It’s time to let people self-build their own homes

Self-build is often misunderstood as a niche hobby for the wealthy. Yet, done right, it could deliver 100,000 homes a year – homes people genuinely want to live in, designed around their needs, built with their sweat and ambition. How? Because it unleashes a grassroots force we’ve barely tapped: individuals solving their own housing needs.

For decades, governments have treated large developers as the only way to solve the housing crisis. But volume house builders, by their own admission, won’t ramp up supply fast enough. They’re incentivised to release homes slowly, protecting prices, shareholder value and margins. 

Volume, in their business model, kills value. 

“For decades, governments have treated large developers as the only way to solve the housing crisis. But volume house builders, by their own admission, won’t ramp up supply fast enough

The government’s strategy risks repeating the same mistake: setting big targets that depend on big players who won’t deliver. Meanwhile, the small sites – those awkward corners, redundant plots and windfalls scattered across every community – are ignored or locked away by planning systems too rigid, too slow and too hostile.

What if, instead, we backed the small? If every local authority enabled just 300 new self-build plots – around 30-40 small sites – that’s nearly 100,000 new homes. Spread across 317 councils, this isn’t fantasy. It’s entirely plausible.

And there’s demand: 15,000 people a year are already registering their interest in self-building with their councils, despite the process being opaque and inaccessible. Imagine if we removed the barriers, opened up land, streamlined planning and offered real support.

Self-build isn’t just an answer to supply, it’s an answer to the skills shortage. With fewer traditional builders available, why not empower self-builders and small contractors to fill the gap? The construction industry needs fresh blood and nothing motivates like building your own home.

It’s not rocket science. We need two things: local planning that develops a new way to quickly allocate small parcels of land specifically for self-build on realistic, deliverable sites; and proportionate planning, which processes self-build plots with a light touch, rather than applying the same burdens as for a 300-home estate.

“Britain’s post-war housing boom was powered by self-builders, ordinary people who rebuilt their lives, one home at a time”

Landowners, councils, mortgage lenders and builders all have a role to play. But this isn’t about subsidies or state handouts, it’s about removing blockages and trusting people to build.

Britain’s post-war housing boom was powered by self-builders, ordinary people who rebuilt their lives, one home at a time. Across Europe, from Germany to the Netherlands, self-build and group custom-build are normal, accounting for a large share of new homes.

We can do the same. But it needs leadership willing to think small. If the government is serious about solving the housing crisis, it’s time to stop handing the keys to the big developers. It’s time to back the people.

Self-build isn’t a fringe movement; it could be the heart of a new, resilient, community-led housing strategy.

Let’s build Britain out of this crisis – one plot, one family, one home at a time.

Tom Howard, founder of Livedin