11 March 2015
A government bill to help enable more people to build their own homes has completed the final stage of its journey through parliament and will now go for Royal Assent and become law.
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The ‘Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Bill‘ – introduced by the Conservative MP for South Norfolk Richard Bacon – was given final approval today by the House of Lords after it agreed to a Third Reading. The private member’s bill has already secured the support of both the Government and the Official Opposition for passage through parliament.
When it becomes law, Mr Bacon’s Bill will require each local council to set up a register of individuals and community groups who are interested in obtaining serviced plots of land to build dwellings for those people to occupy as homes, and then to have regard to its register when exercising its functions of planning, housing, regeneration and the disposal of land owned by the council. The Bill will allow for the development of both houses and blocks of flats, both for purchase and for affordable rental.
Last year, Mr Bacon – founder of the All Party Group on Self-Build, Custom and Community Housebuilding and Place-Making – led a study visit to Berlin, together with housing experts from across the UK and members of the National Custom & Self Build Association (NaCSBA), to understand more about how individual and community-led housing initiatives – undertaken in co-operation with local authorities – have led to the development of more dwellings of higher quality which meet people’s individual preferences, both for purchase and for affordable rent. Mr Bacon’s legislation aims to secure greater choice for individuals and community groups wishing to undertake similar projects in the UK, and for the self build and built-to-commission sector to become a more mainstream part of the UK’s housing supply.
Commenting on today’s news, Mr Bacon said: “Although many people in the UK would like to build their own home or commission a builder to construct exactly what they want, building your own home is still seen a ‘difficult’ option which is the preserve of a small minority who are either extremely affluent or highly eccentric. This is what needs to change.”
“My Bill will help us reach the point where choosing to build your own home – or to have someone build a home for you that fully meets with your personal choices as a customer – is a completely normal and routine part of the housing market.”
