The government last week issued the latest Right to Build registers monitoring data covering the year to October 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-build-and-custom-housebuilding-data
The results are disappointing. Although the number of people registered rose again to a record level, the number is plateauing as the number of new registrants is balanced by those coming off the Registers.
This is perhaps not surprising with the increasing use by local authorities of obstacles to registration:
- The number who have imposed a charge for registration has risen to cover 23% of councils – that is double the figure from 2018;
- Similarly the number who impose a financial viability test continues to rise – up from 8% to 13%.
There has been pleasing continued growth in the number of local authorities adopting “percentage policies” (where they mandate a percentage of plots on large sites for custom and self build). By October 2024 39% had adopted such policies – up from 34% in the previous year and from just 26% back in 2018.
However, on other measures of support for custom and self build there is evidence of retreat or at best lack of progress. For example, when councils were asked “Are you communicating self-build and custom housebuilding opportunities to the people on your register?”, only 123 answered positively – barely moved from the 116 saying yes in 2018.
NaCSBA does not understand this blinkered approach by many local authorities. There is clear evidence that custom and self build development produces substantially greater local economic benefits that large scale development by the major housebuilders. And we know that custom and self build homes are built to significantly higher and more sustainable standards.
We implore more local authorities to embrace custom and self build to help the country build more and better houses.
Peter Johns
CEO, NaCSBA
September 2025
