Sell part of your garden in Greater Manchester

If you’re weighing up a garden sale in Greater Manchester, the useful questions are practical ones. Where would the boundary run? How would a new home be reached? Is there a mortgage, a covenant or a protected tree to deal with? Each has an answer, and most can be found from a desk before anyone visits.

We buy plots outright, so once the sale completes the land is ours to plan and build on, and the planning risk sits with us rather than you. If you’d prefer to wait for a permission and share in what it adds, a sale subject to planning or an option may suit you better, and we’ll tell you so.

Long back garden with a string line and marker pegs across the lawn showing where a plot could be split off
Nation
England
National planning policy
NPPF
Planning authorities
10
City
Manchester

Before you start in Greater Manchester

Mature gardens often come with big trees, and that matters when you sell. A tree covered by a Tree Preservation Order, or standing in a conservation area, needs consent or notice before it can be cut back or felled, and its roots may rule out building close by. Councils in Greater Manchester may also protect garden trees and hedges through the council’s Local Plan for the part they play in the look of a street. We check for protected trees during the appraisal and design around them where we can, rather than treating every one as a reason to walk away.

Planning authorities covering Greater Manchester include Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, Manchester City Council, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, Rochdale Borough Council, Salford City Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Trafford Council, Wigan Council.

How it works

  1. Free plot appraisal

    Tell us about your garden. We check the title plan, access, local policy and planning history from our desk, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we arrange a site visit, with no cost and no obligation.

  2. Written offer and heads of terms

    We put our offer in writing, subject to survey, title and contract. Heads of terms then record the plot boundary, the price, access rights, who pays which costs and the rough timetable for each stage.

  3. Solicitors and lender

    Your solicitor prepares the transfer of part and asks your mortgage lender to release the plot. Ours checks the title, covenants, rights of way and searches, while surveys of trees, ground and drainage run alongside.

  4. Exchange and completion

    Once both sides are satisfied, contracts are exchanged and a completion date is fixed. On completion the money passes through the solicitors and HM Land Registry registers the plot under a new title of its own.

  5. After the sale

    Any boundary fence or access works agreed in the transfer are carried out as set out. If the plot still needs planning, we apply as the new owner, and you can see and comment on the plans like any other neighbour.

Sell your garden plot in towns across Greater Manchester

Questions about sell your garden plot in Greater Manchester

Is there tax to pay on selling part of a garden in Greater Manchester?

There can be. Private Residence Relief can cover part of a garden sold while you still own and live in the house, within a permitted area. Selling after you’ve moved out, or developing the plot yourself, can change that. It depends on your circumstances, so take advice from a tax adviser before agreeing a sale.

Which council decides planning for a garden plot in Greater Manchester?

The local planning authority for your address decides. Across Greater Manchester, the authorities include Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, Manchester City Council, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, Rochdale Borough Council and other councils, working to Local Plan policies alongside the NPPF. Policies on garden land can differ from one authority to the next, so we always check the ones that apply to your street.

Do you need planning permission to sell land behind a house in Greater Manchester?

No. Planning permission isn’t needed to sell land, only to build a new home on it. We buy plots outright without planning when the appraisal shows a realistic prospect, and we also buy plots that already have permission. Either way, the purchase is subject to survey, title and contract.

Can you build a new home in my garden in Greater Manchester for me to keep?

Yes. Through our design and build route we survey your plot, design a new home with you, apply for planning and, once permission is granted, build it. You keep the land and the new home, to sell, let or use for family. You get a written quote after design and survey, and any earlier guide price is a guide only.

Other options in Greater Manchester

Everything we cover in Greater Manchester

Find out what your garden could become

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