The Community Rights

Part 5 of the Localism Act 2011 includes freedoms and flexibilities for local government. It also introduced new rights and powers for individuals and communities to take over public services, community assets and influence planning and development.

The community rights are a set of powers that give local people a greater say over how their community develops. They give local people the chance to decide what is built and how their area should develop. Groups of people have the chance to deliver local services and develop them into community enterprises.

There are six Community Rights

Community Right to Bid

‘We want to save our local pub, shop, library, park, football ground’

The Right to Bid allows communities and parish councils to nominate buildings or land for listing by the local authority as an ‘Asset of Community Value’ (ACV). An asset can be listed if its principal use furthers (or has recently furthered) the community’s social well-being or social interests (which include cultural, sporting or recreational interests) and is likely to do so in the future.

Local authorities must keep a ‘List of Assets of Community Value’. The legislation outlines:

• the definition of an asset of community value
• what groups can nominate
• the appeals process for land owners
• timescales for groups interested in buying land or property on the list and
• compensation available to the owners of land or property on the list

If the assets come up for sale, the community can ‘pause’ the sale and take up to 12 months to find the funding required to buy the asset.

Several community organisations can nominate land and buildings for inclusion on the list, provided they have a local connection, which means their activities are wholly or partly concerned with the area, or with a neighbouring authority’s area. These include parish councils, neighbourhood forums (as defined in Neighbourhood Planning regulations), unconstituted community groups of at least 21 members and not-for-profit organisations (e.g. charities).

Community Right to Buy

Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 amended Part 5 of the Localism Act 20211 and extended the Right to Bid by introducing a new Community Right to Buy, which gives local people first right of refusal when an ACV is put up for sale. The community group and asset owner will either negotiate a price for the asset, or an independent valuer will set a price based on the market value.

The definition of an ACV has also been expanded to protect a wider range of assets, including those that support the economy of a community and those that were historically of importance to the community. Community groups are able to appeal the local authority’s decision on whether an asset is of community value and local authorities will be supported to deliver the powers with new guidance.

The 2026 Act introduced a new type of ACV – the Sporting Asset of Community Value (SACV) - and automatically designates all eligible sports grounds as such. As with the standard ACV regime, communities have the first right of refusal when a ground is put up for sale. SACV status also provides enhanced protections for sports grounds. For example, unlike the standard 5-year renewal period under the ACV system, sports grounds designated as SACVs retain this status indefinitely. Other facilities, such as car parks, that the ground depends on to function effectively, are also eligible for SACV listing, preventing the ground from being undermined by the intentional removal of its supporting assets.

Community Right to Build

‘We want to build affordable housing and other community facilities’

The Right to Build gives communities the power to build new shops, housing or community facilities without going through the normal planning process. It gives local organisations the right to bring forward small-scale community-led developments.

A Community Right to Build Order is a type of Neighbourhood Development Order and forms part of the Neighbourhood Planning provisions in the Localism Act that give parish councils or neighbourhood forums the right to develop plans for their area.

Development proposals in Neighbourhood Plans and the Community Right to Build need to be agreed through an independent examination and have the agreement of 50% of people who vote through a community referendum. Local authorities have a duty to assist and advise community organisations, which are also free to involve partners such as developers or housing associations.

If a community wants to construct or rebuild community buildings such as a community centre or community-led housing, a Community Right to Build Order could be the best route to take.

Community Right to Challenge

‘We can do this better – I want to deliver a local service and set up a social enterprise’ 

The Right to Challenge gives local groups the opportunity to express their interest in taking over a local service where they think they can do it differently and better.

Community Right to Challenge is the right for community organisations to say that they are interested in running a particular public service and potentially get the chance to bid to do this. If a community group, charity, parish council or group of public sector staff identifies a service they would like to run, then they can submit an expression of interest to the local authority who run the service. If accepted, this will trigger a procurement exercise. The interested group must then be prepared to compete with others in a competitive tendering process.

Community Right to Reclaim Land

‘We can use this land in a better way’

The Right to Reclaim Land allows communities to challenge local councils and some other public bodies to release their unused and underused land. As land is held on the behalf of the taxpayer, councils have a duty to use it effectively. This right gives communities the power to ensure that they do so.

Anyone can submit a request to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government requesting that the council is directed to dispose of the land so that it can brought back into use. If it is found that the land is being held without being adequately utilized, and that the council has no plans to bring the land into use, the Secretary of State can direct the council to dispose of the land, usually on the open market.

A full list of the bodies that the Right applies to can be found in Schedule 16 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980.

Community Asset Transfer

Community Asset Transfer is the transfer of management and/or ownership of land or buildings from a public body to a community-based organisation, at less than market value, in order to promote social, economic or environmental well-being.

The Community Right to Bid is sometimes confused with Community Asset Transfer.

Although they share some of the same objectives, they are substantively different mechanisms that communities can use to acquire land and buildings. The main differences are:

• Community Asset Transfer is the transfer of ownership or management of publicly owned assets, whereas the Community Right to Bid applies to some public and some privately owned assets.
• Community Asset Transfer is the transfer of management or ownership at less than market value. Community Right to Bid gives a window of opportunity for a community group to compete to buy an asset on the open market.
• Community Asset Transfer is a voluntary process entered into proactively by public bodies. The Community Right to Bid is a pre-emptive legal right pertaining to communities.

Geoff Wild is a Legal and Governance Consultant. This is the latest in a series of articles he has written – previous contributions include:

• The right to lobby councillors
• Making and enforcing byelaws
• Company governance - conflicts of interest for officers and members
• Governance of Council Companies
• Individual ward member delegated powers
• The role of the backbench councillor
• What is an Officer?