Established as part of the Self and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015, councils are required to maintain a register of people who wish to create their own home and ensure enough plots come forward to meet demand. These are known as Right to Build Registers. However, research has found that 21% of people are unaware they even exist.
Many councils are also now applying tests and fees in order to be able to join their Right to Build Register, making them inaccessible to many and contributing to a 23% decrease in the number of planning permissions granted for custom and self build plots from the previous year, according to data from the Department of Levelling-Up, Communities and Housing.