Government To Review Right To Build Legislation

The government is launching a review into legislation which enables people to build their own homes. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP made the announcement on Right to Build Day. Councils keep a register of those who wish to build in their local area, and by 30 October each year they should have granted planning permission to enough suitable plots to match the demand on the register. The government will examine how well these measures are working. The Housing Secretary has written to councils to ensure they consider the demand for these homes when providing land for building and making planning decisions in their area. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/government-to-review-right-to-build-legislation/ 

Right To Buy Sales Drop Off

There were 2,601 homes sold between April and June this year, a 23% drop from the 3,382 sold in the same three months in 2016. However, a number of councils with large numbers of homes did not report their sales figures. The CLG estimated these councils had around 350 sales between them taking the total sold to 2,951 – a 13% drop on last year. London councils sold an estimated 503 homes – a steep 45% drop from the 921 sold in the same period last year. The proportion of sales in London has decreased over the past year, with only 19% of total sales coming from London compared to 27% last year. Download the figures from the CLG website.

Right To Build Task Force Set Up In UK

A new Right to Build Expert Task Force has been launched in the UK with the aim of creating significantly more affordable homes in the next three years. The Task Force will work with local authorities, community groups and other organisations across the country to deliver large, affordable custom and self-build housing projects. It will be working with at least 80 organisations to help ensure other projects benefit and the lessons learned will be shared through regional events and case studies within the Right to Build Portal. Read more on Property Wire.

Self Build Properties Fall to Six Year Low

New figures reveal that UK-wide self build planning applications in 2014 have decreased by 28% compared to 2008. Data show that 16,792 self build planning applications were submitted in the first three quarters of 2008, which has steadily declined year on year to 12,159 in 2014. As part of the Government's on-going policy to increase the number of available homes, new measures were announced in the 2014 Budget to increase the amount of self build projects. These include a £150 million loan fund to help bring forward thousands of 'shovel ready' building plots and a proposed 'right to build' policy, giving custom builders the right to a suitable plot of land for self build housing, which is currently being pioneered in 11 areas across the country. Read more on the PR Newswire website.

New Right to Build Areas Helping Aspiring Self-Builders

Eleven areas across the country will benefit from the latest government-backed opportunity to help aspiring custom or self-builders get their projects off the ground, under plans announced by Brandon Lewis. The Housing Minister said these 11 areas would be at the forefront of the government’s efforts to help those looking to build their own homes turn their dreams into reality. The Right to Build is the latest in a range of measures designed to help those looking to build their own home. These 11 chosen areas will establish and maintain a register of prospective custom and self-builders in the area and begin to identify shovel-ready sites for those on the register - becoming the first to offer local people the right to design and build their own home. Read more on the CLG website.