Home builders now wait an average 515 days for infrastructure agreements to be finalised, adding significant delays to the planning process.
New analysis published by the Home Builders Federation highlights serious delays in the Section 106 agreement process, with 76% of local authorities reporting average negotiation timescales exceeding 12 months.
S106 agreements between local authorities and developers set out the contributions developers must make to support the local community, such as funding for schools, roads, public spaces, and affordable housing.
Such delays threaten the government’s target of 1.5m new homes by mid-2029.
Responses to a Freedom of Information request to Local Planning Authorities 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 2,679 days, or seven years.
While these delays affect developments of all sizes, they are particularly challenging for small- and medium-sized developers, who often lack the financial reserves to absorb prolonged delays and rising costs.
Lack of capacity in local authorities is thought to be a key contributing factor to delays. The HBF estimates some 80% of LPAs are now operating below full capacity with an additional 2,200 planning officers required across England and Wales to close the staffing gap.
It says that while the Government has acknowledged the issue and proposed the recruitment of 300 new local authority planners, these account for less than 15% of the current shortfall.
As a result, HBF is calling on 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.
HBF chief executive Neil Jefferson says: “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.”
