The Housing Standards Review – what does it all mean?

By Steve Evans – NHBC Senior Area Technical Manager

On 26^th March, just minutes before the dissolution of parliament, the then coalition government announced a new approach to the setting of technical housing standards in England, with the final results of the Housing Standards Review. This was accompanied by a significant rationalisation of the large number of codes, standards, rules, regulations and guidance applied by local planning authorities (LPA). This has resulted in the publication of a new set of streamlined national technical standards, incorporated as far as possible within the Building Regulations.

The new standards are – optional building regulations for access and water efficiency, new nationally described space standard (planning standard) and new mandatory security standard added to building regs (Part Q).

The aim was to reduce the cost and complexity of the house-building process and to make it easier to build more new homes, whilst also improving quality and continuing to protect requirements for disabled people, the elderly and the environment.

What’s changed?

The most significant change is the introduction of “optional” Building Regulations that local authorities can apply to new housing as planning conditions. The optional requirements can only be applied where there is a local plan policy based on evidenced local need, and where the viability of development is not compromised.

The first of these relates to new optional access requirements for dwellings which are included within a revised Part M.

Approved Document M has been divided into two volumes. Volume 1 gives guidance on dwellings and Volume 2 gives guidance on buildings other than dwellings.

There are some changes to the requirements for dwellings (Volume 1):

• Requirement M4(1) (visitable dwellings) is the same as the previous requirement M1 as will still applies to all new dwellings as the minimum standard.

• Requirement M4(2) (accessible and adaptable dwellings) outlines new optional building regulations for accessible and adaptable mainstream housing to meet the needs of a wider range of older and disabled people (similar to Lifetime Homes).
• Requirement M4(3) (wheelchair user dwellings) outlines new optional building regulations for wheelchair housing (similar to wheelchair housing standards).

M4(2) or M4(3) can only be imposed as a planning condition by the LPA in the grant of planning permission where there is an appropriate policy in the local plan.

There is also a new optional water efficiency requirement for dwellings, giving the LPA the ability to impose a limit of 110 (as opposed to 125) litres per person per day for the consumption of wholesome water in areas of water shortage. The revised Approved Document G also includes a new fittings based methodology for calculating water consumption which can be used as an alternative to the water calculator.

The nationally described space standard will replace the existing different space standards used by LPA’s. It deals with issues such as minimum room sizes, gross internal floor areas and minimum ceiling heights. It has not been incorporated into the Building Regulations and remains solely within the planning system as a new form of technical planning standard that local authorities can choose to use to influence the size of new homes in their local area.

The review also clarified statutory building regulation guidance on solid waste storage (Part H6) to ensure it is properly considered in new housing development.

The review has also introduced a new mandatory security requirement for dwellings (Part Q) to protect families from burglary. Part Q is supported by new Approved Document Q, which states that all doors and windows must meet PAS 24 Standard.

Application

As previously mentioned, the optional regulations and space standard can only be applied where there is a local plan policy based on evidenced local need and where the viability of development is not compromised. This includes any policy requiring any level of the Code for Sustainable Homes to be achieved by new development; the government has now withdrawn the code (aside from the management of legacy cases).

Changes to the building control system in respect of optional requirements

Optional requirements will be imposed as a condition of the planning permission for the dwelling concerned. The duty to tell a building control body that an optional requirement has been imposed falls on the person carrying out the work.

Where the nationally described space standard has been imposed, checking for compliance and any enforcement action remain the responsibility of the local planning authority, though it is open for local planning authorities to ask for the assistance of building control bodies in doing so if they choose.

Transitional arrangements

Part Q comes into effect on 1 October 2015 and applies to all building notices, full plans deposits and initial notices given on or after that date for new dwellings. It does not apply to building notices, full plans deposits or initial notices given before 1 October 2015 so long as the work to which the notices or full plans relate commences before 1 October 2016.

The new optional regulations in Part M and Part G come into force on 1 October 2015 and apply only to building notices, deposit of full plans or initial notices given on or after that date. Any planning condition on security, access or water efficiency imposed where the building regulations application is given before 1 October, will be only a planning condition and not a building regulations requirement and will not be enforced by building control bodies.

The government has published new Approved Documents as well as a range of other guidance documents advising builders, LPA’s and building control bodies how the new system will work. The guidance also includes information on how LPA’s should treat existing local Plan policies and legacy developments.

Full details of these can be found on www.gov.uk

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