Self-build and custom build housing
The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding (SCB) Act 2015 requires local authorities to keep a register of individuals and groups seeking to self-build or custom-build a home and to use these registers to provide sufficient serviced plots of land to meet demand. More information on how to join the register can be found here.
Demand for Self and Custom Build
Monitoring of Self- and Custom Build is run across a period of 12 calendar months. This is known as a ‘base period’ in the legislation. Base periods start on 31st October each year and end on 30th October the following year.
Demand for Self and Custom Build, under Section 2A(2) of the Act, is measured by the number of entries on the Self and Custom Build Register.
The Council collects additional information from registrants to help better understand their needs, such as the locations in which they would like to live. The Council is not required to meet the specific needs of the named individuals and associations on the Register, for instance by matching permissions with where registrants would prefer to live. However, the Council does consider this data in plan-making and other proactive work.
Legislation allows Councils three years following the end of each base period to grant permission for an equivalent number of SCB plots. If the Council does not grant sufficient permissions for SCB plots to meet the demand within three years of the end of a given base period, that shortfall is rolled into the demand for the following base period. If the Council grants more permissions within these three years than the identified demand, the surplus can contribute towards meeting subsequent demand.
Supply of Self and Custom Build
‘Supply’ of self and custom-build for the purposes of the Act is measured by permissions. The Council’s duty is “to give development permission for the carrying out of self-build and custom housebuilding on enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority's area in respect of each base period”. It is therefore the permission and not the completion or occupation of the home that is the measure for supply to address this specific duty under the Act.
Amendments to the Self-Build Act came into effect in 2024 as part of the implementation of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (LURA). The amendments to the wording mean that development permissions must specifically be for ‘the carrying out of self-build and custom housebuilding’. In ascertaining whether demand has been met, local authorities can no longer count what ‘could’ be self-build and custom housing, only what is actually permitted as such.
Due to these amendments, the Council has updated its approach to monitoring to only include permissions specifically for self-build and custom build housing. This considers matters such as the description of development, planning conditions and any relevant legal mechanisms as part of the identification of a self-build plot. Monitoring completed prior to these changes has been revised so that the number of permissions only includes those specifically for self-build and custom build housing.
| Base period 31 October to 30 October | Year | New entries | Cumulative total | Duty to meet this base period's demand by | Permissions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015/16 | 2 | 2 | 30/10/2019 | 0 |
| 2 | 2016/17 | 0 | 2 | 30/10/2020 | 0 |
| 3 | 2017/18 | 1 | 3 | 30/10/2021 | 0 |
| 4 | 2018/19 | 1 | 4 | 30/10/2022 | 0 |
| 5 | 2019/20 | 4 | 8 | 30/10/2023 | 0 |
| 6 | 2020/21 | 6 | 14 | 30/10/2024 | 0 |
| 7 | 2021/22 | 9 | 23 | 30/10/2025 | 2 |
| 8 | 2022/23 | 0 | 23 | 30/10/2026 | 0 |
| 9 | 2023/24 | 4 | 27 | 30/10/2027 | 0 |
| 10 | 2024/25 | 2 | 29 | 30/10/2028 | 3 |
| Total demand | - | - | 29 | Number of permissions | 5 |
This page was last updated on 26 November 2025.