A new generation of micro homes could give the UK’s first time buyers more choice, but how small can we – and should we – go?
Many visitors to the UK remark on the modest dimensions of much of the nation’s housing stock. But while Britain's homes have long been 'compact and bijou', the future may see us living in even tinier properties.
One company is developing something they call the 'micro home', a small one-room flat fitted with a sliding wall, meaning the occupants can either lounge around in a very small room, or 'activate' the wall and enjoy moving between to exceedingly tiny rooms – till their heart's content.
Detractors may find some irony in the developer's name – Inspired Homes – but they believe there is a demand for their diminutive domains. They see them as a solution for hard-up first time buyers who want to make extra money from renting out a second bedroom.
Martin Skinner, chief executive of Inspired Homes believes we don’t need so much space these days, the Independent reports. He pointed to the fact that films, TV and music can all be stored digitally.
“High spec, well-designed micro-apartments are growing in demand not just because they are more affordable but also because of the changing way people live,” he says. “For example, with growth of the sharing economy and more possessions like music and film collections stored in the cloud, it is now much easier to live in smaller apartments than it was in the past.”
Whether not needing a DVD rack will make us feel better about living in a single room remains to be seen.
That said, it hasn't been easy for firms like Inspired Homes to realise their ambitions. Since 2013 the UK has had a minimum space standard, limiting how small home builders can make their properties.
But when it comes to office-to-residential conversions, these limits do not apply, encouraging these kind of developments.
Looking to the future, a housing White Paper published earlier this year gives the impression that current space standards will be reviewed. Some fear minimum space rules will be relaxed to the point where developers offer even tinier homes.
Measured by floor area, British people already live in the smallest homes in Europe. A typical UK new build comes in at 76 sq. m; across the water in Denmark, however, the average is 137 sq. m.
Some respected bodies have voiced concerns over new homes which are insufficiently spacious for family life. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) pulled no punches when it described much of the nation's new residential properties as “tiny, rabbit-hutch new-builds”.
It’s not only city dwellers who are suffering from small living areas. One recent study by the University of Cambridge reported that more than half of UK homes are smaller than the internal space standard.
The Cambridge report concludes: “A lack of space affects quality of life. As well as simply allowing people to have a comfortable standard of living, additional space can also reduce stress by allowing members of the same household to engage in different activities at the same time and ease feelings of claustrophobia experienced in small spaces.”
It's clear that if space is indeed a big quality of life issue, architects, developers and the government may need a more imaginative approach to building the next generation of UK homes.
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