Please note the new link to a page with added London Housing Design Guide 2009 space figures
TABLE OF RECOMMENDED STANDARDS RELATING TO FLOOR SPACE
A home to be built in the future for occupation by . . . should be designed with a net floor area of at least:--
| ft2 / m2 / m2 + 10% | 6 people | 5 people | 4 people | 3 people | 2 people | 1 person |
| 3-storey house * | 1050 / 97.55 / 107.30 | 1010 / 93.83 / 103.22 | - | - | - | - |
| 2-storey centre terrace | 990 / 91.97 / 101.17 | 910 / 84.54 / 93.0 | 800 / 74.32 / 81.75 | |||
| 2-storey semi or end | 990 / 91.97 / 101.17 | 880 / 81.75 / 89.93 | 770 / 71.54 / 78.69 | |||
| Maisonette | 990 / 91.97 / 101.17 | 880 / 81.75 / 89.93 | 770 / 71.54 / 78.69 | |||
| Flat | 930 / 86.40 / 95.04 | 850 / 78.97 / 86.86 | 750** / 69.68 / 76.65 | 610 / 56.67 / 62.34 | 480 / 44.59 / 49.05 | 320 / 29.73 / 32.70 |
| Single storey house | 900 / 83.61 / 91.97 | 810 / 75.25 / 82.78 | 720 / 66.89 / 73.58 | 610 / 56.67 / 62.34 | 480 / 44.59 / 49.05 | 320 / 29.73 / 32.70 |
| HCA draft standards | 97m2 3 bed 5p | 81m2 2 bed 4p | 48m2 1 bed 2p | |||
| English Partnerships | 106m2 | 93m2 | 77m2 | 66m2 | 51m2 | - |
* These figures will require modification if a garage is built in
** 720 if balcony access
and general storage as follows:
| ft2 / m2 / m2 + 10% | 6 people | 5 people | 4 people | 3 people | 2 people | 1 person |
| Houses * | 50 / 4.65 / 5.11 | 50 / 4.65 / 5.11 | 50 / 4.65 / 5.11 | 45 / 4.18 / 4.60 | 40 / 3.72 / 4.09 | 30 / 2.79 / 3.07 |
| Flat and Maisonettes :- | ||||||
| Inside the dwelling | 15 / 1.39 / 1.53 | 15 / 1.39 / 1.53 | 15 / 1.39 / 1.53 | 12 / 1.11 / 1.23 | 10 / 0.93 / 1.02 | 8 / 0.74 / 0.82 |
| Outside the dwelling | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 | 20 / 1.86 / 2.04 |
* Some of this may be on an upper floor; but at least 25 sq ft should be at ground level.
and W.C.s should be provided as follows:
A. In 1, 2, and 3 person dwellings, 1 W.C. is required, and may be in the bathroom.
B. In 4 person 2 or 3 storey houses and 2 level maisonettes, and in 5 person flats and single storey houses, 1 W.C. is required, in a separate compartment.
C. In 2 or 3 storey houses and 2 level maisonettes at or above the minimum floor area for 5 persons, and in flats and single storey houses at or above the minimum floor area for 6 persons, 2 W.C.'s are required, one of which may be in the bathroom.
D. Where a seperate W.C. does not adjoin a bathroom, it must contain a washbasin.
Definitions
Net floor area is the area on one or more floors enclosed by the walls of a dwelling and is measured to the opposing unfinished faces. It includes the area occupied by partitions, the area taken up on each floor by any staircase, the area of any chimney breast or flue, and the area of any external W.C. It excludes the floor area of any general store, dustbin store, fuel store, garage or balcony; any area in rooms with sloping celings to the extent that the height of the ceiling does not exceed 5 ft. 0 ins.; and any lobby open to the air.
General storage area is measured to exclude floor area occupied by any dustbin store, fuel store, or pram space, and any space required inside terrace houses as access from one side of the house to the other -- taken as 2 ft. 3 ins. wide. See also para. 99 for excess garage area which may be counted in.
99 If there is a garage integral with or adjoining the house and going with it, we consider that any garage area in excess of 130 sq. ft. should be allowed to count for general storage. where a garage for a flat is integral with or adjacent to the block, any excess garage area may be counted in respect of the external storage requirement. But because the required 20 sq. ft. minimum is too small to be useful if split up, the excess garage area should count only if it is 20 sq. ft. or more.
Taken from Homes for Today and Tomorrow 1961 available from The Stationery Office price £18, follow link below:-
Order report here or just Visit shop
Homes for today and tomorrow report of a Sub-committee of the Central Housing Advisory Committee
- Corporate Author:
- Great Britain Ministry of Housing and Local Government
- Publisher:
- HMSO
Chairman: Sir Parker Morris, Ll.B Copies supplied from the TSOs on-demand system (March 2002)
| Extent | [104]p. | ISBN | 9780117501263 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size | N/A | Price | £18.00 |
| Binding | Paperback | Published | 1st December 1961 |
| Availability |
Black and white copy, 1-3 days  |
Delivery | Delivery options and charges |
Further notes about Sir Parker Morris at the following link:-
Homes for Today & Tomorrow 1961 and more on Parker Morris from HATC
Dublin - Éire - Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
In many ways Dublin are leading the way in terms of modern housing design regulation and nowhere better than in the following document:-
Sustainable Urban Housing which I now regard as second only to the Parker Morris report, and more recent.
AJ 13.3.08 Why the Irish have more room - residential space standards compared (with dual aspect requirements)
Dublin a talk by Alex Ely from mae on high density accommodation in Ireland - a practice I admire
Update: On Tuesday last 29/6/2010 at a talk in London it transpired that because the Irish don't like paying service charges new build now has the common areas designed out the result being rows of maisonettes with the owner fully responsible for all aspects of the dwelling.
CABE & HATC Space in new homes:-
Space in new homes | New report by HATC
Daily Telegraph take on space Honey, they've shrunk the house
Housing Corporation Quality Indicator
721_HQI_Form_4_Apr_08_update.pdf
Dwelling space
I recently came across these websites which explore the issues of house design in great detail and with a lot of good ideas.
Homes design - Swing a cat - Design for Homes - Bijou
Irish Housing Guidelines - some more good stuff here . . .
Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities
40 years on, no change
"but some of the Parker Morris recommendations, in particular the space standards, are related to the number of people who will occupy a house, and these cannot be applied if the number of people is not known when the house is being built." . . . read on
[Heaven forbid we should build a house too big eh? - Ed]
Wandsworth Council has linked to this page from their page of Evidence Base Documents
http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/856/local_development_framework/1148/evidence_base_documents
Page Style
The new stylesheet is from http://veerle.duoh.com/ 16th April 2010
Interesting article by Rob Williams in the Guardian from November 22nd 2011
How would you like to live in a hobbit home, Grant Shapps?