Local councils are taking up to 12 years to adopt new roads constructed for housing developments, even though developers must adhere to strict design standards and provide financial guarantees. These prolonged delays impose significant financial strain on builders and force residents to cover extra maintenance costs while waiting for official adoption.
The root of the problem lies in the lack of standardized procedures across councils. Section 38 agreements, which finalize road adoption after construction, now require an average of over four years from submission to completion—some cases extend to a full decade. Section 278 agreements, used for modifications to existing roads, can add another three years to the approval and implementation process. While councils specify road designs and charge inspection fees, the absence of uniform timelines and costs makes it nearly impossible for developers to create accurate budgets.
Financial pressures have intensified significantly. The average highway bond—a deposit required to ensure roads meet necessary standards, has nearly tripled since 2018, climbing from approximately £125,000 to £338,000 in 2025/26. Per-home costs now average over £7,000, with some bonds exceeding £1.4 million for large-scale projects. Inspection fees, which vary widely, can reach up to 20% of the bond value, further escalating expenses.
These delays create a financial bottleneck, locking up capital and increasing financing costs for developers. While bonds remain unspent, projects stall, and construction timelines stretch indefinitely. Smaller builders, with limited financial reserves, suffer the most from these uncertainties. The HBF warns that prolonged waits also push back move-in dates, as completed homes cannot be occupied until roads are adopted.
A 2023 report by the Competition and Markets Authority identified the same systemic issues, advocating for standardized adoption processes and mandatory transfers of unadopted roads to local authorities. The HBF now supports these recommendations, calling for nationwide adoption standards, statutory deadlines for agreements, and uniform bond requirements to eliminate unpredictability.
HBF demands road transfer rules
The federation also proposes a transfer-of-assets mechanism to compel councils to take over unadopted roads, alongside reduced council tax for affected residents. The aim is to stop households from being double-charged, paying both council tax and private management fees for identical services.
Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive at the Home Builders Federation, said: “The government’s ambition to increase housing supply relies heavily on private home builders to deliver, but central and local government needs to work with industry to ensure sites are viable if they want to see more homes getting built.”
“Planning reform is an important first step, but if sites then face soaring highway costs, unpredictable requirements and years-long delays, their viability can quickly be undermined. It also increases costs for homeowners who have to pay management companies to maintain their roads, alongside full council tax that would ordinarily cover those costs.”
Government urged to fix broken system
“The government must address these wider barriers to delivery and create a consistent, transparent highway adoption process, so that planning permissions can translate into the homes the country needs.”
While the report does not propose specific solutions beyond policy recommendations, the data reveals a critical truth: 12 years to adopt a road is not an isolated case, it represents the slowest extreme of a fundamentally flawed system. Currently, homeowners may never see their roads fully transferred to council control, and developers must speculate on whether a site will ever become viable.
Councils must also contend with varying local policies, where some areas enforce stricter inspection protocols than others. This inconsistency forces developers to handle different approval processes, further delaying project timelines. The HBF’s analysis shows that even when developers meet all technical requirements, bureaucratic hurdles can extend adoption timelines beyond reasonable expectations.
Homeowners in affected developments often face unexpected costs, including higher service charges until roads are officially adopted. The lack of transparency in adoption timelines exacerbates frustration, as families plan for long-term stability but remain uncertain about when public infrastructure will be secured.
Industry experts suggest that the current system disproportionately harms smaller developers, who lack the resources to absorb prolonged delays. Larger firms may absorb the financial impact, but smaller companies risk project abandonment, reducing overall housing supply.
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