Although the process of building your own home might not appeal to some, I think it’s fair to say that most of us would love to be able to do it if we had the time and the finance available.
Just think about it. No more dealing with a layout in your own home that just simply doesn’t work for modern day living.
Then we have the prospect of being able to save yourself a shed load of money on heating and other bills because you can make use of the latest energy saving and renewable energy innovations.
Also, let’s not forget the potential to make a tidy profit on your self-build project if you are able to keep a lid on your costs. Yes, building your own home has the potential to solve a lot of your day to day problems and it could also provide a boost to your personal finances.
Up until recently, however, many people have been put off the idea of trying to self-build because planning regulations weren’t always that favourable to the concept, making an already difficult project feel unachievable to some.
With new legislation dubbed as the ‘Right to Build Act’ by the media having recently come into force, though, the dream of being able to self-build might now be within reach for those who had previously given up out of pure frustration.
Do You Know about the ‘Right to Build’ Act?
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Although the new ‘Right to Build’ act could open up the way to self-build for many, it appears that the legislation is suffering somewhat from a lack of exposure and understanding.
Recent research from Ipswich Building Society and the National Custom and Self Build Association, for example, revealed that although the act came into force on the 1st of April 2016, more than three quarters (77%) of people in the UK still don’t know that councils are now being required to keep a record of those looking to buy land locally with the intention of carrying out self or custom build projects.
An upcoming bill known as the ‘Housing and Planning Bill’ will also require local authorities to ensure that they have plots available to match any local demand.
Self-Build Month
Clearly, then, significant action is needed in order to raise public awareness regarding these new local authority registers required by the ‘Right to Build’ act, so that all potential self-builders out there are informed that the process of finding suitable land to build on has now been simplified substantially.
The entire month of May is also self-build month in the UK, which kicked off with the Grand Designs Live event which took place at London’s ExCeL arena from the 30th April – 10th May 2016.
This event showcased the latest self-build products and aimed to help those who would like to self-build to get inspiration needed for their own home build projects.
So, if you are interested in self-building then perhaps the month of May 2016 (self-build month) could be the right month for you to revisit your self-build dream to see if it could now become a reality.
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