Guidance Notes

Self and custom build housing is housing built by individuals or groups for their own use, either by building the home on their own or by working with builders. The Government is promoting this type of homebuilding, and is seeking local authorities’ assistance in doing this by placing a duty on local authorities to maintain a register of interest through the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015.
Section A1 and A2 of the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 defines self-build and custom housebuilding as:

“the building or completion by 
(a) individuals
(b) associations of individuals. or
(c) persons working with or for individuals or associations of individuals,
of houses to be occupied as homes by those individuals.

But it 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 decided or offered by that person.”

What is the Purpose of the Register?

The Register enables the Council to capture information on the level and type of interest in self build and custom build and to use this evidence to inform its housing and planning policies.

If you register with the Council, you will be notified of custom or self build opportunities as they become available.
The questions are designed to give the Council a clear picture of your wishes and the type and location of site that would meet your requirements.
The Register will be formed of two parts. Part 1 will include applicants who satisfy all of the requirements including the local eligibility conditions. Part 2 will include anyone who satisfies all requirements other than the local eligibility conditions.

What is the difference between Part 1 and Part 2 of the Register?

Section 2A of the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 imposes a duty on local authorities to:
‘give suitable development permission in respect of enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom housebuilding in the authority’s area arising in each base period’.  ‘Base period’ refers to the year starting with the date that Section 2A of the Act comes into force and each anniversary thereafter.

This duty applies only to entries on the Part 1 register.

How to Register

The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations 2016 require that certain details are provided in order that you can be considered.  The form clearly indicates what this is – you will need to provide these details otherwise your application will be rejected.  In addition the Council has included further questions on the form to help provide a better service to applicants by better understanding their needs –it would be helpful if you could respond to these questions also.

The Regulations allow the Council 28 days from submission of your application to determine if you are suitable for inclusion.  The Council then has 28 days within which to notify you of its decision.  If your request is declined, the Council will have to give reasons for this.

You will need to advise the Council whether you are applying as an individual or as an association.

Who can Register

In order to register you must be;
-18 years or older
-A British citizen, a national of a EEA State other than the UK, or a national of Switzerland: and
-Seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in Daventry District to build a house to occupy as your sole or main residence.
In order to register for the Part 1 Register and for your interest to be subject to the duty on local authorities to give suitable development permission in respect of enough serviced plots of land to meet the demand for self-build and custom build housebuilding in the District you must also:

-Demonstrate you meet the  local connection test (criteria set out at A) below)
-Certify you have sufficient resources to purchase land (criteria set out at B) below)
 
Individuals who wish to register as an association must appoint a member or officer to act as the lead contact for the purposes of correspondence between the association and the Council.

An association is eligible for entry in the Register if each member of the association meets all of the eligibility requirements for an individual set out above.
Will information on the Register be made Public?

Information about individuals and their needs will not be published, but anonymised information about the level and type of need will be made available in the public domain.  It is intended that this will be done through the Authorities Annual Monitoring Report.

Can I amend my details on the Register?

Amendments can be made to the Register.  The Council will consider the proposed changes to ensure that the entry on the Register would still be compliant with the requirements.  If not the entry will be removed from the Register.

Who will the Council Correspond with?

In the case of individuals all correspondence will be with the person named on the form. In the case of associations all correspondence will be with the lead contact identified on the application form.

Can Entries be removed from the Register?

Individuals and the lead contact for associations can, in writing, ask for their entry to be removed from the Register.  The Council has to do so within 28 days.

The Council can remove any entry from their Register if it considers that the individual or in the case of an association any member, is no longer eligible.

Will I be charged to enter the register and to remain on it?

The fee to apply to enter the register is currently £17.50 per application for Part 1 and £7.75 per application for Part 2. 
If you wish to remain on the Part 1 register for more than a year there will be a further fee of £17.00.
There is no fee to remain on Part 2. 

For associations the fee will be applied to each entry on the application.

Once your application has been checked you will be notified whether or not you meet all of the necessary criteria. If you do you will be notified about how to pay the application fee, and on receipt of the fee you will be added to the register.

More Information

More information on this can be found as follows;

· Self-Build and Custom House building Act 2015

· Housing and Planning Act

· The Self build and Custom Housebuilding Regulation 2016

· The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding (Time for Compliance and Fees) Regulations 2016

· Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Planning Practise Guidance April 2016

· www.selfbuildportal.org.uk

 If you require any assistance completing these forms, please contact the Council on 01327 871100 and ask to be put through to a member of the Local Strategy Service.
A)  Local Connection Test

Applicants meeting one of the following criteria will be defined as having a Local Connection to Daventry District, provided that the connection has been made through the applicant’s own choice (this means that if an applicant has been placed in Daventry District and it is not through a choice they have made e.g. being detained in prison or hospitalised, this will not be considered a Local Connection):

·  Applicants who have lived in the District continuously for the 12 months preceding their application.

·  Applicants who have lived in the District for at least 3 out of the 5 years preceding their application.

·  Applicants who have lived in the District for at least 5 out of the 10 years preceding their application.

·  Applicants who have a close relative (see definition below) living within the District for no less than 2 continuous years preceding application.

·  Applicants who have a permanent contract of employment within the District.

·  Applicants who have a temporary contract of employment within the District for no less than 12 months.

·  Care Leavers who were resident in Daventry District prior to being placed in care and have been placed outside of Daventry District and wish to return to the District on leaving care.

For these purposes, close relatives of the applicants will be defined as the following including the ‘step’ equivalent:

·  Mother/Father

·  Sister/Brother

·  Daughter/Son

·  Grandparent

·  Grandchild

·  Wife/Husband

·  Civil Partner

From time to time and in very exceptional cases where it reflects the reality of a particular relationship the Council may accept a person in another relationship than those listed above as a ‘close relative’.

Anyone who is in the service of the regular armed forces of the Crown is deemed to satisfy the connection test, and anyone who has previously served in the armed forces will be deemed to satisfy the connection test for a period of ten years after leaving service.

B) Sufficient Resources Test

Applicants will need to certify that they  have sufficient resources to purchase land by:

·  identifying in approximate terms the amount of land that would be needed to accommodate the size of property they are looking for in the area they are interested in

·  indicating the approximate cost of such a site and evidencing this by way of examples of recent comparable sales or confirmation letter from a registered valuer outlining how they intend to fund the project

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