A report from the Royal Institute of British Architects has revealed new homes are far too small for people to live in them comfortably…
A new report has warned many new homes do not meet the minimum space standard required for a comfortable home.
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) said researchers examined new three-bedroom homes on over 100 developments across England and found they were around four square metres too small—around the size of a family bathroom.
Rules were introduced in October to give local authorities the option of setting out minimum space standards for new homes. The standards mean a three-bed, five person property would need to be a minimum of 93 square metres. However, outside the capital the average size of a new three-bed home was under 89 metres.
RIBA said the issue stemmed from the overcomplicated new space standards and called for a national space standard to be automatically applied to all new builds.
According to the report the smallest properties were seen in Yorkshire. The average new build three-bed property was 25 square metres smaller than in London at around 84 square metres. This equates to a double bedroom and family living room of space missing.
London, the South East, and the East of England saw properties larger than the standard of 93 metres.
With the government pledging the largest affordable housebuilding programme since the 1970s in the Spending Review last month there is a need to ensure the 400,000 new homes set to be built across England deliver quality.
RIBA president Jane Duncan said: “Tiny rabbit hutch new-builds should be a thing of the past. But sadly our research shows that for many people, a new home means living somewhere that’s been built well below the minimum space standard needed for a comfortable home.
“We urgently need new homes, but building small homes or cutting corners when converting office buildings to flats is short-sighted and fails the people these new homes are meant to serve. The Government must take action to ensure a fairer minimum space standard is applied to all new homes across the country.”
RIBA said it will now campaign for a national minimum space standard to form part of building regulations.
Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said buyers were content with the size of new builds and warned imposing space standards could make the housing shortage worse.
Baseley said: “The industry provides a wide range of house types in sizes and locations that provide choice for people on all income levels.
“Imposing space standards and so restricting what builders can build takes away choice from home buyers.
“This would not only prevent more people from buying their own home but also exacerbate the acute shortage of housing that we have experienced over several decades.
“Local elected representatives already have the power to introduce minimum house sizes where justified, and a process is in place to ensure that the needs of households are properly taken into account to deliver the homes the country needs.”
I agree that there is a serious issue with floor areas of dwellings. I suggest that the best solution would be the introduction of sensible national minimum floor area standards. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that these will be introduced in the current political climate.