Find out about building your own home

The Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register helps us track demand for self-build and custom-build homes in Guildford. We use the register to: 

• record how many people want to build their own homes 
• help plan for enough sites to meet demand 
• grant development permission for suitable plots of land
• keep in touch with people who are interested in self-build and custom housebuilding

You can join the register as: 

• an individual 
• an association (group) 

The register has two parts: 

• join Part 1 if you have connections to the local area 
• join Part 2 if you do not 

Joining the register does not guarantee you will be offered a plot of land or that planning permission will be granted.

Most plots are located on new large housing sites. They have:

• access to a public road 
• connections to:
  • electricity
  • water
  • wastewater

All plots are sold at market value. 

If you are on Part 1 of the Register you need to renew your membership annually, by 31 October.

For more information, email planningpolicy@guildford.gov.uk or call 01483 444471.

You can find out about our planning policy (Policy H1:Homes for all) in our Local Plan: Strategy and Sites. Planning permissions that have recently been approved are listed in our Authority Monitoring Report.

Headline data from the Register

The number of people Registering on Part 1 of the Register are shown in the table below

The preferences for location, plot size and number of bedrooms provided by individuals on Part 1 and Part 2 of the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register are shown in the tables below.  Please note that not everybody provides this information as it is voluntary, and some people provided more than one answer. 

Location preference:

Preferred size of plot:

Preferred number of bedrooms:

Why you should join the register

You can join Part 1 of the Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding Register to receive email updates. We will let you know when plots become available to buy, and a right of first refusal on most plots. Whilst the Council do not have a role in the sale of plots - as they are generally sold by private developers and their agents - these updates will indicate if any plots are available and who to contact should you be interested.

We plan to ensure we meet the numbers on the register. When residents join it helps us know the level of interest in self-build and custom housebuilding so we can plan for this.

You need to prove you are eligible to join either part 1 or 2 of the self-build and custom housebuilding register. 

General criteria 

You must be aged 18 or older and either a: 

• British citizen 
• national of a state in the European Economic Area 
• national of Switzerland 

Provide one of the following to prove your address and nationality: 

• passport 
• UK driving licence 
• UK, EEA state or Swiss birth certificate 
• identity card 

Financial Criteria 

You need to give evidence we agree proves can afford to buy land to build your home on. This could include: 

• details of savings or equity you could use to buy land at a realistic or average value 
• an in-principle bank loan agreement or offer of a self-build mortgage from a recognised and verifiable lender 
• written confirmation and evidence from a qualified financial advisor who's an active member of a relevant professional body

You do not need to give financial evidence when you apply. We can request it later to verify your claim. If you cannot provide the information within 21 days of our request, we may remove you from the register.

If you're applying as an association, each member must give evidence. 

I want to join part 1 of the register, what extra information do I need to provide? 

We introduced local eligibility criteria in November 2018. This is to help meet demand from people connected to Guildford. To join Part 1 of the register, you or your partner must have links to the local area.

You must prove that either: 

• you/they have lived in the borough for at least five years 
• you/they have had a permanent, full-time job (16 or more hours per week) in the borough for at least three years 
• you/they have been in the armed forces at some point in the last five years 

There are three ways to prove this:

Option 1

Provide any combination of documents from the following list (one current and one that's five years old):

• utility bill 
• council tax bill 
• mortgage statement from either: 
  • a recognised lender 
  • a council
  • a housing association rent card 
  • a tenancy agreement 
• electoral register entry 

Both documents need to include your name and address.

Option 2

Provide any combination of documents from the following list (one current and one that's three years old): 

• payslip
• P45 showing the address of your employment 

Option 3

Provide proof you were employed in the armed forces in the last five years.

If you don't have a connection to the local area, you can join Part 2 of the register. 

The application fee depends on which part of the register you are applying to join.

Every member of an association needs to complete an application form, but only one member needs to pay the full fee. It costs every other member £11 to join either part 1 or 2 of the register.

Apply to join the register as an individual

Apply to join the register as an association

You need to renew your membership annually, by 31 October.

If you're on part 1 of the register you need to renew your membership annually, by 31 October. Renewal costs £11 for those on part 1 of the register. There's no fee to renew your membership for those on part 2 of the register.

Renew your membership