The government began consultation on the way councils would use the new evidence-based housing health and safety rating system (proposed in the Housing Bill) to tackle housing in poor condition. It said the proposed rating system would help to ensure homes in poor condition were improved and made safe.
Source: Housing Health & Safety Rating System: Enforcement Guidance, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | Housing Health and Safety Rating System Guidance (Version 2): Unfinalised draft | Press release 22 December 2003, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Links: Enforcement guidance (pdf) | Enforcement guidance | Guidance version 2 (pdf) | ODPM press release
Date: 2003-Dec
Campaigners attacked 'outdated' legislation on standards of overcrowding in homes. They called for a new statutory definition of overcrowding, and for more family-sized affordable homes to be built. They said that black and minority ethnic people were seven times more likely than white people to experience overcrowding.
Source: Press release 29 October 2003, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Shelter press release
Date: 2003-Oct
A report called for an extensive review of existing building regulations and the planning system, in order to address issues such as the environmental impacts of building materials, energy and water consumption and access to good public transport.
Source: Building Sustainably: How to plan and construct new housing for the 21st century, Sustainable Housing Forum/Town and Country Planning Association (020 7930 8903)
Links: Report (pdf) | WWF/TCPA press release (Word file)
Date: 2003-Oct
The government began consultation on a proposal by the construction industry to improve noise insulation in new houses. The proposal was put forward as an alternative to the government's plan for tough new tests for sound insulation for new dwellings and conversions, which the industry argued would lead to delays and higher costs. The alternative would involve investing in high performance designs with checklists to verify correct construction.
Source: Amendment of the Building Regulations to Allow Robust Standard Details to be Used as an Alternative to Pre-completion Testing, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000)
Links: Consultation document (pdf) | ODPM press release
Date: 2003-Aug
Three research reports were published on the new 'housing health and safety rating system', an evidence-based system developed to replace the current housing fitness standard (as proposed in the draft Housing Bill).
Source: DTZ Pieda Consulting, Evaluation of Version 1 of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236) | Robert Flynn, Simon Nicol, Mike Roys, Lorna Hamilton and Kathryn Rathouse, Application of the HHSRS in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister | Stephen Battersby et al., Supporting Statistics for the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Links: DTZ report (pdf) | DTZ summary | Flynn report (pdf) | Flynn summary | Battersby report (pdf) | Battersby summary | ODPM press release | Draft Housing Bill (pdf)
Date: 2003-May
An MP introduced a 10-minute rule Bill which would establish a new bedroom standard , limiting the number of adults or children who can share a bedroom; end the practice of including living rooms and kitchen/dining rooms as rooms available to sleep in when determining whether a household is statutorily overcrowded; require local authorities to tackle overcrowding as part of their housing strategy; and require the government to consider overcrowding in decisions about funding for new affordable housing.
Source: Housing (Overcrowding) Bill, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 22.1.03, columns 323-325, TSO
Links: Hansard | Shelter press release
Date: 2003-Jan
