Content updates: new minimum space standards, April 2021
Legislative updates relevant to prior approval applications for new dwellinghouses (including through change of use) are coming into force from 6 April 2021 and apply to any such application submitted from that point onwards.
Permitted development legislation has been amended in relation to space standards, and specifies that any new dwellinghouse will only be eligible for permitted development rights if it has a gross internal floor area of at least 37 square metres, and complies with the nationally described space standard.
From 6 April 2021, our content within the application system and our fillable PDF forms will be updated to reflect the amended legislation.
Planning Portal Blog 
I’ve read your article and links to government information but cannot find anything on ‘new minimum space standards’ except that PD will now have to fall in line with EXISTING space standards. If they have changed could you please summarise those changes.
Hi Tom, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-housing-standards-nationally-described-space-standard (as linked in the above article) for full details of the amendments.
This raise two issues 1) Previously the NDSS were not mandatory and were ‘optional for Local Authorities to adopt’ – is the NDSS now mandatory? 2) is the ‘Built-In’ storage requirement still a requirement if space within the dwelling complies with Building Regulations Part M4 (2) and Homes England Housing Quality Indicator – Furniture Standards?
Hi John, in the specific case of dwellinghouses created via Permitted Development rights, legislation now states that they have to comply with the NDSS to benefit from these rights, see Paragraph 9A here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/article/3
I would assume that this includes all the provisions of the standard, including built-in storage requirements.
Obviously, this is for permitted development rights, so that is not to say you couldn’t apply for planning permission for the same proposal, choose not to comply with the NDSS in certain areas and establish the reasons for not doing so as part of that application.
Thank you James – I really do appreciate your help on this. To clarify I am not suggesting that the properties are smaller than the NDSS in fact quite the opposite a property designed to accommodate all the furniture detailed in the Housing Quality Indicator Schedule plus the 1.5m x 1m future lift provision required by Life Time Homes Criterion 12 results in the property exceeding the NDSS minimum ‘m2’ requirement – therefore to rephrase my question – Is there a requirement to provide ‘built-in’ storage if the property is designed to accommodate all the intended Furniture set on the HQI Schedule if the property exceeds the NDSS minimum GIA ‘m2’?
No worries John. To be honest, I kept my response within the realms of the initial article and to the areas directly relevant to the services and information we provide. I understand your question, but am not in a position to be able to offer a definitive answer to it.
Reading the technical requirements of the DHSS (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-housing-standards-nationally-described-space-standard/technical-housing-standards-nationally-described-space-standard), it states that “The standard requires that … the dwelling provides at least the gross internal floor area and built-in storage area set out …”. It offers no exemptions to this, so one would tend to assume that the built-in storage requirements have to be complied with (as part of overall compliance with the standard).