Register for a self-build or custom-build plot

If you're seeking to buy a serviced plot of land (i.e. a plot that has access to a public highway and connections for electricity, water and waste water) in Royal Greenwich to build your own home, please read the criteria below and if you qualify register your details with us.

What is self-build and custom housebuilding?

Self-build is where an individual builds their own home on a vacant plot of land. Custom housebuilding in where an individual contracts a builder to design and construct a ‘custom-built’ home for them.

Individuals can organize into self-build groups, which buy a larger plot of land and subdivide it to allow each individual to build their own home. These groups also provide valuable support and shared expertise.

A more detailed legal definition of self-build and custom housebuilding is set out in the Housing and Planning Act 2016: “the building or completion by individuals, associations of individuals, or persons working with or for individuals or associations of individuals, of houses to be occupied as homes by these individuals… [but] does not include the building of a house on a plot acquired from a person who builds the house wholly or mainly to plans or specifications offered by that person.”

What is the purpose of the register?

The Royal Borough’s Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Register is divided into two parts:

  • Part 1 keeps track of local demand for self-build and custom housebuilding which must be met via the grant of sufficient development permissions for serviced plots of land.
  • Part 2 keeps track of general demand for self-build and custom housebuilding, with no requirement to grant sufficient development permissions for serviced plots of land to meet this demand.

How do I apply?

The Royal Borough maintains its own register, which is the only official self-build and custom housebuilding register for the borough. Please note that the Royal Borough does not currently recognize registration on any other list as an expression of interest in self-build and custom housebuilding in the borough. Demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the borough will only be gauged using the Royal Borough’s own list.

You can apply to join the register by completing and returning the application form linked to at the bottom of this page.

Eligibility for Part 1 or Part 2 of the register is dependent on submission of appropriate information required by regulations and to address local eligibility conditions. Local eligibility conditions include:

  • A requirement to demonstrate a ‘local connection’, which applies to all applications for Part 1 of the register (an exception applies to persons in the service, or who have been in recent service of, the regular armed forces of the Crown); and
  • A requirement to demonstrate sufficient financial resources to purchase land, which applies to Parts 1 and 2 of the register.

Further information about local eligibility criteria can be found in the guidance note that can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. Please read through this note in full before submitting your application as failure to provide necessary information may result in your application being refused.

These criteria are in addition to the national statutory criteria, which must be met by all applicants for both Parts 1 and 2:

  • Applicants must be aged 18 or older;
  • Be a British Citizen, a national of an EEA member state, or a national of Switzerland; and
  • Be seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in the relevant authority’s area for their own self-build or custom housebuilding project.

Please note that if you are accepted on to the register, this will be conditional on the receipt of the required fee as set out in the guidance note which can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. You may be removed from the register if this fee is not paid by the stated deadline.

What happens after I register?

Once you are on the register, we may be in contact with you from time to time with updates about self-build and custom housebuilding. We will review the register annually, at which point we may ask you for evidence to ensure that you continue to meet the local eligibility criteria. We will also charge an annual fee to remain on Part 1 of the register to cover the costs of assessing your evidence.

As the initiative is in its infancy the council may update the application form and may ask for further information as required, for example further evidence about eligibility of households.

Please note that the register will not be made public, although the Royal Borough may report headline data – such as the overall demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the borough – in the Annual Monitoring Report.

Royal Greenwich is one of the most densely populated boroughs in the country and there are severe pressures on land available for development. With a limited supply of land and competing development needs, finding additional plots of land in the borough that can specifically be used for self-building is likely to be very challenging. Nevertheless, the data collected through the register will be used to help inform the overall need for housing in the borough.

Contact us

If you have any queries about self-build and custom housebuilding in Royal Greenwich, or if you have any issues accessing or submitting the application form, please contact Self-build@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.

If you are currently on the register and your details change – e.g. you change your address or your circumstances change and you wish to move from one part of the register to another – or you wish to be moved from the register entirely, please contact us as soon as possible.

Self-build and custom-build registration: further guidance notes

Register your self-build or custom-build project