How many councils are meeting their self-build duty?

Only around 30% of councils are currently meeting their legal duty to provide enough plots to match demand from their self-build registers. The majority have outstanding deficits, meaning they have not granted enough planning permissions for serviced plots to meet the demand registered 3 years prior.

What is the national self-build deficit?

The national deficit represents the total unmet demand across all English councils - the gap between the number of people who have registered interest in self-build and the number of suitable plot permissions that have been granted. This figure continues to grow each year as registrations outpace permissions.

Do councils charge fees to join the self-build register?

Some councils charge fees to join their self-build register, ranging from £30 to over £600. Research shows that councils with higher fees tend to have lower registration numbers. Not all councils charge fees - you can check individual council pages for their specific policies.

What is a local connection test for self-build?

A local connection test is an additional eligibility requirement some councils apply to Part 1 of their register. It typically requires applicants to demonstrate a connection to the local area (such as living or working there). Councils using these tests often have lower registration numbers but this practice is controversial as it may restrict the Right to Build.

How do I join my local self-build register?

Contact your local planning authority (usually your district, borough, or unitary council) to join their self-build register. Most councils have an online application form. You'll typically need to provide proof of eligibility for Part 1, and there may be a registration fee. Use our search tool to find your council's self-build page.

Self-Build Register Data for England

Only 25% of councils are meeting self-build demand

Since 2016, 99,713 people have registered their interest in building their own home. But councils have only permitted 63,296 plots — leaving a national deficit of 36,417 plots.

What is the Self-Build Register?

The Right to Build legislation (2016) requires every local authority in England to maintain a register of people who want to build their own home. Councils must then grant enough planning permissions for serviced plots to meet this demand within 3 years of each "base period" (31st October each year).

The register has two parts: Part 1 is for anyone interested in self-build, while Part 2 can have additional local eligibility requirements. Only Part 1 entries create a legal duty for councils to provide plots.

The National Picture

How is self-build demand being met across England?

Councils with data

348

of 348 total

People registered

99,713

Plots permitted

63,296

National deficit

36,417

unmet demand

Most councils are failing to meet demand

Only 86 councils (24.7%) have granted enough permissions to meet the demand from their base period 3 years ago. The remaining 262 councils have outstanding deficits.

A council "meets demand" when cumulative permissions granted equals or exceeds cumulative Part 1 registrations from the relevant base period.

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The deficit keeps growing

Each year, more people join the register than plots are permitted. The gap between demand and supply continues to widen.

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Year by year: registrations vs permissions

Looking at each year individually shows the annual mismatch between new registrations and new permissions granted.

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Are councils improving?

Tracking the proportion of councils meeting their legal duty over time shows whether the situation is getting better or worse.

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How big are the deficits?

Some councils have small deficits while others have hundreds of unmet registrations. This distribution shows how severe the problem is across councils.

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The policy landscape

Councils can implement policies that affect who can join the register and how much it costs. These policies have significant impacts on registration numbers.

Local connection tests

Some councils require applicants to demonstrate a "local connection" to the area. This can limit who is eligible to join Part 1 of the register.

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Registration fees

Some councils charge a fee to join the register, which can range from £30 to over £600. Higher fees tend to reduce registration numbers.

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Do fees reduce demand?

Comparing councils with and without fees shows whether charging for registration affects how many people sign up.

Each point is one council-year. Showing 2867 of 2894 data points (filtered to 0-300 range).

With fee (371)Without fee (2496)

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Which councils stand out?

Some councils have very high registration numbers, others have granted many permissions, and some have significant outstanding deficits.

Highest demand

By total people registered

1Cherwell

2,957

2Bristol, City of

1,833

3Buckinghamshire

1,700

4Richmond upon Thames

1,462

5South Gloucestershire

1,365

6Bath and North East Somerset

1,254

7Somerset

1,246

8Leeds

1,233

9Cornwall

1,228

10Dorset

1,142

11Wiltshire

1,142

12West Oxfordshire

1,064

13Lambeth

967

14Sheffield

894

15York

881

16Cambridge 2

874

17South Cambridgeshire 2

870

18South Oxfordshire

867

19South Norfolk

855

20Herefordshire, County of

850

Most permissions

By total plots permitted

7,675

4,491

1,256

1,100

970

752

749

738

9King's Lynn and West Norfolk

731

10Herefordshire, County of

655

11South Gloucestershire

654

12Newark and Sherwood

646

13South Norfolk

629

14South Cambridgeshire 2

627

15South Somerset

617

16Central Bedfordshire

594

17East Lindsey

586

18Bath and North East Somerset

555

19East Cambridgeshire

550

20Cheshire West and Chester

546

Biggest deficits

Outstanding demand from base period

1Bristol, City of

1,466

2Richmond upon Thames

1,310

1,240

953

941

842

744

672

660

10Enfield

651

11Waltham Forest

637

12Bath and North East Somerset

636

13Wiltshire

593

14South Gloucestershire

584

574

565

560

523

520

20York

519

Explore all councils

Click on any council to see their detailed register data, including yearly breakdowns and compliance calculations.

Deficit data source:

FOI verified dataSelf-reported register data

Local Authority↕	Base Period Deficit↕	Latest Deficit↕	People↕	Plots↕	Local Test	Fee
Adur	267	261	273	0	Yes	No
Allerdale	0	0	27	107	Yes	No
Amber Valley	0	0	199	365	No	No
Arun	173	162	292	102	No	No
Ashfield	0	0	95	206	No	No
Ashford	76	39	137	81	No	Yes
Aylesbury Vale	207	52	371	235	Yes	Yes
Babergh	103	60	391	288	Yes	No
Barking and Dagenham	181	176	189	4	No	No
Barnet	84	66	166	73	No	No
Barnsley	44	25	118	138	No	No
Barrow-in-Furness	3	0	22	23	No	No
Basildon	9	8	38	305	No	No
Basingstoke and Deane	37	0	381	441	Yes	Yes
Bassetlaw	69	57	116	44	No	No
Bath and North East Somerset	636	599	1,254	555	Yes	No
Bedford	11	0	348	322	Yes	No
Bexley	6	0	222	193	No	No
Birmingham	453	384	647	140	Yes	No
Blaby	83	72	108	12	No	No
Blackburn with Darwen	23	7	63	57	No	No
Blackpool	0	0	13	29	No	No
Bolsover	55	50	90	36	No	No
Bolton	157	132	279	97	No	No
Boston	0	0	18	51	No	No
Bournemouth	0	0	85	119	No	No
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole	93	23	507	394	No	No
Bracknell Forest	281	234	353	24	No	No
Bradford	3	0	329	432	No	No
Braintree	76	56	282	167	No	No
Breckland	228	166	589	416	No	No
Brent	0	0	305	970	No	No
Brentwood	258	237	278	1	No	No
Brighton and Hove	207	186	324	93	No	No
Bristol, City of	1,466	1,312	1,833	173	No	No
Broadland	0	0	80	377	Yes	Yes
Bromley	82	44	252	110	Yes	No
Bromsgrove	48	35	81	26	Yes	No
Broxbourne	185	181	233	40	Yes	No
Broxtowe	59	41	183	170	Yes	No
Buckinghamshire	1,240	1,161	1,700	340	Yes	Yes
Burnley	0	0	16	15	No	Yes
Bury	78	57	210	113	No	No
Calderdale	134	97	232	72	No	No
Cambridge 2	744	744	874	48	—	—
Camden	448	445	476	27	Yes	Yes
Cannock Chase	0	0	30	55	No	No
Canterbury	132	124	213	62	Yes	Yes
Carlisle	20	1	52	40	No	No
Castle Point	9	9	23	11	No	No
Central Bedfordshire	167	149	792	594	No	Yes
Charnwood	160	127	286	78	No	No
Chelmsford	144	95	363	215	Yes	No
Cheltenham	85	73	120	20	No	No
Cherwell	14	0	2,957	7,675	Yes	No
Cheshire East	0	0	273	379	Yes	Yes
Cheshire West and Chester	15	0	575	546	Yes	Yes
Chesterfield	0	0	41	55	No	No
Chichester	0	0	270	215	Yes	No
Chiltern	354	296	354	0	Yes	No
Chorley	0	0	30	214	No	No
Christchurch	0	0	36	0	No	No
City of London	17	17	18	0	No	No
Colchester	104	63	418	246	No	No
Copeland	0	0	20	196	No	No
Corby	0	0	22	23	Yes	No
Cornwall	0	0	1,228	4,491	Yes	Yes
Cotswold	83	41	270	140	Yes	Yes
County Durham	0	0	121	361	No	No
Coventry	112	89	268	102	No	No
Craven 3	3	0	131	203	No	No
Crawley	118	103	177	41	Yes	No
Croydon	672	643	825	138	No	No
Cumberland	0	0	98	406	Yes	No
Dacorum	0	0	238	242	No	No
Darlington	61	58	63	0	Yes	Yes
Dartford	14	6	54	87	Yes	No
Dartmoor National Park Authority	304	283	370	18	Yes	No
Daventry	0	0	32	132	Yes	Yes
Derby	0	0	56	345	No	No
Derbyshire Dales	69	67	70	0	Yes	Yes
Doncaster	50	40	56	2	No	No
Dorset	643	609	1,142	749	Yes	Yes
Dover	153	151	193	36	Yes	Yes
Dudley	422	301	446	24	No	No
Ealing	79	62	124	38	No	No
East Cambridgeshire	0	0	201	550	Yes	Yes
East Devon	142	114	243	459	Yes	No
East Dorset	0	0	54	0	No	No
East Hampshire	565	520	768	180	No	No
East Hertfordshire	62	58	89	9	Yes	No
East Lindsey	0	0	81	586	No	No
East Northamptonshire	0	0	156	161	No	No
East Riding of Yorkshire	0	0	92	222	Yes	No
East Staffordshire	7	0	128	118	No	No
East Suffolk	73	2	364	321	No	No
Eastbourne	92	87	118	14	Yes	No
Eastleigh	69	56	116	39	No	No
Eden	60	29	157	119	No	No
Elmbridge	260	210	659	352	No	No
Enfield	651	636	724	26	No	No
Epping Forest	50	46	79	21	Yes	No
Epsom and Ewell	14	8	37	28	No	Yes
Erewash	54	48	154	122	Yes	No
Exeter	81	61	184	71	No	No
Exmoor National Park	29	26	71	35	Yes	No
Fareham	158	111	333	146	No	No
Fenland	0	0	57	494	Yes	Yes
Folkestone and Hythe	242	219	334	67	Yes	No
Forest Heath	0	0	98	6	No	No
Forest of Dean	0	0	99	121	Yes	Yes
Fylde	0	0	63	136	Yes	Yes
Gateshead	42	24	157	120	No	No
Gedling	99	88	214	106	Yes	No
Gloucester	152	122	197	7	Yes	No
Gosport	33	28	56	21	No	No
Gravesham	204	203	207	0	Yes	Yes
Great Yarmouth	31	21	61	22	Yes	No
Greenwich	257	257	290	33	Yes	Yes
Guildford	254	250	297	30	Yes	Yes
Hackney	276	256	332	37	No	No
Halton	12	6	20	7	No	No
Hambleton 3	0	0	249	383	No	No
Hammersmith and Fulham	315	283	368	4	No	No
Harborough	201	172	297	46	No	Yes
Haringey	523	522	523	0	Yes	Yes
Harlow	175	151	195	1	No	No
Harrogate 3	393	384	679	264	Yes	Yes
Harrow	316	316	377	61	Yes	Yes
Hart	129	122	155	18	Yes	Yes
Hartlepool	250	248	263	3	No	No
Hastings	46	46	83	37	Yes	Yes
Havant	24	19	114	126	No	No
Havering	448	411	454	3	Yes	Yes
Herefordshire, County of	154	80	850	655	No	No
Hertsmere	0	0	97	213	No	No
High Peak	122	104	158	17	No	No
Hillingdon	223	219	298	63	Yes	Yes
Hinckley and Bosworth	90	75	120	13	No	No
Horsham	366	346	418	35	Yes	Yes
Hounslow	486	443	562	29	No	No
Huntingdonshire	46	0	387	527	Yes	No
Hyndburn	5	5	5	0	No	No
Ipswich	80	60	170	70	No	No
Isle of Wight	206	188	293	62	No	No
Isles of Scilly	65	59	80	12	Yes	No
Islington	23	21	33	14	Yes	Yes
Kensington and Chelsea	211	198	212	0	Yes	Yes
Kettering	0	0	79	41	No	No
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	18	0	379	731	No	No
Kingston upon Hull, City of	6	6	16	10	No	No
Kingston upon Thames	388	356	516	52	No	No
Kirklees	71	26	593	464	No	No
Knowsley	126	103	135	3	No	No
Lake District National Park	18	10	84	71	Yes	No
Lambeth	941	938	967	26	Yes	Yes
Lancaster	0	0	49	155	No	No
Leeds	953	774	1,233	114	Yes	No
Leicester	228	185	334	141	No	No
Lewes	282	258	414	100	Yes	No
Lewisham	332	289	426	26	No	No
Lichfield	0	0	110	188	No	Yes
Lincoln	123	113	148	11	No	No
Liverpool	203	164	304	62	No	No
Luton	66	55	80	40	Yes	No
Maidstone	515	448	673	146	No	No
Maldon	0	0	38	45	Yes	No
Malvern Hills	105	85	239	90	Yes	No
Manchester	405	333	721	203	No	No
Mansfield	76	61	80	1	No	No
Medway	99	87	142	25	No	No
Melton	55	37	172	81	No	No
Mendip	332	211	366	1	No	No
Merton	0	0	43	117	Yes	No
Mid Devon	93	44	188	30	No	No
Mid Suffolk	68	11	394	374	Yes	No
Mid Sussex	488	475	542	31	Yes	Yes
Middlesbrough	3	2	12	36	Yes	Yes
Milton Keynes	516	442	782	192	No	No
Mole Valley	86	70	177	76	Yes	Yes
New Forest	233	187	534	246	Yes	No
New Forest National Park	358	312	455	34	No	No
Newark and Sherwood	0	0	211	646	No	No
Newcastle upon Tyne	210	166	285	64	Yes	No
Newcastle-under-Lyme	100	88	114	7	Yes	No
Newham	6	0	148	130	No	No
North Devon	0	0	171	738	No	No
North East Derbyshire	31	17	145	137	No	No
North East Lincolnshire	0	0	56	176	No	No
North Hertfordshire	238	210	478	182	No	No
North Kesteven	0	0	149	190	No	No
North Lincolnshire	23	19	52	11	No	No
North Norfolk	156	143	162	2	Yes	Yes
North Northamptonshire	6	0	516	407	No	No
North Somerset	127	26	643	422	No	No
North Tyneside	120	99	192	39	No	No
North Warwickshire	8	4	44	31	No	No
North West Leicestershire	87	67	208	50	No	No
North York Moors National Park	17	2	94	70	Yes	No
North Yorkshire 3	0	0	78	54	Yes	Yes
Northampton	0	19	43	5	No	No
Northumberland	156	80	668	429	No	No
Northumberland National Park	0	0	11	23	Yes	No
Norwich	92	88	168	77	Yes	Yes
Nottingham	75	59	163	95	Yes	No
Nuneaton and Bedworth	0	0	43	35	No	No
Oadby and Wigston	29	27	33	0	No	No
Oldham	332	254	562	180	No	No
Oxford	100	82	150	41	Yes	No
Peak District National Park	45	37	47	0	Yes	No
Pendle	170	148	287	98	Yes	Yes
Peterborough	2	0	38	42	Yes	Yes
Plymouth	155	106	439	256	No	No
Poole	0	0	112	27	No	No
Portsmouth	30	28	50	17	Yes	No
Preston	0	0	38	101	Yes	Yes
Purbeck	0	0	152	10	Yes	Yes
Reading	183	168	233	40	Yes	No
Redbridge	12	0	289	154	No	No
Redcar and Cleveland	4	4	14	12	No	No
Redditch	32	29	39	3	Yes	No
Reigate and Banstead	0	0	72	188	Yes	No
Ribble Valley	63	48	78	9	Yes	Yes
Richmond upon Thames	1,310	1,230	1,462	80	No	No
Richmondshire 3	68	61	95	24	No	No
Rochdale	35	31	44	0	No	No
Rochford	133	122	146	4	No	No
Rossendale	9	5	49	36	No	No
Rother	168	136	382	148	No	No
Rotherham	65	65	113	48	—	—
rth Dorset	0	0	144	111	No	No
Rugby	70	41	194	105	No	No
Runnymede	150	146	157	16	Yes	No
Rushcliffe	167	138	415	188	Yes	No
Rushmoor	245	225	279	19	No	No
Rutland	0	0	65	105	Yes	Yes
Ryedale 3	11	0	112	152	No	No
Salford	0	0	56	80	No	No
Sandwell	0	0	15	41	No	No
Scarborough 3	10	4	58	68	Yes	Yes
Sedgemoor	73	0	511	414	Yes	No
Sefton	160	129	249	72	Yes	No
Selby 3	105	87	114	0	No	No
Sevenoaks	0	0	346	284	No	No
Sheffield	574	465	894	242	No	No
Shropshire	0	0	643	1,100	No	No
Slough	255	227	285	0	No	No
Solihull	560	474	706	131	Yes	Yes
Somerset	147	0	1,246	1,256	Yes	No
Somerset West and Taunton	0	0	121	246	No	No
South Bucks	311	235	311	0	Yes	No
South Cambridgeshire 2	436	306	870	627	No	Yes
South Derbyshire	0	0	117	242	No	No
South Downs National Park	79	46	340	220	Yes	No
South Gloucestershire	584	473	1,365	654	Yes	No
South Hams	43	0	607	466	No	No
South Holland	21	15	84	234	Yes	No
South Kesteven	179	164	226	21	No	No
South Lakeland	1	0	118	119	No	No
South Norfolk	129	61	855	629	No	No
South Northamptonshire	0	0	230	135	Yes	No
South Oxfordshire	339	254	867	425	No	No
South Ribble	0	0	62	124	No	No
South Somerset	35	0	247	617	No	No
South Staffordshire	0	0	41	44	Yes	Yes
South Tyneside	108	101	109	0	No	No
Southampton	61	48	134	97	No	No
Southend-on-Sea	105	97	137	9	No	No
Southwark	252	236	285	21	No	No
Spelthorne	74	64	96	10	Yes	No
St Albans	504	417	821	233	Yes	Yes
St Edmundsbury	0	0	122	10	No	No
St. Helens	7	4	15	7	No	No
Stafford	0	0	86	96	No	No
Staffordshire Moorlands	59	48	120	52	No	No
Stevenage	40	40	44	4	Yes	Yes
Stockport	0	0	146	145	No	No
Stockton-on-Tees	17	0	80	108	No	No
Stoke-on-Trent	169	155	236	54	No	No
Stratford-on-Avon	0	0	362	336	No	Yes
Stroud	122	112	213	218	Yes	Yes
Suffolk Coastal	0	0	289	155	No	No
Sunderland	64	53	128	32	No	No
Surrey Heath	520	516	592	62	Yes	Yes
Sutton	54	37	110	46	No	No
Swale	110	95	131	7	No	No
Swindon	6	0	135	141	No	Yes
Tameside	25	17	25	0	No	No
Tamworth	50	36	80	18	No	No
Tandridge	72	61	157	82	Yes	Yes
Taunton Deane	0	0	55	79	No	No
Teignbridge	0	0	762	752	No	No
Telford and Wrekin	47	24	216	151	No	No
Tendring	0	0	173	208	No	No
Test Valley	192	162	280	46	No	No
Tewkesbury	101	70	264	125	Yes	No
Thanet	11	0	57	71	No	No
The Broads Authority	331	295	404	31	No	No
Three Rivers	0	0	83	129	Yes	Yes
Thurrock	121	116	181	44	No	No
Tonbridge and Malling	96	78	203	111	Yes	Yes
Torbay	0	0	67	176	No	No
Torridge	0	0	99	250	No	No
Tower Hamlets	303	229	542	180	No	No
Trafford	144	111	352	174	No	No
Tunbridge Wells	355	329	394	0	Yes	No
Uttlesford	17	0	261	375	Yes	No
Vale of White Horse	417	340	671	167	No	No
Wakefield	0	0	209	233	No	No
Walsall	92	72	117	0	No	No
Waltham Forest	637	582	657	9	Yes	No
Wandsworth	660	654	737	69	Yes	No
Warrington	146	132	216	48	Yes	No
Warwick	81	69	465	366	Yes	Yes
Watford	76	68	89	1	No	No
Waveney	0	0	138	68	No	No
Waverley	12	0	227	237	Yes	Yes
Wealden	0	0	297	296	No	No
Wellingborough	0	0	83	86	No	No
Welwyn Hatfield	412	400	435	11	Yes	Yes
West Berkshire	350	280	622	210	No	No
West Devon	41	0	245	199	No	No
West Dorset	0	0	224	272	No	No
West Lancashire	0	0	59	104	Yes	Yes
West Lindsey	0	0	85	136	No	Yes
West Morland and Furness	6	0	305	284	No	No
West Northamptonshire	0	0	470	475	Yes	Yes
West Oxfordshire	842	716	1,064	161	Yes	Yes
West Somerset	0	0	10	34	No	No
West Suffolk	152	113	211	13	No	No
Westminster	127	127	164	37	Yes	Yes
Weymouth and Portland	0	0	118	80	No	No
Wigan	1	0	83	68	No	No
Wiltshire	593	255	1,142	503	No	No
Winchester	195	147	471	230	Yes	Yes
Windsor and Maidenhead	214	171	426	91	No	No
Wirral	37	0	387	457	No	No
Woking	271	222	357	45	No	Yes
Wokingham	332	268	645	268	Yes	No
Wolverhampton	70	51	110	68	No	No
Worcester	127	113	154	15	Yes	No
Worthing	205	198	221	7	Yes	No
Wychavon	139	80	348	134	Yes	No
Wycombe	492	289	544	52	No	No
Wyre	0	0	23	121	Yes	Yes
Wyre Forest	0	0	115	94	Yes	Yes
York	519	420	881	181	No	No
Yorkshire Dales National Park	0	0	37	181	No	No