London Gets Its First Self-Build Register
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London’s City Hall has launched a city-wide self-build register, giving would-be self-builders in the capital their first opportunity to register their interest in acquiring a self-build plot.
There was a sense of ‘early days’ running through the announcement, however, rather than any imminent release of suitable development sites. City Hall says its ‘Build Your Own London Home Register’ will allow it to gauge interest in self build and provide a model for how local registers could be run and data shared with London boroughs.
Once the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 becomes law later this year, local councils will have a duty to set up their own registers of interest in self-build and to make provision for self- and custom-build in local land planning.
This should theoretically see London boroughs allocating plots of land for small-scale housebuilding in the future despite the capital’s super-heated land values.
Accordingly, City Hall’s announcement ended with a health warning that Londoners who register should be aware that they are not guaranteed land, ‘the price of any land will vary by location,’ and there is no requirement for land to be offered at below market value.
