Are House Builders giving First Time Buyers what they need? Part 2 - Plot Size

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Posted on 11 August 2020

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The UK urgently needs more housing. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has estimated that 225,000 – 275,000 new homes are needed per year to keep up with population growth and 20 - 30 years of chronic undersupply. Housebuilders maintain that they are trying to meet this demand, but at what price?

Plot Sizes

Overall, housing plots are decreasing in size. With no national standard set in terms of internal space, builders are constructing smaller houses on much denser developments. In fact, average house sizes are now smaller than they were in the 1930s, while property prices have continued to rise.

The dimensions of the average garden have also shrunk. These days developers are under pressure from planning authorities to provide high quality public open space on their schemes, with the usual requirement equating to around 30% of the total development area. To offset this, gardens, traditionally the size of the footprint of the house, have decreased in size.

When questioned, most people would opt for a larger garden to go with their property.

Has today’s commitment to open space deprived homeowners of their own private outdoor space? 

Ben Oakes

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