The British Standards Institution (BSI) has been commissioned by the government to develop a new official standard for homes that have been built using modern methods of construction (MMC).
Announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities (DLUHC) on 24 January 2023, the new standard aims to ensure a higher quality of MMC builds across the board at a more affordable cost for new home buyers and young people. Additionally, it will allow more people to benefit from the technology and boost the growth of the housing industry – in line with the government’s ambition to “boost innovation in homebuilding”.
Lucy Frazer, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, said:
“We want to help homebuilding step into the future. This means embracing the latest technology to deliver more high-quality, energy-efficient homes for generations to come.
“Our work with the British Standards Institution and the wider industry will help to do just that – allowing more homebuilders to take up modern methods of construction, creating new jobs, and homes across the country.”
MMC as an efficient and effective process for building new homes and buildings has been gaining momentum in recent years. In 2019, the government launched a cross-industry working group to build an MMC definition framework.
The pioneering concept loosely refers to modular constructs built in a factory setting that are then assembled on-site. While its advantages over traditional builds have been widely advertised, MMC does present its own set of fire safety risks, including issues with cavity barriers and compartmentation, and the use of lightweight combustible building materials. At present, the same Buildings Regulations apply to MMC as they do to traditionally constructed buildings, and do not reflect the potentially unique hazards that MMC buildings pose unless special quality assurance measures are taken.
Thus, the BSI will introduce the universally recognised requirements of MMC through a Publicly Available Specification. This will outline the “recommended technical standards when building homes using a range of MMC categories, as well as defining quality assurance and compliance processes for the sector”.
Such a standard will also increase the choice of homes that are available and access to product warranties, insurance, and mortgages.
Notably, from 24 January onwards, the BSI will run working groups with 30 industry stakeholders, where professionals will share their expertise and best practices regarding MMC manufacturing, logistics, design, and the assembly of homes. Using these views to inform its new guidance, the DLUHC is also expected to launch a consultation on the proposals outlined by BSI later in 2023.
Head of Built Environment at the BSI, Anthony Burd, said: “As society’s needs change and in light of the role all of us have to play on the road to net zero, improving levels of building safety, and ensuring better design – Modern Methods of Construction will be key to meeting these future challenges.
“The standard will provide essential requirements and guidance for best practice in the residential building sector and much-needed assurance for the growing off-site sector.”
Steve Cole, Director of Make UK Modular, welcomed the housing minister’s plans to utilise MMC in the housebuilding industry: “We welcome her commitment to embracing new technology and look forward to working with her and the DLUHC team to deliver 30,000 modular homes a year by 2030.”