Thursday, September 11, 2008
UK's new homes are 'smallest in Europe'
'Rabbit-hutch' Britain: UK's new homes are 'smallest in Europe'
New homes in Britain are the most cramped in Europe with almost every other country in western Europe providing its citizens with more living space. In Denmark, newly-built homes have almost twice as much floor space as those built here in the UK. The main reason for the UK's cramped living conditions is the lack of building regulations regarding living space, according to experts.
England and Wales are the only parts of Europe where house-building is unregulated by legally binding minimum space standards.
(link via dailymail.co.uk)
With no regulations, it's no wonder new homes are so small. And I do mean small - in most new houses, the bedrooms barely have room for a bed and little or no room for a wardrobe (closets aren't featured in British houses) and houses don't have basements so unless there is a utility room (laundry room), the washing machine is in the (tiny) kitchen. And it's not just the houses that are being built smaller, the garages are smaller too - and not big enough for a car!
It's shocking that England and Wales don't have regulations for miniumum space! It means that the developers can (and do!) build very tiny houses.
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Could it be that with 60 million population in the UK and most of then located in the South East and not a big land mass that this is part of the problem of new small builds?
ReplyDeleteVertically challenged 5.9" person who finds new small builds a challenge.
Yes, we live on a small, crowded island which is part of the problem, however that doesn't mean houses should be allowed to be built smaller and smaller.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful that my home was built in the 1930's as most after that have got progressively smaller.
ReplyDeleteThere is no need for it except that the house building industry is very old-fashioned in its outlook compared to Europe. Government bureaucracy hasn't helped either, which is a familiar lament. xx
You are right about government bureaucracy, flighty. I think the house industry is also very greedy - if they can get away with building four (maybe even five) tiny houses and squeezing them in space for three, then they will.
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