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Future Homes Commission

 

The Future Homes Commission has been tasked with conducting an inquiry into the quality of newly built housing with the aim of understanding how people live today, what they need and expect from their homes and whether the design and delivery of new homes is fit for purpose.

The Commission, chaired by Sir John Banham, former Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), has now issued its call for evidence| from experts in the housebuilding industry, academia and government, and will engage with people in their front rooms, town centres and online, to build a comprehensive picture about what people want and need from their homes and how the market can deliver this.

In reaching its recommendations the Commission will consider:

• The contemporary consumer - what people want and need from their homes in a modern context and what modern lifestyles demand from homes now, as well as how people access the housing market.
• The marketplace - marketing materials, surveying and lending.
• The housebuilding industry - barriers to delivery and viability (quantity) as well as to meeting consumer preferences and needs (quality).
• The local authority role in promoting good quality homes - the barriers and constraints within the planning system and the local authority's role in encouraging high quality housing and assessing what is needed.
• How homes shape our lives - research into the impact of housing on wellbeing, mental and public health.
• The policy context - how government policy might support good quality housing development and what the constraints may be. 
• Unlocking innovation - looking at models that differ to the traditional housebuilding model.

The Future Homes Commission will make recommendations to government, the housebuilding industry, architects and the RIBA and is expected to issue its final report in the autumn of 2012.