Ask the government to sell property: right to contest

You can ask for publicly owned land or buildings to be sold if you think they’re vacant or underused.

Find out who owns land or buildings

You can find out who owns land or buildings by:

Ask for property to be sold

Download and fill in the ‘right to contest’ application form and send it to the address on the form. The addresses are different for government property and local public body or council property.

You must say why you think the property is being underused and what you think it could be used for.

You won’t have the right to buy the property - the owner can accept other offers.

The department or agency won’t sell if:

  • the land or buildings aren’t safe for your proposed use, for example if they’re part of a port, army barracks or on a flood plain
  • they’ve plans for the land, such as for a railway or road
  • the cost of selling wouldn’t be good value for the taxpayer, for example if moving to another site would cost more than the value of the property

You’ll get a letter telling you the result of your application.

Further information

Contact the Government Property Unit about property owned by the government and national agencies.

Government Property Unit
righttocontest@cabinet-office.gov.uk

Cabinet Office
1 Horse Guards Road
London
SW1A 2HQ

Contact the Planning Casework Unit about property owned by local councils and public bodies.

The Planning Casework Unit
pcu@communities.gov.uk

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