Backland Development
0800 088 6248Free to call Free plot appraisal

Sell part of your garden in Portsmouth

Some gardens in Portsmouth are long enough to hold a second home behind the first, and some side gardens are wide enough to hold one beside it. Either can be sold on its own while you stay put. The sale doesn’t need planning permission in place, and you don’t need to clear, fence or build anything first.

What it does need is a clear route in. A shared or new drive has to work for cars, deliveries and bin collections, and the new home will need fire engine access (or other measures, often sprinklers, agreed with building control and the fire service where a fire engine can’t get close enough). If the only way in crosses land you don’t own, a ransom strip can change the deal entirely, so we check who owns the access before anything else.

Get a free appraisalCheck my garden
Long back garden with a string line and marker pegs across the lawn showing where a plot could be split off
Planning authority
Portsmouth City Council
Postcodes
PO1, PO2, PO3, PO4, PO5
Noon sun, 21 March
About 39°
Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
About 6.1 m
Planning plan
Local Plan
County
Hampshire

How it plays out in Portsmouth

Garden plots don’t stop at the edge of Portsmouth. We look at land in nearby Gosport, Fareham and Hayling Island in exactly the same way, and sometimes the strongest plot is one where two or three gardens back onto a single lane or share one access.

If yours is too narrow on its own, a neighbour’s garden might complete it, and selling together can produce a better scheme than either garden could alone. We can talk you both through how that works. Wherever the land sits, the planning authority for that address decides any application, whether that is Portsmouth City Council or the one next door.

Section showing noon sun and shadows in Portsmouth: about 39 degrees on 21 March and 16 degrees on 21 December21 m21 Mar, noon: sun 39°, shadow 6.1 m21 Dec, noon: sun 16°, shadow 17.7 mExistingNew home
Noon sun in Portsmouth on 21 March sits about 39° above the horizon, so a typical two-storey eaves line (about 5 m) throws a shadow of roughly 6.1 m. In December the sun is only about 16° up and shadows stretch much further. Drawn for a garden facing north, where it matters most.

What happens next in Portsmouth

Here is what happens if you contact us about a garden in Portsmouth. We ask a few questions about the house, the garden and any mortgage. We run the desk checks and call back with a view, good or bad. If it’s good, we visit and make a written offer to buy the plot outright. If you accept, heads of terms set out the price, the boundary and who pays what before solicitors start.

  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. 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.

  4. 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.

Worth checking early

  • Lender consent, old covenants or access disputes can slow a sale, and occasionally stop it.
  • A new home will be built close to yours, with building work and deliveries for a period.
  • A sale without planning is priced for the planning risk we take on, so it usually pays less than the same plot with permission.

Portsmouth: questions to ask

Can I sell part of my garden in Portsmouth without planning permission?

Yes. We buy suitable plots with or without planning, subject to survey, title and contract. Without permission, we take on the risk that Portsmouth City Council refuses an application, and our offer allows for that. If you’d rather sell only once permission is granted, a sale subject to planning is the alternative.

Can I sell the plot and keep living in my Portsmouth house?

Yes, that’s the whole point of a plot sale. You keep the house and the rest of the garden, and the boundary is drawn where you agree. The transfer can include rights and covenants that protect your home, such as who builds the new fence and limits on windows facing your property.

Will I need my own solicitor for a garden plot sale in Portsmouth?

Yes. You need a solicitor or licensed conveyancer acting for you on the transfer of part, separate from ours. Choose one who handles property sales and, ideally, development land. Who pays their fees is agreed in heads of terms before you instruct them.

Do you buy garden plots in Gosport, Fareham and Hayling Island as well as Portsmouth?

Yes. We cover England and Wales, including the places around Portsmouth. The process is the same wherever your garden is, although planning policies depend on the council for your address, so our desk check always starts by finding out which one that is.

Other options in Portsmouth

Sell your garden plot near Portsmouth

Find out what your garden could become

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

Get my free appraisal 0800 088 6248