You do not have to carry out the construction personally, but you must complete the prescribed steps and keep the home as your principal residence for at least three years after completion. [1]
Before the first work starts
There are separate stages, not one box to tick on the planning application:
- Assume CIL liability. Use Form 2, or the appropriate transfer process where another person has already assumed it. [2][1]
- Claim the exemption. Submit Form 7 Part 1 and obtain the collecting authority's written grant before commencement. [3]
- Notify commencement. Ensure Form 6 reaches the collecting authority before the date on which development starts. [4]
Form 7 Part 1 includes declarations about the proposed self-build home, occupation and the evidence to be supplied after completion. Do not certify something the actual ownership or intended use cannot support. A contractor-built home may qualify, whereas building a home for immediate sale is not the same arrangement. [3][1]
An exemption application awaiting a decision is not permission to start and deal with CIL later. Keep the written grant with the commencement-notice receipt in the pre-start file. [3]
After completion: another application step
Submit Form 7 Part 2 with the required supporting evidence within six months of the compliance certificate's date. This is separate from getting the building-control completion certificate itself. Do not assume that another council team will automatically complete the CIL process for you. [5]
The evidence concerns completion, ownership and occupation. The form asks for the completion certificate, title and council-tax evidence, additional proofs of occupation, and specified evidence such as an approved DIY VAT refund claim, self-build warranty or self-build mortgage. Where you cannot supply the specified material, seek agreement about acceptable alternative evidence rather than leaving the requirement unanswered. [5][1]
Plan this evidence file before construction ends. Make a dated checklist of what has been received, what remains outstanding and the submission deadline. Retain the council's response to the completed claim.
What the three-year clawback means
The exemption is conditional, not an unconditional cancellation of CIL. The three-year clawback period runs from the date of the compliance certificate. A sale, letting of the whole dwelling or another disqualifying change during the three-year period can make the levy payable. The authority must be notified of a disqualifying event within 14 days. Before a proposed sale or letting, obtain advice on the exemption rather than assuming that personal circumstances automatically preserve it. [1]
For the commencement stage, the forms distinguish liability notices issued before 1 September 2019 from later notices. Under the later procedure, failure to submit the commencement notice can lead to a surcharge; starting before the exemption is actually granted is a different problem and can expose the full liability. [3][4]
Do not confuse CIL with BNG
The separate BNG self-build exemption ceased for new planning applications made on or after 6 August 2026. That change does not itself abolish CIL's self-build exemption: they are separate regimes with separate conditions. A project must establish its position under each. [6][1]
MHCLG has also announced proposed reforms to household CIL procedures. Its 25 June 2026 letter is not a substitute for the current claim, commencement and completion steps. A later implementing change should be checked before relying on any different procedure. [7]