New proposals to make it easier for people to build their own homes

The review, led by Richard Bacon MP, makes recommendations to the government on supporting growth in all parts of the custom and self-build market, helping to boost capacity and overall housing supply in the housing market.

The report, which was 'warmly received' by the government, claims that removing the barriers to self-built homes could add 30,000-40,000 extra properties every year to the national housing stock.

What does self-build and custom housebuilding mean?

Self-build and custom housebuilding are terms commonly used to describe a home built to the design and specifications of the person who will live there – the occupant.

Self-build and custom housebuilding are defined within the Self-Build & Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 (as amended by the Housing & Planning Act 2016).

The Bacon Review puts forward six key recommendations:

• A greater role for Homes England, with the creation of a new Custom and Self Build Housing Delivery Unit supporting the creation of serviced plots on small and large sites and delivery at scale.
   
• Raise awareness and show by 'doing', including a custom and self-build 'Show Park' and a more robust approach to legislation.
   
• Support community, diversity and levelling up - and crucially by reigniting the Community Housing Fund and creating more opportunities for communities to build.
   
• Promote greener homes and increased use of Modern Methods of Manufacturing (MMC) - custom and self-build is a leading innovator in these areas and could be used to signpost the future for the government's MMC and Net-Zero Housing ambitions.
   
• Align custom and self-build changes with planning reforms - particularly through maximising opportunities for permissioned land for custom and self-build across all tenures.
   
• Iron out tax issues to create a level playing field between this type of home and speculatively built homes.

Will the recommendations be implemented?

It remains to be seen the extent to which the government will implement the Bacon Review recommendations. Currently, in the UK, only around 13,000 houses are built this way annually.

Self-commissioned housing is much more common overseas, often accounting for a third of the total housing supply. In some cases, such as in Germany, it is the dominant method of delivering new housing (55%).

The full report is available on the government website.