New legislation in the form of The Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Register Regulations 2016 has been enacted today which means that local authorities must establish and maintain a register of would be self builders and custom builders seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in the relevant authority’s area to build and occupy a house as that individual’s sole or main residence.

The new legislation has designed to help councils assess demand for self build and custom build housebuilding which forms an important element of each authorities assessment of housing need as detailed in the Governments Planning Practice Guidance Methodology: Assessing Housing Need.