Self build and custom build, where people work with a specialist developer to deliver a home, can be a cheaper and more cost effective way into home ownership, he told the popular Grand Designs Live show.
He pointed out that other countries are well ahead of the UK in the number of homes which are self and custom built when compared to housing built by regular developers.
In Austria about 80% of all homes are self built. In Germany, France and Italy the figure is about 60%, while in the US and Australia about 40% of homes are custom built. By contrast the figure for the UK is about 8 to 10%.
‘There is huge potential for many more people to take up the opportunity to build their own home as a cost effective way into home ownership. The reality is that custom building a house can be a cheaper way to provide a home for you and your family and I want to see many more people making use of it,’ said Boles.
‘We all know we need more homes and this could be a very good option for many more people wanting to get onto the property ladder,’ he explained.
‘The government is making it easier for people to build their own home and is keen that people tap into the great opportunity custom build provides to increase house building. The sector currently builds around 10,000 homes a year and there is potential for it to provide many more,’ he added.
He outlined support for the self build sector which includes consulting on a new ‘Right to Build’ giving custom builders a right to a plot from councils and identifying a small number of councils to act as vanguards to test how the Right to Build model would work in practice.
A £150 million repayable fund to help service up to10,000 plots for custom build is being created and the government is also looking to extend the Help to Buy equity loan scheme to cover custom build.
