Garden plot joint ventures in Sevenoaks

A joint venture is one way to develop a garden plot in Sevenoaks without selling it outright or paying for a build yourself. You put in the land behind or beside your house, and we fund and manage the design, planning application and construction. In return you share in the result, as an agreed share of the sale proceeds or a finished home handed back to you.

You keep your house throughout. Before anything is signed, your own solicitor reviews the heads of terms and advises on the protection that suits you, such as the land staying in your name until an agreed stage.

Modern new home with timber cladding at the end of a long garden at dusk, lights on inside
Planning authority
Sevenoaks District Council
Postcodes
TN13
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.2 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Kent

Before you decide in Sevenoaks

Every joint venture on a garden in Sevenoaks depends on planning permission from Sevenoaks District Council, and that starts with the council’s Local Plan. We read its policies on garden land, design and parking before proposing terms, and we look at how the council has decided similar plots nearby.

If the policies are against a plot, a joint venture would only add delay, so we say so early. If they support it, we design the scheme to answer them directly and agree with you the points that affect your own home, such as window positions facing your house.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Sevenoaks: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 15 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.2 m21 Dec, noon: sun 15°, shadow 18.3 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Sevenoaks on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.2 m. In December the sun is only about 15° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

From first call to decision

Getting started in Sevenoaks is straightforward. Tell us your address and roughly where the garden runs, and we check your title, access and the planning position from the desk, free of charge. If a joint venture looks realistic, we visit, then explain the structures side by side so you can choose before heads of terms are drafted.

  1. Free plot appraisal

    We look at your title plan, access, neighbouring homes and the council’s planning policies, then talk through what might be built and whether a joint venture or a simpler sale suits you better.

  2. Heads of terms

    The key terms go in writing: who funds what, your share or the home you receive, how your land is protected, deadlines, open-book reporting and what happens if planning is refused or the build stalls.

  3. Development agreement

    Your own solicitor and ours turn the heads of terms into a binding agreement. Your solicitor advises on the security that fits, such as the land staying in your name until a set stage or a legal charge.

  4. Planning and build

    We fund and manage the planning application, Building Regulations approval and construction, reporting costs and progress to you at agreed points. The council decides the application, and building control checks the work.

Worth checking early

  • A joint venture takes longer than any sale: planning, then building, then selling or handover.
  • Tax can differ from a simple sale of garden land, so take advice from a tax adviser before you sign.
  • Your return isn’t fixed. It depends on build costs, sale prices and timing, unless you choose a structure with a fixed element.

Sevenoaks: questions to ask

How long does a garden joint venture in Sevenoaks usually take?

Longer than a sale, because planning, building and selling all happen before you receive your share. The council’s decision time, the build programme and the market drive the timing. We give you a realistic range for each stage after the appraisal rather than a single promised date.

Can my neighbours join a joint venture in Sevenoaks?

Yes. Combining adjoining gardens can give a better layout and one shared access. Each owner keeps their house, has their own solicitor and signs up to a collaboration agreement setting out how the result is shared, including fair treatment for the garden that provides the access.

Does my land stay in my name during a joint venture in Sevenoaks?

It can. One option keeps the land in your name until an agreed stage, with us building under a licence. Another transfers it earlier with a legal charge in your favour. Your solicitor advises which suits you, bearing in mind that a lender funding the build will want security too.

Can I take a new home back instead of cash in Sevenoaks?

Yes, if the plot can support it. Under a homes-for-land joint venture, one of the finished homes on your plot, or the only one, is transferred to you with its own title and paperwork. The agreement fixes the specification and the timetable.

Other options in Sevenoaks

Garden plot joint venture near Sevenoaks

Find out what your garden could become

Free garden plot appraisal. No cost, no obligation, and a straight answer if it won’t work.