Average New Build House Is 8 sq Metres Too Small

Many new houses in the UK are "shameful shoebox homes" which are too small for family life, the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) has said.

It says average three-bedroom houses are 8% smaller - the space of a single bedroom - than the recommended minimum.

The institute, which looked at 3,418 three-bedroom homes in England, based its findings on building regulations which have come into force in London.

The House Builders Federation says that bigger homes could prove unaffordable.

Riba's Case for Space study discovered the average two-storey three-bedroom home for five people was 8 sq m (86 sq ft) too small.

It claims the shortfall in space is the same size as a single bedroom with a bedside table, wardrobe, desk and chair.

The most common new three-bedroom house was found to be smaller still, with 77% of the recommended minimum space - a shortfall equivalent to two double bedrooms.

The institute's research was based on the 96 sq m (1033 sq ft) London Plan space standards which have just been introduced in the capital. There are currently no UK-wide standards.

BBC