An analysis of the Section 106 agreement process, used by local authorities and homebuilders to ensure new developments contribute to communities, has revealed an average 515 day wait for the agreements to be finalised.
The research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has highlighted ‘serious delays’ with the process, with 76% of local authorities reporting average negotiation timescales of over 12 months.
The S106 agreements are a vital part of the planning process and set out the contributions developers must make to support the local community, including affordable housing and funding for schools, roads and public spaces.
Responses to a Freedom of Information request to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) reveal that the average time to finalise S106 agreements has increased by 20% over two years, from 425 days in 2022/23 to 515 days in 2024/25.
The research also found that 35% of all S106 agreements took longer than 12 months to complete, with the longest recorded timescale reaching seven years. In 2024/25, 45% of LPAs had agreements finalised that had taken over 1,000 days to complete.
‘While there are no fixed timelines for S106 agreements, the current timescales are undoubtedly far longer than ideal’, HBF said.
“Streamlining the process would help reduce delays to housing delivery, provide greater certainty to developers and local authorities, and ensure that the associated community benefits – such as affordable housing and infrastructure – are delivered within a timely manner.”
The delays have far reaching consequences for the housing market, HBF notes in its report, and ‘pose serious challenges at a time when housing need and associated infrastructure is increasingly acute and pressing’.
As well as delaying community benefits, HBF says holding land without being able to proceed adds to financial pressure and leads to strained relationships between developers, local authorities and communities. Earlier this month, the countryside charity CPRE criticised large developers for hoarding planning permission for up to a million new homes.
‘While these delays affect developments of all sizes, they are particularly challenging for small- and medium-sized (SME) developers, who often lack the financial reserves to absorb prolonged delays and rising costs’, HBF said.
The government has recently pledged to speed up the planning process for small and medium sized builders, but HPF research suggests that ‘a severe shortage of planners’ is a key factor in delays.
An HBF survey of local authorities in England and Wales using the Freedom of Information Act suggests around 80% of LPAs are operating below full capacity, with an additional 2,200 planning officers need to close the staffing gap.
‘While Government has acknowledged the issue and proposed the recruitment of 300 new local authority planners, these graduate and apprentice roles account for less than 15% of the current shortfall’, HPF said.
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson commented:
“The delays in negotiating Section 106 agreements are a clear example of how a lack of capacity in local authorities and inconsistencies in the planning process are affecting the delivery of much-needed homes.
“Home builders are proud of the contributions their developments make to local services and infrastructure and want these to be delivered in a timely fashion. With over £7 billion delivered through S106 agreements each year, we cannot afford for the system to keep failing.
“While government has acknowledged the staffing constraints and taken welcome steps to address delays in the planning process, we now need to see meaningful action to increase capacity at a scale commensurate with the importance of the challenge.”
HBF is calling on the government to ensure LPAs are adequately resourced and to introduce standardised national templates to reduce inconsistencies and negotiation times, allowing communities to benefit from new housing and the essential infrastructure that supports it.
