Councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not required to research demand in the way the rest of England is
- You can register your interest in planning permission for development or self-build on The Local Self Build Register. Gemma Design would recommend you take advice from your local authority before registering.
The full details of the Housing and Planning Act 2016,
including the definition of a suitable application can be found in this Government
‘bills’ document: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2015-2016/0075/16075.pdf.
Scroll down to page 14 for ‘Duty to grant planning permission’.
Further reading:
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