Healthy Homes Campaign- Updates

The TCPA recognises the urgent need for more good quality and affordable homes. However, the TCPA is concerned that the further incremental expansion of Permitted Development Rights (PDR) is undermining local authorities’ attempts to masterplan and promote healthy homes and communities and deliver effective regeneration. Existing PDR rules are failing to ensure good quality homes and places that enable healthy outcomes for people and communities. We know that the poor health consequences associated with poor quality homes have knock-on costs to society and the economy, harming productivity and prosperity.

Our particular concerns in this latest consultation relate to:

• Householder development: allowing further flexibilities for householder extensions will potentially increase the loss of private green space and incur loss of daylight, impacting on neighbours ‘rights of light’;
• Building upwards: removing the age limit of buildings that can have floors added to them, raises potential structural safety concerns for older buildings, highlighting the need to require safety checks; it also poses potential harm to cultural heritage and design character; and
• Demolition and rebuild: expanding the scope of buildings permitted to be demolished raises concerns about the standards of rebuilding (as they will not need to obtain a full planning application), the loss of contributions to affordable housing and local amenities through section 106 agreements, and the loss of embodied carbon from relatively new buildings.

The response is available here: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/permitted-development-housing-and-health-a-review-of-national-policy-and-regulations/

Date published: 03/04/2024

Yesterday’s government announcement that allows large offices to be converted to housing through permitted development rights (PDR) has disregarded the evidence about the consequences of this deregulation for people’s health and wellbeing. Homes that are created through permitted development are not subject to national and local planning policies or guidance. Therefore, the quality of these homes relies almost entirely on building regulations and a limited set of ‘prior approval’ conditions.

Extensive new research published by the TCPA with UCL’s Bartlett School of Planning (funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research) has found gaps and loopholes in relation to the regulation of permitted development.

The review finds that current policies, guidance and regulations are complex and inconsistent in what they require regarding homes created through permitted development. By side-stepping the requirement to obtain full planning consent, the government has removed a key mechanism for ensuring affordable, good quality homes in appropriate locations.

The report is available here: https://www.tcpa.org.uk/resources/permitted-development-housing-and-health-a-review-of-national-policy-and-regulations/

Date published: 14/02/2024

The latest report from the Environmental Audit Committee has raised serious concerns over the UK’s lack of preparedness in its report on ‘Heat resilience and sustainable cooling’ released yesterday. They say the “silent killer” of heatwaves will risk 10,000 lives annually in the UK without concerted action, and over 4.6m homes in England are reported to overheat in the summertime. The committee are calling for urgent action, including investment in green infrastructure & housing.

“Tackling overheating at scale will not be a quick or easy undertaking. Clear collaboration between Government departments and local authorities is necessary, supported by a clear messaging campaign and a pipeline of funding and skilled retrofitters to undertake the work needed. Existing Government policy fails to grasp the urgency of the task at hand. A Minister with oversight on heat resilience must be appointed to oversee this important work.”

Report link: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-cmmittee/news/199660/eac-heat-resilience-report-published/

Date published: 01/02/2024

The latest report of the Housing Ombudsman (for social housing) a ‘Relationship of Equals’, has called for a re-establishing the link between housing and health. It recommends establishing a Royal Commission which would create a long-term plan for social housing, after finding that current approaches for the sector are not working for residents with a vulnerability.

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “The effect of a combined cost of living and housing crisis has put parts of the sector at breaking point, compounded by a narrow vision of what social housing is for; one which is far removed from its conception 150 years ago….This sector has a proud history of tackling social injustice and this housing crisis speaks to new social injustices in health, equality and race and it can rise to this challenge for the benefit of the country. Our calls for a Royal Commission, which is independent of government and not impeded by politics, could be transformative.”

Report Link: Spotlight on: Relationship of Equals | Housing Ombudsman (housing-ombudsman.org.uk)

Date published: 26/01/2024

The latest Health Foundation report – Moving to Healthy Homes highlights ongoing problems in delivering good quality, affordable & secure housing, especially for the Private Rental Sector. Over 14.6% of all homes in England (3.7 million homes) don’t comply with the Decent Homes Standard in 2022.

Housing issues linked to poor health do not affect the population equally. Households on lower incomes are more likely to live in non-decent, overcrowded properties and are more likely to experience a greater housing cost burden, all of which negatively affect health. The report calls for comprehensive Healthy Homes Standards – this is urgently needed to protect owner occupiers, private & social tenants.

The TCPA welcomes this report and argues these standards need to include enhanced and mandatory requirements on: accessibility and adaptability; air pollution (indoor and outdoor); access to amenities, transport and green infrastructure; climate resilience; space, as per the Healthy Homes principles.

Date published: 08/01/2024

The UK Health Security Agency’s latest report about the #health impact of #climatechange includes a chapter on the potential impact to housing.

Ch. 5 of the report focuses on the indoor environment – noting on average we spend 95% of our time indoors making this a key determinant of health. Considerable investment is required to upgrade existing #housing stock and ensure all new homes are adapted to ensure thermal comfort and indoor air quality, through a ‘holistic’ combination of orientation, insulation and ventilation measures.

Amongst a range of climate adaptation options for our homes, the report includes a brief reference to the potential role of living roofs and walls, which can improve insulation for buildings and the surrounding microclimate. It would be good to see more investment in that area, as such #greeninfrastructure measures, if properly installed and maintained, could also bring a number of other benefits, such as rainwater capture, biodiversity and aesthetic benefits. 

HECC report 2023. Chapter 5: Impact of climate change policies on indoor environmental quality and health in UK housing (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Date published: 12/12/2023

This report looks at the health costs of London’s housing stock. It repeats the national findings by the Building Research Establishment, that investing now to improve housing will bring immediate benefits to people’s health and long-term benefits to health and social care sectors, the economy, and more widely.

Using English Housing Survey data, an estimated 242,000 homes in London have serious health hazards in 2018 (so called ‘category 1’ hazards according to the Housing Health and Safety Rating System). The most common hazards were associated with falls and cold.

Date published: 05/12/2023

Michael Gove has made some positive noises in the last couple of days about tackling the housing crisis, including how he ’would like to see’ 30,000 new social homes being built every year. However, his desire for new social housing falls well below Shelter’s estimate of the 90,000 council homes that are needed. And significantly, there is no definitive commitment to set clear statutory requirements that will ensure all new homes protect and enhance people’s health. This is despite overwhelming evidence that the existing regulatory framework is failing to ensure healthy homes for everyone, especially those most vulnerable groups.

The government is talking about further expanding Permitted Development Rights to make the conversion of existing buildings to residential use ‘easier’. As our These are Homes photos make clear there are huge problems with such conversions. Indeed, the chair of the Local Government Association, Shaun Davies, recognised, new homes are much needed but  shops, offices and barns are not always suitable for conversion;

’Further expanding permitted development rights risks creating poor quality residential environments that negatively impact people’s health and wellbeing, as well as a lack of affordable housing or suitable infrastructure.’ (Guardian, 23.07.23)

The government is also talking about expanding the application of the Decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector. Currently the standard only covers social housing, where the standard’s guidance states that social landlords ‘should bear in mind’ rather than what they must, by law, deliver. Importantly, the Decent Homes Standards only address the most serious ‘category 1’ hazards for households and does not seek to actively promote health through good quality homes.  

A joint report by two cross-party parliamentary groups (the APPG for Housing Market and Delivery and APPG for Ending Homelessness) released last week was clear that health protection and promotion must be made mandatory requirements:

’We support the Healthy Homes Principles and their inclusion within the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill… If introduced, these standards would also level the playing field in terms of costs, as currently developers can and do lower standards in order to save on costs.’

Changes to Permitted Development requirements in 2021 regarding natural light and space were insufficient, and they did not ensure residential conversions address all Healthy Homes Principles, including: ensuring sites are located with good access to amenities, green spaces and play areas; ensuring climate resilience to flood risk, overheating and excess cold; adequate provision of windows; indoor and outdoor air quality; limiting noise pollution.

It is vital the government brings the Healthy Homes principles into primary legislation, whether in the form of the Healthy Homes Bill or via the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to provide a clear and mandatory requirement for all new homes, not only to protect people from harm but importantly to positively promote everyone’s health.

Further information:

Healthy Homes Campaign July update – Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Click here to join the Campaign for Healthy Homes (tcpa.org.uk) now!

Date published: 24/07/2023

Last month, the National Housing Federation published a paper that looks at the shocking scale of overcrowding in England. Over 2 million children were found to live in accommodation with little to no personal space, and over 300,000 share beds with a family member. The report uses the data measured in the English Housing Survey to determine the scale of overcrowding as well as exploring how it can impact the health and wellbeing of those living in these conditions.

Key findings include:

• Nearly half of children in overcrowded homes struggle to do their homework due to lack of space.
• Over half of respondents have to sleep in a room other than their bedroom due to overcrowding.
• Three quarters of overcrowded families have experienced negative health impacts due to overcrowding.

This report further adds to the overwhelming evidence that our housing system is broken. Overcrowding is a clear indicator that there is shortage of homes that can meet the needs of the country, and as a result resident health and wellbeing is bound to suffer. In order to improve our life chances, homes should be built to promote rather than detract from our health.

The TCPA supports the National Housing Federation’s call for a long-term national plan that will meet England’s housing needs. Our Healthy Homes principle on liveable space states that all new housing must “meet the needs of people over their whole lifetime, including adequate internal and external storage space”.

These principles establish the foundation of the Healthy Homes campaign. Currently, Lord Nigel Crisp has proposed the addition of the Healthy Homes amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill as it continues its passage through the House of Lords. If successful, this will ensure that the Healthy Homes principles are enshrined into law.

The ongoing conversation about the provision of good quality and affordable homes is vital but we also need to see real change. This report by the National Housing Federation serves to further outlines the need to reform the regulation of the built environment to ensure that people are housed in that allow them to flourish.

Date published: 02/05/2023

The Resolution Foundation report ‘Trying Times’ looks at how people living in poor quality housing have fared during the cost of living crisis

By Lalitha Try, Resolution Foundation

Kindly reproduced from original summary, 15th April 2023

Plenty of research has shown the important role housing plays on our living standards, attitudes and wider health and wellbeing. But less attention has been paid to the effect of housing quality on living standards. In this report, we use data collected in March 2023 from an online YouGov survey (funded by The Health Foundation) of 10,122 adults aged 18+, to analyse the experience of the cost of living crisis by tenure, the incidence of poor quality housing, and the impact of poor quality housing on health and wellbeing. 

According to our survey, 10 per cent of people live in poor quality housing (defined as living in homes that are not in a good state of repair, where heating, electrics or plumbing are not in good working order, and where damp is present), with people from more disadvantaged groups more likely to live in poor quality housing. And poor quality housing is also associated with poor health, which is still true after controlling for a range of income-related and demographic factors.   

Key findings

• Renters have been the most likely to have fallen behind on their housing costs over the last three months – with 15 per cent of social renters and 10 per cent of private renters in this position, compared to 4 per cent of mortgagors.
• Although worries have fallen slightly over the past four months, a significant minority of people remain worried about their ability to afford their housing costs in the near future, with nearly 4 in 10 social and private renters worried about meeting their housing costs over the next three months. 
• 10 per cent of people (6.5 million people) live in poor quality housing, defined in this report as living in homes that are not in a good state of repair, that have damp, and where the heating, electrics or plumbing are not working. People from traditionally more disadvantaged groups are more likely to be living in poor quality housing. 
• People living in poor quality housing are twice as likely to have poor general health than those who don’t (22 per cent compared to 11 per cent). After controlling for income-related and demographic factors, the gap narrows but still exists: people living in poor quality housing were 4 percentage points more likely to say their general health is poor, and people living in poor quality housing were 6 percentage points more likely to have had poor mental health than those not living in poor quality housing. 
• Over half of people living in poor quality housing felt that the stress caused by rising living costs had worsened their health or that the money they had to spend on rising heating costs made their health worse, compared to 27 and 22 per cent respectively for those not living in poor quality housing; these differences also remain after controlling for demographic and income-related factors. 
• To work towards fixing the problem of poor quality housing, the Government must build more new affordable housing both for rent and purchase, better regulate housing conditions in the private sector, and improve conditions in social housing.

Further information:

• Link to the Resolution Foundation report
• Healthy Homes Campaign
• Healthy Homes Principles

Date published: 18/04/2023

The Healthy Homes campaign has reached a pivotal moment in parliament. Peers from across the political spectrum in the House of Lords, including Lord Blunkett, Lord Young of Cookham, Baroness Hayman of Ullock, Lord Bishop of Derby, the Earl of Lytton, amongst others, gave their wholehearted endorsement of the Healthy Homes amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB), as put down by Lord Nigel Crisp, former Chief Executive of the English NHS and Cross-bench Peer.

Lord Crisp’s amendments seek to enshrine 11 legally-binding ‘Healthy Homes Principles’ in law. A further amendment on affordable housing has been proposed by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, where assessment of affordable housing need should be based on average and below-average income levels, rather than on market prices. 

In an impressive two-and-a-half-hour-long debate, peers pointed to the huge social cost of poor quality homes and neighbourhoods. They noted that new homes can be of such poor quality they will need to be retrofitted almost straight away. A recent report from the Building Research Establishment shows that the combined annual cost to the NHS of ‘category 1 hazards’ in owner-occupied, private-rented and social housing totals over £1 billion every year. Another report from Arup found that over half (55%) of the UK’s housing stock is prone to dangerous over-heating in the summer, leading to an estimate 791 excess deaths per year in England and Wales. Excess cold, linked to poor insulation and fuel poverty, increases arthritis, undermines sleep quality, as well as exacerbates cardiac and respiratory conditions, including those with asthma and other allergies. Overheating is also linked to respiratory and cardiac problems, sleep loss and hypertension. Peers called for a simplified, fairer and stronger regulatory landscape to avoid exacerbating long-term chronic illnesses in the population, to promote resilience to climate change, and to create a level playing field for developers in terms of requirements.  

Lord Crisp introduced the amendments by pointing to the lack of provisions to promote health and wellbeing in planning legislation and guidance. He noted: 

“Even in the key paragraph 20 of the National Planning Policy Framework, where the Government set down requirements on strategic policies in local plans, there is no mention of promoting health and well-being but simply a reference to the provision of healthcare facilities. This seems to be a very old-fashioned view of health which equates health with healthcare….

Our homes and neighbourhoods deeply influence our health, for good and for bad, and this all influences our life chances. If we want to level up and create the circumstances in which people can flourish, health and well-being must have central roles in our planning system.”

Baroness Hayman highlighted the benefit of getting buildings right from the outset otherwise we face creating a legacy of health and building costs in the future:

“Scandalously, hundreds of thousands of homes are being built every year which will require future retrofitting because we did not implement the standards early enough. We have our most vulnerable citizens living in fuel poverty in cold and leaky homes.”

The Earl of Lytton agreed, noting:

“We need neighbourhoods and layouts that work and we need homes that are cherished; if they are cherished, they are looked after and then they last longer. If they are not, it almost does not matter how well they are constructed; deterioration and dereliction will set in, which is an attrition of the built environment.”

In the government response to the amendments, Earl Howe recognised that healthy homes and neighbourhoods are important, stating that existing policy was ‘very clear on sustainable development’. He noted that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was a material consideration in shaping planning decisions. In reply, Lord Crisp, pointed to the big difference between guidance and what is required by statute in terms of affecting what developers deliver in practice, “we need to build homes that are fit for purpose”. He further emphasised,

“Planning is often seen as a negative, but all noble Lords described it as something that could enable the creation of the flourishing individuals, society and communities that we all want.”

Next stage: Mobilising parliament

We want to thank all the Healthy Homes coalition members and wider supporters for all your help to date in helping to raise awareness about the campaign.

This next stage is critical in terms of engaging peers to vote for the amendments in the House of Lords. And, if successful, we need to mobilise MPs from across the parties to support the amendments when they go back to the House of Commons for ‘Ping Pong’ – likely to be later in June / early July.

Your continued support at these next stages is vital, engaging those peers and MPs you work with to commit to voting in favour of Lord Crisp’s Healthy Homes amendments and to support Baroness Taylor of Stevenage’s affordable housing amendments to the LURB (see links below).

Key LURB dates

“Parliament doesn’t work in a straight line”. The committee stage in the Lords has already been extended by five weeks. As such, the following dates for the LURB process are likely to move, and are only an approximation of when the next stages are likely to take place:

• Lords report stage: The report stage typically takes place two weeks after the conclusion of the committee stage, which currently looks like the weeks beginning either the 15^th or 22^nd May
• Lords third reading and vote: The report stage will be followed by a third reading which is just a brief vote. The vote is likely sometime around the weeks commencing 22^nd May or 6^th June 
• Ping pong: There’s no set time period between third reading and vote in the House of Lords and the beginning of ping pong with the House of Commons but this is likely to take place sometime after the 19^th June

Further information

• Link to Healthy Homes Campaign
• Link to These are homes photobook
• Link to the Healthy Homes Principles,
• Link to a Lord’s briefing paper on the amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (LURB)
• Link to amendments can be found here:
  • Lord Crisp’s Healthy Homes amendments (schedule 6, after clause 86 – currently amendment numbers 188; schedule 13, after clause 155 – currently amendment numbers 394-399)
  • Baroness Taylor of Stevenage’s affordable housing amendment (currently amendment number 213 5(B)) 

Contact:

Dr Rosalie Callway: Rosalie.Callway@tcpa.org.uk

Sally Roscoe: Sally.Roscoe@tcpa.org.uk

Date published: 29/03/2023

A recently published report by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) has found that over 700,000 homes in England are ‘excessively cold’ in the winter. It is costing the NHS over £540m a year to treat those who are impacted by the worst of these properties. 

Over half a million owner occupied homes and 200,000 privately rented homes are failing residents. Gillian Charlesworth, CEO of BRE, commented: 

“Today’s analysis reminds us just how much of an impact poorly insulated and inadequately heated homes are having on residents and our public services, particularly in the poorest quality properties. Poorly insulated homes have an immediate impact on the health of the people who live in them, as well as being expensive to heat and a barrier to meeting our net zero ambitions.” 

Additionally, poor insulation and limited ventilation (due to either having no windows or single aspect windows), results in many homes are also overheating in the summer. 55% of the UK housing stock (15.7 million homes) fail the bedroom overheating criterion (Arup, 2022), and an estimated 791 deaths are associated with overheating every year.

All new homes should be designed to promote health, not make people ill. This is why TCPA are calling for the Healthy Homes principles to be embedded in the Levelling Up Bill as a statutory duty to the Secretary of State to ‘secure the health, safety and wellbeing’ of all residents. This would ensure that all new homes are designed to provide year-round thermal comfort for their residents.

Date published: 02/03/2023

Last year, the TCPA commissioned photographer Rob Clayton to document the stark realities of those living in poor quality office-to-residential homes created using permitted development rights (PDR) through our These are Homes project.

Our goal for this project has been to highlight the poor conditions of many of these PDR conversions by creating a visual resource that truly shows this shocking reality as a part of our Healthy Homes campaign.

PDR allows for conversions to bypass the planning system, and as a result many do not meet the standards outlined in the TCPA’s Healthy Homes principles. To create a clear regulatory basis for all new homes, these principles have been proposed as amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill by Lord Nigel Crisp in the House of Lords. The amendments will be debated from 20^th February to 15^th March.

We displayed some of these photos for the first-time last month at the Healthy Homes reception, and many in attendance felt these photos left an indelible mark. We have now created a photobook that has been published on the TCPA website. 

Click here: These are Homes photobook

Please share this resource with any colleagues who may find this of interest.

Date published: 16/02/2023

he Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Nationwide Foundation (funder of the Healthy Homes campaign), have launched a new strategy for planning and housing campaigners to communicate the connection between affordable and high quality homes with health and wellbeing.

The two organisations are set to publish a toolkit in early 2023 which sets out how the strategy’s recommendations on can be used in practice.

The webpage for the project explains that:

“When we talk about the importance of home we want to shift the dominant understanding of housing as a source of wealth to homes as essential to a decent life.”

This work is sorely needed and incredibly relevant to current political and policy debates. Indeed, before developing this strategy, Frameworks worked with the TCPA to help us develop our messaging around the Healthy Homes campaign.

The Healthy Homes Bill is nearing its 3^rd reading in the House of Lords (you can follow the its progression here), and the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is approaching its 1^st reading in the Lords. Stay tuned for a briefing on this early in the new year.

Date published: 12/12/2022

The Institute for Health and Inequalities has recently published an evidence review titled Housing and Health Inequalities in London. It outlines that housing is a major determinant of health, and in London it was found that poor quality housing significantly contributes to the city’s health inequalities.

To contribute to addressing these inequalities, the report recommends that:

“The GLA could further endorse draft legislation – the Healthy Homes Bill – that is recommending that legally binding ‘healthy homes principles…”

Current housing policy is inadequate, and as a result the health of the nation is suffering. In an article for the Times published on Wednesday, Lord Crisp argued that the tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak due to prolonged mould exposure illustrates how dire the situation is, and the urgent need for transformative change in how we regulate the built environment.

Good homes provide a foundation for flourishing lives. Without them, it is impossible to expect a nation to thrive.

Date published: 18/11/2022

“The COVID-19 crisis has drawn renewed attention to the role of cities in shaping health risks, and their power to exacerbate or alleviate urban health inequality”

This week the WHO published a report which outlined its priorities for research into urban health. It frames the connection between health and the built environment a globally important agenda and reinforces the human need for access to green space, safe public transport, and sustainable places to live and work.

In the English context we address this in our Healthy Homes Bill. Currently, the Bill is awaiting the Committee Stage in the House of Lords, and as a part of our local campaign we are running workshops with: Herefordshire Council, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, London CLT, NHS Property Services and Princes Risborough Town Council.

Before Christmas the TCPA and Lord Crisp will host a reception for Healthy Homes campaign to bring supporters together, share our ambitious campaign plans for 2023, exhibit images from our These are Homes campaign. We also hope to hear from key representatives of the medical community. Do stay tuned for more information.

Date published: 01/10/2022

Suburban Taskforce adds its voice to list of inquires concerned about the impacts of PDR homes

To satisfy the high demand for homes in the country, residential conversions made through ‘permitted development rights’ (PDR) are often presented as a solution to quickly increase the nation’s housing supply. Yet, the creation of these homes is largely unregulated and often does not prioritise the wellbeing of their residents.

This month, the Suburban Taskforce, co-chaired by Rupa Huq MP (Labour) and David Simmonds MP (Conservatives), published the report An Inquiry Into the Future of the Suburbs detailing the state of the England’s suburbs and providing recommendations to address the challenges they face. One such recommendations outlines that:

“…further consideration is given to the use of permitted development rights as a means of delivering new homes and cautions against the use and extension of these”

The report then goes on to explain that PDR take development out of the established system of control, which does not allow for the planning system to balance the pressures and competing interests that are tied to new development.

Not only this, but residential conversions made through PDR rarely consider how these new homes will impact the health and wellbeing of their residents. Some existing PDR homes lack natural light, do not meet national space standards and have little to no access to green space and amenities.

The publishing of this report by the Suburban Taskforce further adds to the insurmountable evidence that the regulation of the built environment is broken, and PDR only worsens this problem. We are sacrificing the quality of our homes to rapidly produce unhealthy and unsustainable homes.

At the TCPA, we are campaigning to change this through our Healthy Homes campaign. We are calling on the government to create Healthy Homes Act that introduces legally binding healthy homes principles that ensure that new homes are built to promote the health and overall life chances of their residents.

Date published: 08/09/2022

Recently, a range of articles were published that analysed the implications of extreme high temperatures on England’s homes and their residents.  Last week’s heatwave in particular drew attention to a lack of thermal comfort in poorly regulated housing.

In an article for the i, Vicky Spratt powerfully illustrated the human cost of the government’s failure to ensure that homes converted from offices through Permitted Development Rights are properly ventilated or insulated.

She heard of several residents’ experiences during the recent heatwave, with some concerned about whether their homes will be habitable in the future. This included an account from Steph Pike, who lives in a one-bedroom flat that was formally an office block and was now “unbearable and suffocating.”

PDR conversions require only a basic check list for permission, and often do not take residential comfort into account. In the article, Dr Daniel Slade, Healthy Homes campaign project manager at the TCPA explained that:

“So many of these [former office buildings] are completely sealed and only make sense from a living conditions point of view, if they’ve got building-wide air conditioning but that is not kept during the conversion process of remodelling.”

Thermal comfort is a basic biological need that is not being provided for in thousands of new homes.

Indeed, earlier this month, new research was published that analysed the number of deaths caused by heat and cold between 2000 and 2019. It found that, on average, an excess of 791 deaths associated with heat occur annually in England and Wales. With the increasing occurrence of extreme weather, this number will only increase, unless serious action is taken. 

In an article for the Guardian, Phineas Harper explained that the UK has some of the worst performing housing stock in Europe – unable to keep residents cool in the summer and are expensive to heat in the winter.

Another article for the Guardian writes that the climate change committee warned last year that over 570,000 residences constructed since 2016 were not resilient to high temperatures, and neither are a further 1.5 million that are due to be built in the following five years. This is not to say that the design solutions needed to address indoor temperatures are lacking, instead it is often the case that they are not being implemented or enforced at the level that they are in other countries. Tighter, binding standards on health and wellbeing are required.

The Healthy Homes Bill provides these, by placing in primary legislation a series of healthy homes principles for all new homes in England. One of these principles specially focuses on thermal comfort, stating that:

“all new homes must be designed to provide year-round thermal comfort for inhabitants.”

The Healthy Homes campaign is underpinned by the core value that housing should not undermine health and wellbeing, and this includes making sure that new homes are resilient to the rising temperatures associated with climate change.

To find more updates from the campaign and follow along as the Bill progresses through parliament, click here.

Date published: 25/07/2022

“The logic is one of economy as well as public health. The logic is one of liberating people to be independent and self-reliant, as well as a communal duty and obligation to each other.”

– Lord David Blunkett

“People often talk about welfare provision as a safety net, stopping people falling to the ground, but if we want to talk about it in physical acrobatic terms, we should also think of [The Healthy Homes Bill] as a springboard, enabling people to reach higher. It is about not just the negatives of tackling problems but the possibilities and positives of enhancing and enabling lives, creating opportunity, and enabling people and the country to thrive.”

– Lord Nigel Crisp

Last Friday was a pivotal moment for the Healthy Homes campaign. Lord Crisp’s (CB) Private Members Bill received its Second Reading in the House of Lords. Peers from across the political spectrum debated the Bill, where the case was made for passing it into legislation.   

Lord Crisp made a powerful introduction, where he summarised the overall purpose of the Bill:

“In short, it is about improving the lives, life chances and opportunities of our fellow citizens—particularly those who are most in need and have the fewest opportunities in life—and it is immensely practical.”

Lord Young of Cookham (Con) and Lord Blunkett (Lab) then followed by stating their support, drawing on the importance of bringing health and housing together as a route to greater personal opportunity.

Lord Stunell (LD), Baroness Prashar (CB), the Lord Bishop of Ely and Lord Shipley (LD) all outlined the importance of providing quality housing as many new developments are often lacking in this criterion for sustainable development.

Lord Best (CB) then highlighted three recent publications which point to the need for the bill: The University of Oxfords’ Commission on Creating Healthy Cities report (that  Lord Best chaired and which explicitly supports the campaign), the Meeting Housing Demand report for the Lords Select Committee on the Built Environment, and the Government’s levelling up White Paper.

Baroness Walmsley (LD) drew on the Bill’s inclusion of fire safety, and how if passed, this Bill may assist in other government ambitions.

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) connected the adverse effects of poor-quality housing to the North-South divide:

“The reality is that northern workers are facing extra costs for essentials of £133 per month, compared to an average in the south of £103. A significant part of such extra costs, £360 a year, is associated with poor housing—which, of course, is before the further increase in energy prices that we are expecting.”

Baroness Andrews (Lab) followed where she stated that:

“…unless we emphasise the building of places in their context, unless we get buildings and homes right, we will not be able to get the whole environment right.”

Baroness Brinton (LD) and Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab), the Opposition’s shadow spokesperson for levelling up, each stated their respective concerns with the quality of homes that are currently being built across the nation.

Despite such widespread and passionate support, Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con) outlined the Government’s opposition to the bill on the bases that the problems it identifies are already being dealt with via alternative policy routes. Lord Crisp countered this point by explaining that:

“…one of the fundamental points here is that quite a lot of what the Government have been doing has been proffering guidance and not making it mandatory. I noticed that a number of noble Lords around the Chamber talked about the importance of having some mandatory standards.”

As the Second Reading was then concluded, it was clear that the Bill receives support from Peers belonging to all of the major groupings in the Lords.

The next step will be the Committee Stage, where all parts of the Bill will receive a detailed examination. There is not yet date set for this, but we anticipate that this could be as early as this autumn.

A transcript of the full debate can be found here.

Date published: 18/07/2022

Yesterday DLUHC released their 2020-2021 English Housing Survey reports, detailing the state of the country’s housing stock.

Notably, the housing quality and condition report outlined that in 2020-2021, 3.5 million occupied homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard and 2.2 million contained at least one Category 1 hazard.

Overall, across most of the nation, improvements in the quality of the housing stock have stagnated, with some regions, such as the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber, clearly falling behind.

This is deeply concerning for the government’s levelling up agenda. And, at human level, a situation in which millions of people’s home undermine their occupiers’ health and safety is clearly unacceptable.

These reports focus on existing housing stock, but they make clear the need for new homes to address, rather than worsen, the crisis. This is often not the case.

With the second reading of Healthy Homes Bill on Friday next week, these reports only further emphasise the need for transformative change.

Date published: 08/07/2022

Last week, the Queen’s speech marked the beginning of the 2022-23 session of parliament and with it, the ballot for private members’ bills took place in the House of Lords. This ballot determines the order in which the first 25 of these bills – promoted by Peers of all stripes, and not just ministers – will be introduced.

We are delighted to announce that Lord Crisp’s Healthy Homes Bill was drawn 9^th, and will therefore be introduced on Thursday the 26^th May. This is a genuine and crucial opportunity to simplify and strengthen the way that we regulate the quality of new homes and ensure that they do not undermine their residents’ health and wellbeing.

Date published: 18/05/2022

According to a recent analysis by the New Economics Foundation, the provision of green space has declined in younger housing stock when compared to early 20^th century developments.

Residents in neighbourhoods built in the new millennium are more likely to have to travel further to reach their local parks, which are on average smaller than those built in past development periods. The median size of the nearest park for houses built in the 1930s was around 61,500m², whereas for houses built after the year 2000, the closest park is only about 36,200m² – a 40% decline!

Research has continually shown the importance of green space on both mental wellbeing and physical health. Access to green space is not a luxury. It is an essential component for achieving a good quality of life.

We clearly need to transform the way the built environment is regulated so that all new homes support residents’ life chances. A Healthy Homes Act would ensure that resident health and wellbeing is prioritised in all new developments by introducing a series of Healthy Home principles, including access to green space, to primary legislation. These high-level and holistic principles were developed with expert input and would provide the stronger, simpler foundations for local decision-making on new developments.

To celebrate the successes of the Healthy Homes campaign and thank our supporters, the TCPA and Lord Nigel Crisp will be hosting a parliamentary drinks reception on June 7. For more information see our formal invitation.

Date published: 05/05/2022

Yesterday was an important day for the Healthy Homes campaign. Peers from across the political spectrum made the case for Lords Crisp (CB), Young of Cookham (Con), Stunell (Lib Dem) and Blunkett’s (Lab) House of Lords committee stage amendment to the Building Safety Bill. This lays the ground for a vote on the amendment at Report Stage.

Lord Crisp’s amendment would ensure that the Building Safety Regulator, introduced by the Bill, would understand ‘safety’ as not just the absence of immediate physical harm, but also in terms of people’s wider health and wellbeing.

Lord Crisp (Cross Bench) made a powerful introduction to the amendment:

“We must not miss this opportunity to take a holistic view of safety. Do we want a future where we have regulated appropriately for fire but, to take just one example that the Committee will be addressing, let people fall down unsafe steps, even though we know what can be done to prevent it?” 

Lord Stunell followed this by making the case for a regulatory system based on a clear and strong ambition:

“…it’s that broader outlook, that broader vision of what we actually mean by making a building safe – creating a safe home for people – which lies at the heart of this amendment.” 

Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab) then outlined Labour’s support for Lord Crisp’s amendment, and how it will enable the Building Safety Bill’s content to match its aspirations:

“The opposition strongly supports Lord Crisp’s amendment. Safety is currently undefined in the bill. So it is simply not clear whether people’s health and wellbeing should be considered by the building regulator. This lack of clarity is unhelpful because the safety of people is generally defined as an absence of health risks or harms. By broadening the definition of safety in this part of the bill, the amendment provides an opportunity to look at the risks beyond high-rise buildings and fire and to address housing health and safety issues which the Bill’s title claims to address.”

The Earl of Lytton (Cross Bench) and Lord Foster of Bath (Lib Dem) also offered strong support for the amendment during the debate.

Yesterday’s debate signalled to the Government the strength of support for Lord Crisp’s amendment in the Lords. In doing so, it lays the ground for it to be voted on, and potentially added to the Bill, at Report Stage. We will be in touch again once a date has been set for this.

You can find the briefing we shared with Peers at committee stage here. A transcript of the full debate can be found here. 

During a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, both Labour and Conservative MPs raised concerns over the quality of many new build homes, highlighting the damaging impact of the government’s expansion of permitted development rights and calling for the introduction of improved or legally-binding housing standards.    

The shadow minister for housing and planning, Matthew Pennycook MP (Lab), said: 

“…the Government must, as a minimum, rescind the damaging relaxation of permitted development rights and return those powers to local government. Ministers should then turn their attention to what more the Government must do to encourage the creation of thriving communities that support the health and wellbeing of their residents, not least by implementing comprehensive national housing standards so that developers—particularly the volume housebuilders—have no choice but to deliver in core place making.” 

David Johnston MP (Con), the Conservative MP who led the debate, also argued powerfully for raising housing standards, and concluded: 

“As the chief executive of one of my local housing associations said to me, “[Developers] are building something to walk away from, and we are buying something we need to maintain for people to live in for 50 to 100 years.” That is at the core of the problem….a home should be a sanctuary, not a place of great stress.” 

The Building Safety Bill is currently making its way through Parliament and will soon reach report stage in the House of Commons. Amending the Bill to make its contents as ambitious as its long title – that is, to ensure the safety (and therefore health) of all people in or about buildings – would address the concerns raised by some MPs in the debate on Wednesday, by requiring developers to build all new homes to a standard which supports people’s health and wellbeing. Those which do not would be outlawed. 

Wednesday’s debate makes clear that concern for poor housing quality goes beyond party politics. Introducing legally-binding housing standards that consider all factors that shape people’s health and safety in or about buildings – not just risk of fire – to the Building Safety Bill, would be an ambitious but practical solution that would improve thousands of people’s lives. We are currently working with Lord Nigel Crisp to do this.  

The TCPA will publish an urgent briefing about how the Building Safety Bill could still be used to transform the quality of the built environment before it reaches report stage in the Commons.

Date published: 10/02/2022

The Local Government Association has published a new report which explicitly recognises the link between housing and health.  It calls for the delivery of tens of thousands of new affordable homes which are “delivered through a locally-led planning system with public participation at its heart which gives communities the power to ensure new developments are of a high standard…[and are]…built in the right places”, as a key part of the recovery from COVID-19.

A Healthy Homes Act would guarantee the delivery of quality homes while also ensuring that these homes were accompanied by the infrastructure needed to create high quality, sustainable places such as access to green space and good active travel links.

Date published: 22/04/2021

Since 9 September the House of Commons Public Bill Committee has been scrutinising the Government’s Building Safety Bill (BSB) – landmark legislation that represents the Government’s most substantial response to the Grenfell disaster. 

The bill’s scope means that it presents a huge opportunity for real reform, which transforms not just how we ensure that tall buildings at risk of fire are safe, but the whole of the built environment. In its current form, it does not capitalise on this opportunity. It is nowhere near ambitious enough.

The Bill’s long title states that it ‘Makes provision about the safety of people in or about buildings and the standard of buildings…’. But the ‘safety of people’ is generally defined as an absence of health risks or harms, and many important building-related risks or harms are not dealt with in the current BSB.  Such health risks include those caused by air pollution, overheating, a lack of access to greenspace and walkable neighbourhoods and cramped living conditions, among others. 

Introducing a definition of safety which includes the concept of ‘health’ would open the bill up to considering critical factors like these. This is what Shadow Planning Minister, Ruth Cadbury, and Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Mike Amesbury, argued in the Public Bill Committee last week. Their amendment read:

“In this part [of the Bill], “safety” means risk of harm arising from the location, construction or operation of buildings which may injure the health and wellbeing of the individual.” 

Citing the TCPA’s written evidence to the Committee, Mike Amesbury stated:

“…health risks and harms such as air pollution, overheating and noise pollution, as well as more indirect issues, such as poor accessibility or walkability, insecurity, lack of access to green space and cramped living conditions, are not covered by the Bill but undermine people’s wellbeing and health and ultimately their safety. I therefore hope that the Minister will consider the amendment.”

After an important debate, Amesbury and Cadbury withdrew their amendment. This is a major milestone for the Healthy Homes Act campaign, which lays the groundwork for further efforts to make the bill more ambitious as it moves through the legislative processes. Lord Nigel Crisp will be leading our campaign in the House of Lords.

To read the full transcript from the debate, click here.

Date published: 23/09/2021

The UCL Virus Watch research team have published new research which finds that members of overcrowded households are 2 to 4 times more likely to have been infected with the COVID-19 virus.  These findings echo those of a previous study carried out by the Health Foundation last year.  

This research underlines the importance of ensuring that all homes are spacious enough to allow for adequate ventilation and social distancing, both of which are factors known to significantly reduce virus transmission rates.  On 22^nd September, the UCL research team will be hosting an online panel discussion with experts in the field of health and housing policy to present the research findings, highlight the link between housing and COVID-19, and to discuss ways forward.  You can register for this event, here.      

UCL’s research concludes that “measures to protect overcrowded households from COVID-19 and promote healthier housing should be considered and evaluated…In the long run, minimum space and ventilation requirements and increasing the availability of affordable, appropriate housing should be considered”.  Over the next few months, the TCPA will be focussing on securing amendments to the Building Safety Bill to widen its scope from purely fire safety to a much wider consideration of how buildings affect the health and safety of their inhabitants, including requiring new homes to provide the liveable space needed to meet the needs of people over their whole lifetime.  This Bill presents a rare opportunity to fundamentally change the way we regulate the built environment so that homes are built to a decent standard and do not risk people’s long-term health and wellbeing.

Find more on the TCPA’s Healthy Homes Act campaign here. 

Date published: 10/09/2021