Tag: Space Standards

Categories
Report

Space standards for homes

To address this, a number of cities across the UK, including London, have adopted their own minimum space standards. The UK Government does not collect reliable data on the size of new homes. However, in 2011, RIBA research showed that the family homes being sold by the UK’s eight largest private housebuilders was on average 8m² – the size of a single bedroom – smaller than the minimum standards drawn up for London.

The report helped to push the Government to take action and, in October 2015, a new nationally described space standard came into force, setting out detailed guidance on the minimum size of new homes. Under the new standard, a new one bed, one person flat would have to be a minimum of 37m² while a three bed, five person home would be a minimum of 93m².

Unfortunately the new national standard is unlikely to have an impact in the short term. To adopt minimum standards in their area, local authorities will have to navigate an unnecessarily complex, costly, time-consuming and confusing process.

Author: RIBA

Publication date: December 2019

DOWNLOAD

Categories
Book Report

One Hundred Years of Housing Space Standards: What now?

Part history, part insight and part opinion, this is perhaps the most detailed and contextual analysis of housing space standards that exists, and certainly the most current. Written by Julia Park, Head of Housing Research at Levitt Bernstein, the account begins with a summary of the evolution, or perhaps more accurately, the comings and goings, of the various space standards that have been applied to new housing in England.

Reflecting on what history tells us, the book examines the role of space standards in the context of the current housing crisis and explores how themes such as under-occupancy, overcrowding, density, mix, land value, viability and politics are all part of the story. The final section offers informed thoughts about the way forward. It concludes that the benefits of regulation are likely to significantly outweigh any disadvantages and could be a catalyst for far-reaching, positive changes in the way we live – potentially resulting in more housing, not less.

Author: Julia Park, Levitt Bernstein

Publication date: January 2017

DOWNLOAD

Further information: housingspacestandards.co.uk

Categories
Standard

Technical housing standards – nationally described space standard

The nationally described space standard will replace the existing different space standards used by local authorities. It is not a building regulation and remains solely within the planning system as a new form of technical planning standard.

Author: Department for Communities and Local Government 

Publication date: March 2015

DOWNLOAD

Categories
Report

The Case for Space: The Size of England’s New Homes

Existing research suggests that consumers are right to be worried. A lack of space has been shown to impact on the basic lifestyle needs that many people take for granted, such as having enough space to store possessions or even to entertain friends. In more extreme cases, lack of adequate space for a household has also been shown to have significant impacts on health, educational attainment and family relationships.

Consumers buying or renting newly built homes in the UK are likely to get less space than their European neighbours. In the rest of Western Europe new homes being built are bigger, even in countries with similar population densities to our own.

Using publicly available documents submitted for planning applications, RIBA assessed the internal floor area of privately developed homes on a sample of sites currently being built by England’s 8 largest volume housebuilders. They compared their findings to the Greater London Authority’s space standards to benchmark good practice.

Author: RIBA

Publication date: September 2011

DOWNLOAD