About Self Build Housing

Are you interested in building your own home?

To register your interest in building your own home in West Berkshire, please complete the online form.

You can register as an Individual or an Association.

We'll inform you whether your application has been successful within 28 days from the day we receive it. If you're unsuccessful you will be told the reason(s) for this. Registration does not guarantee that a suitable plot will be identified or become available.

We won't pass identifiable information from the register onto anyone without your consent.

What is self build?

Self and custom build are defined as:

Self Build: projects where individuals or groups directly organise the design and construction of their new home(s)
Custom Build: projects where individuals or groups work with a specialist developer to help deliver their new home(s)

You can find more information on the Self Build Portal.

What is the Self Build Register?

The Self Build Register is a list of people interested in building their own home or homes. It includes the type, number and location of homes they'd like to construct, along with some other helpful information.

It's a way for us to identify people wanting a 'serviced plot' of land on which to build or commission their own home in the area. A serviced plot must have connections for electricity, water and waste water, and access to a public highway.

It helps us to establish the demand for self and custom build and allows us to develop housing and planning policies to address this.

Am I eligible to go on the Self Build Register?

Each individual applicant and every member of an association that applies for entry on the register must be:

Aged 18 or older
A British Citizen, a national of an European Economic Area (EEA) State other than the United Kingdom, or a national of Switzerland
Seeking (either alone or with others) to acquire a serviced plot of land in the authority's area to build a house to occupy as that individual's sole or main residence

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) exemptions

There are certain exemptions from CIL for self build and custom build projects.