Government has announced funding to ensure self and custom building becomes a more realistic option

The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has outlined new government plans and funding to make it easier for people to build their own homes.

£150 million is being made available for the new ‘Help to Build’ scheme. The plans aim to ensure that self and custom home building can be a realistic option to get onto the housing ladder through lower deposit mortgages.

Lowering the required deposit will free up capital, so people can build the home that they want and need whether it’s a commissioned, made to order home, or a new design from scratch. The scheme will provide an equity loan on the completed home, similar to the Help to Buy scheme.

Made to order homes allow people to customise the home they want based on existing designs. This could include adapting a particular design to support a family’s requirements including for disabled or older people.

Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said: “Building your own home shouldn’t be the preserve of a small number of people, but a mainstream, realistic and affordable option for people across the country. That’s why we are making it easier and more affordable – backed by over £150 million new funding from the government.

“The scheme we have launched today will help the thousands of people who’d like to build their own home but who’ve not yet considered it or previously ruled it out.

“Our plans will help get more people on to the housing ladder, ensure homes suit people’s needs like home working or caring for relatives, whilst providing an important boost to small builders and businesses too.”

Helping SME Builders

Self and custom build could deliver 30-40,000 new homes a year, making it a potentially significant contributor to the government’s housebuilding ambitions.

The scheme is also part of the government’s wider Plan for Jobs as the new plans will also benefit small building firms. SME builders account for 1 in 10 new homes. 

The Prime Minister has commissioned Richard Bacon MP to lead a review on how we can scale up the delivery of self and custom build homes. The review will report its findings and recommendations in the summer.

The announcement follows the news that major lenders have signed up to the government’s new 95% mortgage guarantee scheme to help more people on to the housing ladder. Lloyds, Santander, Barclays, HSBC and Natwest have launched mortgages under the scheme with Virgin Money following next month.

Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, CEO of the National Custom and Self Build Association, said: “The Help to Build scheme is an important step towards greater customer choice for those with ambition, sound plans and smaller deposits.

“Custom and self build is about the homeowner having control over the design and specification of their project – enabling them to create the home they want, rather than the one someone else believes they would like.

“This scheme is all about delivering more and better homes, that more people aspire to live in and that communities are happier to see built.”

The government has also announced £2.1 million in funding to help communities have a greater say in how their local area is developed. It’s hoped the fund will boost neighbourhood planning by giving additional support to local authorities in under-represented areas.

Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area.