Self-build plots secured through a planning obligation
The clause that matters is not the one requiring plots. It is the one that says what happens when nobody buys them, and most disputes on small allocations start there.
Where a local plan policy requires self-build or custom build plots on a larger site, the requirement is secured in a section 106 agreement rather than by condition, because it involves obligations to service land, to market it and to report on what happened. Getting self build plots section 106 drafting right is mostly a matter of defining four things: what a plot is, when it is available, how it is marketed, and what happens if nobody buys.
Small allocations are where this goes wrong. On a scheme of 60 homes with three plots, the obligations get drafted quickly, and then two years later the developer cannot evidence anything and the authority will not release the reversion.
Where the requirement comes from
The Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015 requires relevant authorities to keep a register of individuals and groups seeking serviced plots, and to give suitable development permission for enough serviced plots to meet the demand the register shows in each base period.
That duty sits behind most local plan policies on the subject. It also explains why authorities care about plots being actually available rather than nominally allocated: plots that never come to market do not help the authority discharge its duty.
For an applicant, the practical consequence is that the authority is measuring outcomes. An agreement that produces three plots nobody could buy counts for nothing, and officers know it.
That also sets the tone of the negotiation. Officers are generally willing to be flexible about plot location, phasing and even numbers, and much less willing to be flexible about whether the plots are real. Offer them the second and you will usually get the first.
Defining a serviced plot in the agreement
Ambiguity here produces the bulk of later disputes. Define the plot by reference to a drawing, with an area, and define servicing by listing what is brought to it.
- Vehicular and pedestrian access from a constructed road, stating whether the road is complete or to a base course.
- Water supply connection, to the plot boundary or to an agreed point.
- Foul drainage connection, with the method stated where it is a pumped or private arrangement.
- Surface water arrangement, including any attenuation the plot must connect into.
- Electricity supply of a stated capacity, with the meter position.
- Telecoms or broadband ducting, if it is to be included.
- Ground conditions, levels and any remediation completed before handover.
Say who bears the cost of each, and say what condition the plot is handed over in. A plot sold with an unformed access and a promise is not a serviced plot, whatever the agreement calls it.
Marketing period before plots revert
The mechanism has three moving parts: when marketing starts, how it is carried out, and what evidence ends it.
Start the clock on a defined event, usually the date the plots are serviced and available for sale, notified in writing to the authority. Starting it on permission or on the start of development is a drafting error, because plots cannot be marketed before they exist.
Specify the method. Listing on the authority's own register or plot portal, an agent instruction, online listing, a site board, and price evidence showing the plots were offered at a reasonable market price. Authorities increasingly ask for the price evidence, and it is the part developers most often cannot produce.
Then define what closes the period. A written notice to the authority with the marketing evidence attached, after which reversion takes effect, is the clean version. Reversion subject to written approval gives the authority a discretion it does not need.
Servicing standards and who provides them
Put a standard against each connection rather than leaving it to good faith. An electricity supply of a stated capacity in kilovolt-amperes. A road built to a specification that allows a purchaser's contractor to reach the plot with a concrete lorry. A foul connection at a level that allows a gravity run from a normal ground floor.
Where the plots sit within a larger phased development, say what temporary arrangements apply while the rest of the site is under construction. A self-builder who cannot get a delivery past the developer's compound has a serviced plot in name only.
It is also worth stating what the developer is not responsible for. Purchasers will ask for warranties, structural guarantees and building control liaison, and the agreement should be clear that those sit with them.
Utility capacity is the item to check before signing anything. A distribution network operator quotation for a stated capacity, obtained early, tells you whether the servicing obligation you are about to accept costs four figures or six.
Design codes controlling what is built
A design code protects everyone. The developer gets certainty that the plots will not produce something that damages sales on the rest of the site. The authority gets confidence that the plots will be built to a standard. The purchaser gets a route to permission that does not involve a fight.
Keep it proportionate. Plot passports setting building lines, ridge heights, materials palettes, boundary treatments and parking provision do the job. Codes that specify window proportions and door furniture do not, and they deter the buyers the policy exists to serve.
Where the plots have outline permission with reserved matters, say whether the purchaser applies for reserved matters or for a fresh full application. That question comes up on every plot sale and it is better answered in the Planning Statement at the outset.
Monitoring and reporting obligations
Authorities monitor these agreements, and the reporting obligation is usually light: a notice when the plots are serviced, a marketing report, and a notice on each sale or on reversion.
Read the trigger dates. An obligation to notify within 14 days of an event is easy to miss on a busy site, and a missed notice can be argued to affect the reversion. Ask for periods of 28 days or longer, and ask for notices to be valid on email to a named officer.
Monitoring fees attach to these agreements like any other, and the indexation drafting deserves the same attention as it does for deferred contributions and indexation.
One habit worth building into the site programme: diarise every notice date in the agreement on the day the section 106 is completed, and give the diary to whoever runs the site rather than leaving it with the solicitor who negotiated it.
Practical drafting for a small allocation
On a scheme with a handful of plots, keep the machinery light and the definitions tight.
- Identify the plots on a plan annexed to the agreement, with areas.
- Define serviced by reference to a schedule of connections and standards.
- Start the marketing period on a notified availability date.
- Fix the marketing method and the evidence required, including price evidence.
- Provide for automatic reversion on submission of that evidence.
- Keep notice periods realistic and allow service by email.
Where the requirement is resisted on viability grounds, the appraisal has to show the cost of servicing and the sales period honestly, and the guidance on transparency applies as it does to any other obligation; see viability at appeal. PlanScope can produce an AI-assisted draft Viability Assessment structured to the standard headings, with inputs marked as to be confirmed. Councils expect a suitably qualified author for that work, and professional review before submission is strongly advised.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports your site needs.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the requirement for self-build plots come from?
Usually from an adopted local plan policy, which is itself justified by the authority's register of people seeking serviced plots and by its duty under the Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Act 2015. National guidance encourages authorities to support this form of housing. Where a plan has no such policy, a requirement sought at application stage is much harder for the authority to defend.
What counts as a serviced plot?
Guidance describes a serviced plot as one that has access to a public highway and connections for electricity, water and wastewater, or one that can be provided with them within a defined period. The detail is for the agreement to settle, including whether connections reach the plot boundary or a point within it, and whether telecoms ducting is included.
How long should the marketing period be?
Twelve months from the plots being serviced and available is the common starting point, with some authorities accepting six and others asking for longer. What matters more than the length is the definition of when the clock starts and what evidence closes the period, because a developer who cannot evidence the marketing will be held to the obligation regardless.
What happens if no plots sell?
The agreement should say. The usual mechanism is reversion, allowing the plots to be built out as market housing once the marketing period ends and the evidence has been provided. Some authorities require the reversion to be approved in writing rather than happening automatically. Automatic reversion on evidence is better for a developer, and worth negotiating for.
Do self-build plots affect the levy position?
They can. The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 provide an exemption for self-build housing, claimed by the person building the home before works start, with evidence supplied after completion. That is the plot purchaser's responsibility rather than the developer's, but a purchaser who misses the deadline will come back to whoever sold them the plot.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.