How to Buy Land with Planning Permission
If you’re thinking about building your dream home, having a plot with planning permission already in place gives you a great head start. Recent figures show that there were over 4,300 permissions granted across England in just 12 months, showing the sheer scale of opportunity there is for buyers.
However, even with this permission in your possession, there are some hurdles you’ll still have to clear. When learning how to buy land with planning permission, you’ve got to think about all kinds of things, like the law and your new neighbours.
Having expert support to turn to matters. This article covers the ins and outs of buying land with planning permission.
How to Buy Land with Planning Permission
One of the great things about having permission in place already is that you’re so much closer to your dream home than without it.
It can involve a long, drawn-out process, so not having to go through the application is a real bonus. All that said, permission being there is a starting point, not a finish line, meaning there are lots of other things you need to think about.
The following considerations are crucial:
Ground conditions
Planning permission says nothing about what's under the ground; while a home survey tells you what’s going on under the roof, a land survey does the same for the ground it’s being built on.
Utilities and services
You’ll need to find out whether water, electricity, gas, and broadband are already connected, and cost them out, if they're not.
Access to the plot
There must be access to the land via roads or lanes, because if construction equipment can't drive in easily, your timeline will lengthen before work even starts.
Local development plans
You could find roads, rezoning, or even other new builds nearby, changing the character of the area and affecting your privacy, views, and what the finished home will be worth.
Financial planning
It’s not wise to only have ‘just enough’ budget for your new home project because there are pretty much always unexpected costs at some point when buying land with planning permission. A general rule of thumb is to leave at least 10% in the budget for unexpected costs.
With a good conveyancer in your corner, you’ll be guided through every stage of the purchase, from checking contracts to completing the sale. It’s the only sensible way to ensure your self-build goes with minimal hitches. For more info, see our Right to Build page.
How to Find Land for Sale with Planning Permission
Once you’ve made the decision to try a self-build, finding the right plot is nothing like browsing for a home on Rightmove. The reality is that the best plots aren’t often listed publicly, meaning it’s about knowing where to look, plus what to do when you find something that looks interesting.
Naturally, after finding something, you’ll look at all the factors in the previous section, but here are a few places to start looking.
- Look further from city centres - Plots for sale in smaller towns and villages regularly come in at a fraction of the price of equivalent land in high-demand areas, just like with house purchases.
- Look at plots needing work – Land that hasn’t yet been connected up to utilities or needs access improvements/ground preparation often sells for less because buyers factor in the extra effort and cost.
- Consider plots with outline rather than full permission – These can be priced lower because there’s still design work and approvals to finalise.
- Fixed, competitive legal fees with no hidden costs.
- Expert conveyancing solicitors with proven local knowledge.
- On 99% of mortgage lender panels.
- Fast completions.
- Property challenges solved.
Specialist land agents
There are agents who deal exclusively in plots and self-build land. They tend to know what's coming to market before it gets listed anywhere publicly, which matters when the best plots go fast.
Property portals
Sites like Rightmove and Zoopla both have filters that let you search specifically for land with planning permission, which cuts out a lot of noise from the wider results.
Council self-build registers
Local authorities are required to keep track of people wanting to self-build, and many maintain lists of serviced plots. Some councils' self-build registers will even put you in touch with landowners directly.
Developers
On some of the larger housing developments, individual plots with permission sometimes get sold off separately. It's worth checking developer websites if you're open to building within a wider development.
Auction Houses
Permitted land does come up at auction occasionally, but it’s always a good move to go through the legal pack
Networking with local builders or architects
People working in the area regularly hear about plots before anyone else does.
Tracking down the right plot takes patience, but it's often time well spent. Once you've found your plot and had your offer accepted, a conveyancer can go through the legal title and contracts and tell you straight whether anything is likely to cause you grief.
Where is Cheap-to-Buy Land with Planning Permission?
Parts of northern England, incliding Burnley and Hull, have the lowest entry points for development land. Lincolnshire and County Durham have large pockets of land with planning permission for sale, due to lower competition from commercial developers.
Region | Typical Plot Price (with Permission) |
| Scotland (Rural) | £70,000 – £120,000 |
| North East England | £85,000 – £150,000 |
| Midlands | £150,000 – £300,000 |
| South East | £450,000+ |
Affordable land with planning permission exists, but it takes an ever-keener eye to locate. Prices vary a lot depending on where you are in the country, as well as on factors like local demand and whether the plot in question has any utilities already connected.
As a rule, plots in the countryside (i.e. away from big cities) tend to cost a lot less than those in established townships or places on the commuter belt.
How to find cheaper land for building on
Keep in mind that a low asking price doesn't always stay low once you start adding everything up. Utilities, access improvements, surveys, and legal fees all go on top, turning a ‘bargain’ into a market-rate opportunity.
Need Expert Help with Land Purchase Conveyancing?
Getting the legal side of a land purchase wrong can be an expensive mistake. Whether you're buying a fully serviced plot or something that needs everything arranged from scratch, our team can work through every stage of the process with you, so absolutely nothing gets missed.
Whether you’re early or late in the process, the SAM Conveyancing team can help you reach the promised land of your own self-built home. It doesn’t have to be ‘just a dream’ with the right expertise behind you.
Get in touch with our friendly experts today, and we’ll show you from minute one that you’re in good, experienced hands.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
