If you’re an experienced builder or construction business owner who’s thinking about taking the next step into housebuilding, our free guide - sponsored by United Trust Bank and Openreach - is for you.
Becoming a small housing developer brings together practical advice from experienced developers, lenders, and industry experts to help you plan your first house building project with confidence, along with FMB members who’ve been through the process themselves.
We’re demystifying the process, helping to you understand what’s involved, where to start, and how to make your project a success.
Why start developing homes?
Moving into small-scale housing development is a great way to grow your business and get maximum return on your time and investment. Becoming a developer means shaping your own projects from the ground up, having greater control over quality and design, and playing a part in meeting the UK’s need for new homes.
This guide shows how others have successfully made the transition, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
What you’ll find in the guide
The guide takes you through each stage of the development journey, from the first idea to completed homes. It explains the key decisions you’ll face and shares insight from professionals who’ve been there before.
- Finding land – Learn how to find plots of land for development, what to look for, and how to build the local networks that can help you find the perfect plot.
- Finance – Understand how to structure funding for your project and explore the range of finance options available to small or medium sized building companies.
- Planning and regulations – Discover how the planning system works for new builds, what to expect from building control, and how to navigate key legal requirements.
- Site management – Find out what makes a well-run site, from managing trades and suppliers to meeting safety and quality standards.
- Tackling the topics – Considerations for building zero-carbon sustainable homes, and adopting modern methods of construction on a smaller scale.
- Sales and marketing – See how successful small house builders approach selling new homes and building a reputation for excellent customer care.
With this guide in your back pocket, you’ll have access to everything you need to know to get started – find first hand advice on everything from building control to buying materials. Each chapter combines straightforward explanations with first-hand advice from small developers and FMB members who’ve already made the leap.
Who the guide is for
This guide is for ambitious builders and small business owners who are curious about what’s involved in becoming a housing developer. Whether you’re looking to diversify, take on a new challenge, or planning your future – having this knowledge in your tool belt will help you to make better use of your existing connections and skills.
And if you’re not quite ready to begin your first development? It’s a useful way to understand the steps, risks, and opportunities before you start.
Get expert insight and support
As the voice of small and medium-sized construction firms, the Federation of Master Builders has produced this guide to support members and the wider industry. The advice is grounded in real experience, with input from established small and medium sized (SME) developers, planning consultants, lenders, and professional bodies.
You’ll also find signposts to trusted sources of further help – from training and skills support to finance schemes and sustainability guidance – so you can keep building your knowledge as you plan your next move.
What to do next
Small-scale housing development is challenging, but achievable with the right planning and support. With guidance from the FMB, you can start your journey towards becoming a developer who builds better, delivers the quality homes we need, and shapes communities for the future.
Further information
If you are an aspiring house builder or want to influence government policy on housing to help make life easier for small local house builders, get in contact with the FMB team at: ExternalAffairs@fmb.org.uk.
About our sponsors
United Trust Bank
United Trust Bank (UTB) is an expanding specialist bank providing a wide range of secured funding facilities for individuals and businesses and deposit accounts for individuals, businesses and charities. UTB’s Property Development division provides acquisition, construction and sales period loans for a variety of residential and residential led mixed-use and commercial schemes including Build-to-Rent (BTR) and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) developments. With commitments in the region of £1.5bn, our funding supports the building activities of housebuilders and developers operating across England and Wales, helping them to create around 4,500 new homes at any one time. In addition, UTB works with Government agencies including Homes England and the British Business Bank to enable housebuilders to access competitive funding at increased levels of gearing, and organisations such as the Federation of Master Builders in championing the vital role SME housebuilders play in delivering the UK’s new housing needs.
Openreach
We’re the people who make the net work.
Our wholesale broadband network – the UK’s largest – supports more than 680 service providers like BT, SKY, TalkTalk, Vodafone and Zen to provide broadband, TV, phone, data and mobile services to their customers.
Right now, we’re investing £15 billion to build a new, Full Fibre broadband network to 25 million homes and businesses by the end of 2026. We’ve reached 20 million premises and we intend to go further - to as many as 30 million premises by the end of the decade - assuming conditions for investment remain supportive.
You’ll know us for building the nation’s communications infrastructure. But we also offer a wide range of services to deliver network how you need it – from refurbishing housing developments to providing fibre at the start of a site build.
To complete a project, you may also need to change, move or remove telecoms equipment, whether it belongs to you or to us. We can do this for you, just click on the Developer section of our website, www.openreach.co.uk/fmb.
