You could have the house of your dreams by building it yourself. Part of the enjoyment of building your own home is that you have choices to suit your lifestyle. You can build it to your exact requirements e.g. where you want to build it, the size, design, layout, fittings and decoration.
Before you start on a self build project you should source as much information and advice that you can:
- You will have to decide what kind of house you are going to build; traditional or timber frame kit
- Do your research on labour and materials etc. to get a rough idea of the building costs
- The BuildStore website contains information about all the stages of a self build project
- Visit the Scottish Self Build and Renovation Visitor Centre, Kingsthorne Park, Nettlehill Road, Houstoun Ind Est. Livingston EH54 5DB, Tel: 0870 870 9991
- Work out how much you can afford to spend and how you are going to raise the money
- A self build mortgage is released in stages as the build progresses
If you decide to go ahead you should seek advice about:
- Planning and building regulations and procedures
- The Council's Planning Team have a Duty Planning Officer Service and will be happy to provide general planning guidance, Email: planning@dundeecity.gov.uk
- The Building Standards Team can provide advice on building warrant queries and can be contacted by emailing: bs@dundeecity.gov.uk
- Legal issues surrounding self build
- You should appoint a solicitor to be your legal advisor and act on your behalf
- You can find details of solicitors in the Dundee area in the Tayside Property Solicitors Centre, the Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and the websites www.tspc.co.uk(link is external), www.lawscot.org.uk(link is external)
- Designing and building your home
- The addresses above will also give names of architects, building contractors, building material suppliers and timber frame kit suppliers
- Self-build Housing Register
- A statutory duty of the Planning Authority is to maintain and publish a list of people interested in acquiring land in the authority’s area for self-build housing.
- By registering your interest this will help us find out more about the demand for self-build within Dundee
- This information will also inform future planning policy and guidance.
- Further details on the Self-build Housing Register and how to register can be found at the following link: Dundee City Council Local Development Plan