Can you release money from your garden without moving?
Yes, if the garden can take a new home. You keep your house and sell the plot behind or beside it, either as it stands or with planning permission. You stay among neighbours you know, with a smaller garden that is easier to manage.
The sale is a transfer of part at HM Land Registry, and the plot gets its own title. If there is any mortgage on your home, including a lifetime mortgage, the lender must agree to release the plot from its charge. Your solicitor arranges that as part of the sale.
We can buy suitable plots directly, with or without planning, always subject to survey, title and contract. If you’d prefer to wait for planning before selling, a sale subject to planning or an option may suit you better. With a conditional sale, if planning is refused you keep your land.
Should you sell the plot first and the house later?
Some downsizers do it that way round, selling the plot while they still live in the house and moving when they’re ready. The order matters, mainly for tax, so it’s worth thinking about before anything is signed.
Private Residence Relief can cover part of a garden sold while you still own and live in the house, generally within a permitted area of up to half a hectare including the house. Selling the house first and the garden afterwards, or developing the plot and selling it yourself, can change the position. HMRC also cautions that land fenced or divided off from the garden for development may not qualify, and the land should still be in use as garden when it’s sold. Capital Gains Tax depends on your circumstances, so take advice from a tax adviser before choosing an order.
A lump sum from a plot sale can also affect means-tested benefits or how care costs are assessed later. That doesn’t make it the wrong decision, but it’s another reason to speak to an independent adviser first.
Could you build a smaller home for yourself in the garden?
Yes, through our design and build route. You keep the land, and we design, get planning for and build a new home on it. For many people that means a single-level home with step-free access, wider doorways and a ground-floor bedroom and bathroom, built a few metres from where they live now.
Once you’ve moved into the new home, you could sell or let the original house, or pass it to family. Each choice has different tax effects, which is another reason to take advice on the order before you start.
You receive a written quote after design and survey, and any guide price ranges are guides only. Planning permission is the council’s decision, and if a buyer’s lender is ever involved, the new home will usually need a 10-year structural warranty or, for some lenders, an architect’s or surveyor’s certificate.
What should you weigh up before going ahead?
A new home in your garden changes daily life a little, so it helps to picture the result honestly. These are the points worth thinking through:
- Building work brings noise, deliveries and some disruption for several months
- A drive beside your house means cars passing your windows once the new home is lived in
- A shorter garden, and new neighbours closer than before
- Whether family members expect to inherit the house and garden as they are now
- How a lump sum fits with your pension, benefits and longer-term care plans
- Whether you’d rather move now and sell the whole property instead
How do we keep the process straightforward for you?
We start with a free, no-obligation appraisal: a desktop check of your garden and the planning picture, then a conversation at a pace that suits you. If the plot looks viable, we visit. Family members are welcome at any meeting, and we put everything important in writing.
We’re a new brand within the S&K Group, so we don’t ask you to take anything on trust. Heads of terms set out the key points in plain English before your solicitor drafts a contract, and on option and promotion agreements we cover your reasonable legal fees up to a cap agreed in those terms. There’s no pressure and no deadline, and you can stop at any point before you sign.
Common questions
Can I sell part of my garden and carry on living in my house?
Yes. You keep your house and sell only the plot through a transfer of part, and the plot gets its own title. If there is a mortgage on your home, including a lifetime mortgage, the lender must agree to release the plot. Take tax advice before you sell, because the timing can affect your position.
Is it better to sell the garden before or after I sell the house?
For tax, the order often matters. Private Residence Relief can cover part of a garden sold while you still own and live in the house, within a permitted area of generally up to half a hectare including the house. Selling the garden after the house can change that, and land divided off for development may not qualify. Everyone’s circumstances differ, so take advice from a tax adviser before deciding.
Could you build me a bungalow in my own garden?
We can design, get planning for and build a new home in your garden, and a single-level home is a common choice for people planning ahead. You keep the land and receive a written quote after design and survey. Whether a bungalow, a chalet or something else suits your plot depends on the space, the neighbours and the council’s view.
Will a sale affect my pension or benefits?
It might. A lump sum can affect means-tested benefits and how future care costs are assessed, and it may have tax consequences. We can’t advise on your personal finances, so speak to an independent financial adviser or a benefits adviser before agreeing a sale.
Can my children be involved in the decision?
Of course. Plenty of people like family at meetings, and we’re happy to explain everything to them as well. We put the key terms in writing so everyone can read them at their own pace, and you’ll have your own solicitor to advise you independently before anything is signed.