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Space availability/standards in homes and impact on residents’ wellbeing

Sem Lee • 11 January 2021

11 January 2021

Commerce Road Estate. Image @notreallyobsessive
The UK is home to the smallest new built dwellings and its average room size is the smallest in Europe. ‘Shoebox Britain’ has been coined to describe the housing crisis and there is increasing social, environmental and health inequalities amongst urban communities. 20% of the current UK housing stock falls short of the mark when it comes to meeting decent home standards(1), costing the NHS £2.5 billion every year(2). Poor housing has acted as the catalyst for social inequity where the bottom line of society suffers the most with regards to quality of life and wellbeing.
Healthy housing, which can be defined as a place in which supports physical, mental and social wellbeing for its occupants, must meet basic needs. There is increasing evidence to show that lack of space can have an impact on overall wellbeing where basic lifestyle needs are not met such as storage for possessions or the flexibility to entertain. In more extreme cases, the lack of space has in turn had significant impacts on health, childhood development and social relationships(3). 

Associations between housing quality and health are being made with connections to morbidity from infectious disease and chronic illnesses including possible effects of space standards on the health, wellbeing of families and educational accomplishment of children(4). Previous research has shown that with regards to space the key problems have been the overall amount, space for storage including space for furniture and entertainment(5) with up to 33% of residents feeling dissatisfied with the overall space in their homes.

Spatial standards have tended to follow changes in the political and economic climate with sensitivities to changing needs of the public. These spatial standards have developed in definition over the years (see figure 1), with the Tudor Walters Report (1918) being the first to acknowledge housing quality with a set of minimum space standards. Reports produced by HATC and Parker Morris Committee are still used to help dictate planning of space based on basic activities. Throughout the years, pressures of building more homes more quickly have meant tensions have arisen between developers and minimum space standards. It is not new news that due to systemic ‘barriers’ to house building, the first thing that is in the firing line for politicians is spatial standards to help alleviate the pressure to deliver(6).

One of the key criticisms of the minimum space standards is that developers have tended to use these guidelines as a maximum and building houses that are not fit for purpose. There is also research that infers that increasing floor standards has little to no financial impact on delivery of homes(7). 

In conclusion, existing housing stock should be reviewed for its adherence to spatial standards and regulation on minimum spatial standards introduced for all new developments to ensure spaces are futureproof, flexible and enable social equity for all occupiers.

Reference 

1.     BRE. J. Piddington, S. Nicol, H. Garrett, M. Custard. The Housing Stock of The United Kingdom. 2020.

2.     BRE. S. Nicol, M. Roys, H. Garrett. The cost of poor housing to the NHS. 2010

3.     RIBA. R. Roberts-Hughes. The Case for Space – the size of England’s New Homes. 2011.

4.     UCL. B.Clifford, P. Canelas, J. Ferm, N. Livingstone, A. Lord, R. Dunning. Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights. 2020;  CABE. M. Carmona, N. Gallent, R. Sarkar. Housing standards: evidence and research, Space standards: the benefits. 2010.

5.     CABE. A. Drury, G. Welch, N. Allen. Resident satisfaction with space in the home. 2009.

6.     Levitt Bernstein. J. Park. One hundred years of housing space standards – What now? 2017.

7.     GLA. David Lock Associates, Hoare Lea, Gardiner and Theobald. Housing Standards Review Viability Assessment Final Report. 2015.


The UK is home to the smallest new built dwellings and its average room size is the smallest in Europe. ‘Shoebox Britain’ has been coined to describe the housing crisis and there is increasing social, environmental and health inequalities amongst urban communities. 20% of the current UK housing stock falls short of the mark when it comes to meeting decent home standards(1), costing the NHS £2.5 billion every year(2). Poor housing has acted as the catalyst for social inequity where the bottom line of society suffers the most with regards to quality of life and wellbeing.
Healthy housing, which can be defined as a place in which supports physical, mental and social wellbeing for its occupants, must meet basic needs. There is increasing evidence to show that lack of space can have an impact on overall wellbeing where basic lifestyle needs are not met such as storage for possessions or the flexibility to entertain. In more extreme cases, the lack of space has in turn had significant impacts on health, childhood development and social relationships(3). 

Associations between housing quality and health are being made with connections to morbidity from infectious disease and chronic illnesses including possible effects of space standards on the health, wellbeing of families and educational accomplishment of children(4). Previous research has shown that with regards to space the key problems have been the overall amount, space for storage including space for furniture and entertainment(5) with up to 33% of residents feeling dissatisfied with the overall space in their homes.

Spatial standards have tended to follow changes in the political and economic climate with sensitivities to changing needs of the public. These spatial standards have developed in definition over the years (see figure 1), with the Tudor Walters Report (1918) being the first to acknowledge housing quality with a set of minimum space standards. Reports produced by HATC and Parker Morris Committee are still used to help dictate planning of space based on basic activities. Throughout the years, pressures of building more homes more quickly have meant tensions have arisen between developers and minimum space standards. It is not new news that due to systemic ‘barriers’ to house building, the first thing that is in the firing line for politicians is spatial standards to help alleviate the pressure to deliver(6).

One of the key criticisms of the minimum space standards is that developers have tended to use these guidelines as a maximum and building houses that are not fit for purpose. There is also research that infers that increasing floor standards has little to no financial impact on delivery of homes(7). 

In conclusion, existing housing stock should be reviewed for its adherence to spatial standards and regulation on minimum spatial standards introduced for all new developments to ensure spaces are futureproof, flexible and enable social equity for all occupiers.

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