New Homes delivered through Permitted Development Rights will need to meet the Nationally Described Space Standard.

On 30 September 2020, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced that in the future all new homes delivered through any Permitted Development Right must meet the Nationally Described Space Standard. This standard sets out the gross internal floor area requirements for new homes, beginning at 37m² of floor space for a new one bed flat with a shower room. 

The Housing Secretary stated that although 'most developers deliver good homes and do the right thing' the aim of this change is to stop a minority of developers from 'abusing the system' which currently allows the development of existing buildings into homes without the requirement for a full planning application.

Reliance on such Permitted Development Rights has not been without controversy, however, the announcement also highlighted the 'important contribution' that has been made by permitted development homes, with a resulting introduction of over 60,000 homes in the past four years. 

Further details of the announcement can be found here.

We will keep you updated on any further developments relating to this announcement.