New plans supported by over £150m in government funding will make it easier and more affordable for people to build their own homes, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.
The ‘Help to Build’ scheme will ensure that self and custom home building can become 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 is 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 and could include more office space, or a particular design to support a family’s requirements, including for disabled or older people.
The government said that self and custom build could deliver 30,000 to 40,000 new homes a year, a significant contribution to the country’s housebuilding ambitions.
The scheme is part of the government’s wider Plan for Jobs, as the new plans will also benefit small building firms.
SME builders account for one in 10 new homes and the scheme will help scale up the number of self and custom build homes built every year.
Commenting, Mr Jenrick 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 £150m new funding from the government.
“The scheme we have launched 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.”
The Prime Minister has commissioned Richard Bacon MP to lead a review on how the government can scale up the delivery of self and custom build homes and will report its findings and recommendations in the summer.
It follows the news that major lenders have signed up to the government’s new 95% mortgage guarantee scheme to help more people get on to the housing ladder.
The recently published ‘Self and custom build action plan’ sets out government measures to support the sector.
It includes the next steps in the review of Right to Build legislation, to assess whether further reforms are needed and confirmation of further funding for the Right to Build Task Force, which will help local authorities, community groups and other organisations help deliver self and custom build housing projects across the UK.
