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For landowners · Angus & Dundee

Sell Garden Land and Backland in Dundee

Can I sell part of my garden for development in Dundee?

Backland sites in Dundee often stretch across several gardens, so the strongest schemes involve neighbours working together. Land to Homes can buy a single plot directly, subject to survey, title and contract, or bring adjoining owners into one deal with a fair way of sharing proceeds, so a single shared access serves everyone.

Surveyor in hi-vis using a GPS rover pole in a grass field near a villageDundee · DD1

Free site appraisal

Tell us about your land and we will call you back. No cost, no obligation.

Prefer to talk? Call 0800 088 6248.

  • Free site appraisalNo cost, no obligation
  • Legal fees coveredReasonable fees, on options and promotion
  • Nothing to pay upfrontOn promotion: we fund planning
  • Direct purchaseSuitable sites, with or without planning
  • UK-wideEngland, Wales, Scotland and NI

Land we look at around Dundee

Dundee (DD1) anchors our coverage of Angus & Dundee, which takes in 3 other places. The nearest other places we cover are Forfar (13 miles), Arbroath (16 miles) and Blairgowrie (16 miles).

Typical sites we review near Dundee include land that already has planning permission, redundant commercial buildings and redundant agricultural buildings. Because Dundee is in Scotland, land titles are registered with Registers of Scotland (Land Register of Scotland) and transfers attract Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).

Tell us where your land is around Dundee and we will explain the routes open to you.

How we work in Dundee

Access comes first

Most garden schemes stand or fall on access. The drive must be wide enough for cars, refuse collection and emergency vehicles, with safe visibility at the road, under the highway authority's design guidance.

Your retained house matters

Selling part of a garden changes the house you keep: outside space, parking, privacy and value. We look at any scheme from your side as well as from the buyer's.

Trees and ecology checked

Mature gardens can hold protected trees, bats in outbuildings or nesting birds. We check tree preservation orders and conservation area status, and plan any surveys for the right season.

Mortgage lender consent

If your house is mortgaged, the lender's charge usually covers the whole garden. You will normally need the lender to release the part being sold, which your solicitor arranges as part of the sale.

The Scottish system, as it applies in Dundee

Planning obligations in Scotland are made under Section 75 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and can cover affordable housing and infrastructure. Once registered against the title, they can bind future owners. Under NPF4, national and major developments must also leave biodiversity in a demonstrably better state. These costs shape what development land near Dundee is worth, which is why our free appraisal explains them before any offer or promotion terms are agreed.

In Scotland, restrictions on building are usually real burdens, also called title conditions, rather than covenants, and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland can discharge or vary them. Garden plots are often consented through planning permission in principle first. A building warrant is needed before work starts, and the buyer pays Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.

Key rules in Dundee
Who decides applicationsThe council as planning authority (or a national park authority in its area)
Land transaction tax (paid by the buyer)Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT)
Land registrationRegisters of Scotland (Land Register of Scotland)
Developer contributionsSection 75 planning obligations, with Section 69 agreements sometimes used for simple one-off payments

Your questions answered for Dundee

What if my title has a covenant against building?

A restrictive covenant can prevent or limit new homes even when planning permission is granted. Options include negotiating a release with whoever benefits from it, indemnity insurance where enforcement looks unlikely, or applying to the relevant tribunal to modify or discharge it. Take legal advice early, because it affects any buyer.

Should I team up with my neighbours to sell garden land?

Often it helps. Several gardens together can support a better-planned scheme with one shared access, which councils tend to prefer to separate plots. A collaboration agreement sets out how proceeds are shared, usually by area, so no one loses out because of where the access road happens to go.

How wide does an access drive need to be for a new house?

There is no single figure for the whole UK. The local highway authority's design guidance sets widths for private drives, passing places and visibility at the junction, and building regulations cover access for fire service vehicles. We check the standards your council applies before estimating what a plot could take.

What is backland development?

Backland development means building homes on land behind an existing row of houses, usually reached by a new access running between them. Many councils have specific policy on it, focused on access, privacy, the character of the area and avoiding piecemeal schemes that would block a better-planned layout later.

Do you work with landowners in Dundee?

We do. We work with landowners in Dundee and elsewhere in Angus & Dundee, including Arbroath, Montrose and Forfar. Send us a postcode and we will start with a free, no-obligation appraisal of what the land could take.

Read more: Sell Garden Land and Backland · Guide: Selling part of your garden: what you need to know

Sell Garden Land and Backland elsewhere in Angus & Dundee

Own land that could take new homes?

Start with a free, no-obligation site appraisal. On option and promotion agreements we fund the planning work and pay your reasonable legal fees.

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