‘Rabbit hutch’ homes should be consigned to the past, say architects
This is just one more example of the dysfunctional nature of the current housing market – where profit is everything, driven by a shocking lack of supply. I was listening to the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England talking about his concerns over the growth of the buy to let market on the radio. My reflection, with low interest rates and far too few houses – where do you expect people with a few bob to put their money?!!! I have raised in Hinterland before how the burgeoning growth of amateur landlords is storing up problems for the future. It does seem that every week brings a new spin on the housing issue, an issue which does more than perhaps anything else to thwart the sustainability of rural settlements. The article tells us:
More than half of family homes under construction by private housebuilders in the UK are too small, architects have said.
The typical new three-bedroom home is missing space equivalent to a bathroom while many are missing as much as a double bedroom when judged against minimum reasonable space standards launched by the government in October.
Homes outside London are the worst affected by what the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) attacked as “rabbit hutch” homes after it measured a sample of new homes on 100 developments.
RIBA singled out two of the leading housebuilders as the worst offenders. From a sample of new three-bedroom homes surveyed, it found Barratt homes were on average 6.7sq metres smaller than minimum space standards and Persimmon homes were on average 10.8sq m too small – about the size of a double bedroom.
“Tiny rabbit-hutch new-builds should be a thing of the past,” said RIBA president Jane Duncan. “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. The government must take action to ensure a fairer minimum space standard is applied to all new homes across the country.”