CIL Social Housing Relief: Qualifying Homes and First Homes

 

CIL social housing relief can remove or reduce Community Infrastructure Levy on the parts of a development which provide qualifying affordable housing. The relief is wider than one housing tenure: the Regulations contain several mandatory routes, including specified rented housing, shared ownership and discounted-sale housing, plus a separate discretionary regime where the charging authority has chosen to make it available.

The relief is not automatic. The claimant, the housing, the evidence and the timing all have to satisfy the CIL Regulations.

 

Who can receive CIL social housing relief?

 

Regulation 49 sets out the mandatory social housing relief routes. The detailed tenancy wording is technical, but in England the qualifying routes include specified local-authority housing, qualifying shared ownership, qualifying rented housing provided by registered providers, a further affordable-rent route backed by a planning obligation, and qualifying discounted-sale housing.

The key point is that the planning label affordable housing is not enough by itself. The dwelling has to satisfy one of the statutory CIL conditions. A scheme can therefore meet a planning-policy affordable-housing requirement without every unit necessarily falling within the CIL relief rules.

Regulation 49A separately allows a charging authority to offer discretionary social housing relief for qualifying discounted-market housing, subject to the authority having published the required policy.

 

Shared ownership can qualify

 

One mandatory route covers qualifying shared ownership. The Regulations include conditions on the initial premium and rent. It is therefore not enough simply to describe a unit as shared ownership in a planning statement.

The tenure documents and figures need to match the statutory conditions when the relief is claimed.

 

First Homes can use the discounted-sale route

 

Condition 6 in regulation 49 covers qualifying discounted-sale dwellings in England. The first sale must be for no more than 70% of market value, and a planning obligation must be entered into before that first sale to ensure later sales remain at no more than 70% of market value.

This is the CIL route which can cover First Homes. The relief still has to be claimed and granted; the fact that a dwelling is described as a First Home does not by itself make the CIL paperwork disappear.

Importantly, a compliant first sale under condition 6 is not itself treated as a disqualifying disposal for the social-housing relief.

 

Qualifying communal development can also receive relief

 

The relief can extend beyond the floor area inside individual qualifying dwellings. The Regulations also recognise qualifying communal development associated with the qualifying housing.

Where communal development is claimed, the claim and relief assessment must identify it and its gross internal area. Schedule 1 then has a specific calculation for the qualifying amount.

This is another reason not to calculate the relief simply by counting the number of affordable units.

 

Claim before commencement

 

Regulation 51 sets the procedure. The claimant must have assumed liability for the chargeable development and must be an owner of the relevant land. The claim is normally made using Form 10 and must be received before the chargeable development commences.

The claim must include a relief assessment and evidence showing why the dwellings or communal development qualify. If the development starts before the authority has notified the claimant of its decision, the claim will normally lapse.

There is a specific exception where the provision of qualifying dwellings or qualifying communal development changes after development has already commenced, but that should not be treated as a general permission to leave the original relief claim until later.

Keep the assumed liability in place up to commencement. If the claimant’s assumption of liability is withdrawn or otherwise ceases to have effect, or the claimant transfers liability before development starts, regulation 51 says the development ceases to be eligible for the relief.

Our CIL forms guide explains Form 10 and the other notices in the CIL process.

 

A Commencement Notice is still required

 

Social housing relief does not remove the requirement for a valid Commencement Notice. Since the 2019 amendments in England, missing that notice after relief has already been granted does not automatically cancel the social housing relief. Instead, regulation 83 normally requires a surcharge equal to 20% of the notional chargeable amount, capped at £2,500, subject to the small administrative-cost exception.

Starting before the relief itself has been claimed and granted is different and can prevent the claim succeeding.

Our CIL process guide sets out the current notice sequence, and our CIL surcharge guide explains the penalty if the notice is missed.

 

How the relief is calculated

 

Regulation 50 and Part 3 of Schedule 1 calculate the qualifying amount to be deducted from the CIL liability. The calculation works by reference to the qualifying dwellings or qualifying communal development at each relevant CIL rate and also takes account of qualifying retained existing floorspace.

In other words, social housing relief is not simply a flat percentage knocked off the total development bill. The CIL calculation identifies the qualifying part of the development and works out the relief under the statutory formula.

Our CIL calculation guide explains the wider Schedule 1 calculation and existing-floorspace rules.

 

The clawback period depends on the relief route

 

There is no single social-housing clawback date which works for every qualifying dwelling.

• For the regulation 49 condition 5 route, the clawback period is seven years beginning with the date the qualifying dwelling is first let
• For the condition 6 discounted-sale route, including the route which can cover First Homes, it runs from commencement of the chargeable development until the qualifying dwelling is first sold in accordance with that condition
• For discretionary social housing relief where the regulation 49A planning-obligation route applies, it runs from commencement until the first compliant sale
• For other social housing relief purposes, the general clawback period is seven years beginning with commencement of the chargeable development

These different clocks matter when land or housing is sold, tenure changes or the planning obligation is altered.

 

What is a disqualifying event?

 

Regulation 53 withdraws relief if, during the applicable clawback period, a qualifying dwelling or qualifying communal development changes so that it no longer qualifies.

The person benefiting from the relief must notify the collecting authority in writing within 14 days of a disqualifying event. The authority then calculates the amount of relief to be withdrawn.

Not every disposal automatically destroys the relief. Regulation 53 protects specified disposals, including the first compliant sale of a condition 6 discounted-sale dwelling. The exact transaction should therefore be checked against the Regulations rather than relying on the simple idea that any sale triggers CIL.

Failure to report a disqualifying event on time can also lead to a separate CIL surcharge.

 

Section 73 can change the relief position

 

A later section 73 permission can change both the CIL calculation and the relief. Regulation 58ZA can carry specified relief across where the amount of relief under the new permission is the same as before. Where the qualifying housing or amount of relief changes, a further claim may be needed.

Our CIL section 73 guide explains how amended permissions affect the levy and relief. Our existing section 73 planning guide explains the planning application itself.

 

Heronslea and the danger of missing the CIL procedure

 

R (Heronslea (Bushey 4) Ltd) v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government [2022] EWHC 96 (Admin) involved a development which had obtained social housing relief but then ran into serious CIL consequences after the required Commencement Notice was missed.

The case arose from the statutory regime being applied to that development and should not be read as overriding the 2019 amendments now reflected in regulation 83. Its lasting practical lesson is simpler: receiving the relief decision is not the end of the CIL process. The commencement paperwork still matters.

 

What if the relief or calculation is disputed?

 

The CIL Regulations provide different challenge routes depending on what the dispute is actually about. A dispute about the chargeable amount can use the regulation 113 review and regulation 114 Valuation Office Agency route, subject to the short deadlines and commencement rules. Other relief disputes may need a different legal route.

Our CIL appeals guide explains the statutory CIL appeals which are available. Do not assume there is a broad merits appeal against every relief decision.

If the underlying planning application is refused, that remains a separate planning decision and ordinary planning appeal rights may be available.

Planning application fees are separate from CIL. See our planning application fees guide.

 

Relevant CIL social housing relief rules

 

• Regulation 49: mandatory social housing relief
• Regulation 49A: discretionary social housing relief
• Regulation 51: claim procedure
• Regulation 53: withdrawal and disqualifying events
• Schedule 1 Part 3: calculation of social housing relief

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

 

CIL Social Housing Relief Page Created: 30th August 2026