Sell land for affordable homes in Hertfordshire
If you're looking to sell land for affordable homes anywhere in Hertfordshire, we'll appraise it for free and explain our offer in writing.
Exception sites work differently from normal housing land. The price is lower than open-market development land but well above agricultural value, and the homes stay affordable for the community.
- Free appraisal and written offer
- No commission: we're the buyer
- No pressure to decide
Get an offer for land in Hertfordshire
Send the postcode and a rough size.
Land for affordable homes in Hertfordshire at a glance
Most of the county is Metropolitan Green Belt, which makes land with genuine development prospects scarce and keenly contested.
| County | Hertfordshire |
|---|---|
| Country | England |
| Towns we cover here | 19 |
| Main town | Watford |
| Example postcode districts | AL1, AL5, AL8, AL10, CM23 |
| Planning system | National Planning Policy Framework and local plan |

What makes land for affordable housing in Hertfordshire worth an offer
- Small fields or paddocks adjoining a village
- Villages with evidence of local housing need
- Land suitable for a handful of homes up to a small scheme
- Parish councils open to a community-led scheme
- Land owned by families, estates, churches or charities
Affordable and social housing is part of the land-to-homes work we're setting out to do. If you own land on the edge of a village and want it to house local people, a rural exception scheme may be the right route.
The things that move our offer
Housing need
A local housing needs survey usually has to show demand for the homes.
Land price norms
Exception site land is typically priced well above farmland but below open-market housing land.
Tenure mix
Social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership homes produce different values.
Access and services
Costs of roads and drainage come out of a smaller budget than market housing.
Choosing how to sell
Many landowners like the idea of land helping local families. We explain how exception sites work, what the price is based on and how local need is shown.
Outright purchase
Possible once an exception scheme has permission.
Subject-to-planning sale
The usual route: we agree a price and complete when permission is granted.
Option agreements
Useful while housing need is evidenced and a scheme is prepared.
Joint ventures
Can suit estates and charities that want an ongoing say in the homes.
How a sale works
Send us the address
A postcode, a plan or a what3words location is enough to start.
We check it properly
Title, planning history, access, flood maps and local policy.
You get a written offer
With the main figures behind it, so your adviser can check it.
The legal work
Your solicitor and ours handle the contract through to completion.
Planning and legal points for land in Hertfordshire
Planning framework
Planning decisions in England follow the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026, and the local plan, prepared by the council or, in a national park, the park authority. Plans are reviewed periodically, which is when new housing sites are usually allocated.
Section 106 and CIL
Larger schemes often need a Section 106 agreement for affordable housing or contributions, and councils that have adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy charge it per square metre of new floorspace.
Rural exception sites
The National Planning Policy Framework supports small rural exception sites for affordable homes that meet a local need.
When the land isn't straightforward
The village has no recent housing survey
Need can be evidenced through a new survey with the parish council and the council's housing team.
You're a charity or trust
Charity trustees usually need advice from a designated adviser before disposing of land. We'll work with your adviser.
Useful to send us
- The address or postcode
- A plan, or a screenshot from an online map
- Your title number, if you know it
- Photos of the land and its access
What people ask us about land for affordable housing
What is a rural exception site?
It is a small site, usually next to a village, where planning permission can be granted for affordable homes as an exception to normal policy, to meet a proven local need.
Who lives in the homes?
Usually people with a local connection who can't afford market housing, chosen under rules set in a legal agreement.
Do you plan affordable housing?
Yes. Affordable and social housing is part of the land-to-homes work the S&K Group is setting out to do, and we can talk through how a scheme on your land might work.
Do you buy land in Hertfordshire?
Yes. We consider land across Hertfordshire, from Watford to the smaller towns and villages. Whether we can make an offer depends on the land itself, and we'll tell you either way.
Land for affordable homes by town in Hertfordshire
Find out what we'd pay for your land in Hertfordshire
Send the postcode and a rough size and we'll come back with a straight answer.