About the project

The number of homes below minimum space standards is increasing

Introduced in 2015, the Nationally Described Space Standard (NDSS) provides local authorities a clear basis for not permitting housing below a certain minimum size (e.g. self-contained one-bed flats and studios should have a gross internal area smaller than 37m²). However, the standards are non-mandatory, and some local authorities have still not adopted them. Our preliminary research has found that the proportion of new homes being built which are below this minimum actually increased in England after 2015, constituting at least 5% of new housing produced nationally, and 10% in some notable ‘hotspots’, including many London boroughs.

Very little is known about sub-sized homes

Yet very little is known about these sub-sized properties: where they tend to be located, why they are being permitted, and whether these properties provide adequate and liveable homes for residents. An urgent question hence remains as to whether these sub-sized properties provide much-needed affordable homes for those struggling to get on the housing ladder, or whether these are destined to become the ‘slums of the future’. This project, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, will answer these questions.

Minimum space requirements for a one-storey home

Answering pressing questions about England’s smallest homes

Our research is using Energy Performance Certificates as a source of information about dwelling floorspace: with access to over 28m records, we will be able to construct a national-level overview of the very smallest homes in England (i.e. self-contained dwellings below the 37m² threshold) combining quantitative and qualitative methods to answer a range of pressing questions:

  • Why are the proportions of sub-sized homes higher in some local authorities than others?

  • What forms do these sub-sized domestic properties tend to take?

  • In which neighbourhoods are these properties most numerous?

  • Does the development of small homes in these neighbourhoods improve housing affordability, or, conversely, increase house prices and rental costs?

  • And, crucially, do those people living in these properties experience them as adequate and liveable homes?

Implications for a range of major stakeholders

The answers to these questions, and their implications will be of particular interest to local authority planners given the project will synthesise best practice in NDSS enforcement, making recommendations to ensure National Development Management Policies promote adequate and affordable housing suited to its local context. National and regional policymakers (and politicians), plus charities and NGOs working on housing issues, are also likely to be key beneficiaries of this research and we are pleased to have the Homes England, the RTPI, the Chartered Institute of Housing and RICS assisting with the research.

We are also hoping that our results will be of interest to developers, landlords and architects by improving understanding of the varied ways that small dwellings are occupied, and by whom. The project will also engage occupiers by providing insight into housing affordability and the trade-offs between housing space, price, and location.

Funding and support

This project has been generously supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, part of the UKRI: Grant No: ES/Z503721/1 Dec 2024 – April 2027, and involves a collaboration between researchers in law, geography and computer science at King’s College London, University of Southampton, University of Sheffield, and University College London (see our Team).

Supported by: