New Home Quality Mark Puts Consumers at the Heart of House Building

LONDON, March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading building science centre BRE introduces a national quality mark for new housing that will transform the way consumers choose the homes they buy and rent.  

Using a simple 5-star rating, the Home Quality Mark will give home buyers and renters a clear indication of the quality and performance of a new home. It will illustrate the home's overall running costs at a time when average energy bills top £1,000. It will show the impact of the home on the occupant's health and wellbeing as homes become more airtight, respiratory conditions rise and our population gets older. It will also demonstrate the home's environmental footprint and its resilience to flooding and overheating in a changing climate. Additionally the mark will evaluate the digital connectivity and performance of the home as the speed, reliability and connectivity of new technology becomes ever more critical.

Recent consumer research* carried out by BRE supports the introduction of the Home Quality Mark with 97% of respondents in a survey saying they would welcome it. A number of leading house builders** also support its introduction as it will provide them with a valuable independent quality mark they can use to highlight the innovative features of their homes and differentiate themselves in the marketplace at a time of rapid growth and change in the sector.

Chief Executive of BRE Dr Peter Bonfield says 'It is our long term goal that the Home Quality Mark will become the de facto sign of a better home - something that home buyers can rely on and use in their purchase decisions. It will also be used by house builders to demonstrate the quality and performance of the homes they deliver.'

CALA Homes, one of the UK's top ten house builders, plans to trial the mark. Its Chief Executive Alan Brown said, 'Independent benchmarking of new homes is hugely important. For CALA, it provides third party recognition of our commitment to consistently build high quality, sustainable homes. For homeowners, it offers a simple and reliable measure of the energy performance of the property they are buying. We look forward to working with BRE on the new Home Quality Mark.'

Behind the mark is the UK's leading building science centre, BRE (Building Research Establishment), who have many years of experience in developing and implementing standards for buildings and communities which are used in over 70 countries around the world.

Currently the mark is being trialled by building products manufacturer Wienerberger on a new project called the E4 brick house which is under construction on the BRE Innovation Park in Watford.

The mark will be formally launched to the house building industry on 3^rd March at the Ecobuild exhibition. House builders can register developments under the Home Quality Mark from June 2015.

NOTES TO EDITOR 

* Research included: 

• Survey with 500+ users of http://www.moneysupermarket.com which explored the factors that influence people's choice of home
• A number of focus group studies with UK house buyers
• A number of focus group studies with UK occupiers of sustainable homes
• Consultation with the house building industry including written survey and workshops
• Findings of research are available from http://www.homequalitymark.com

** Organisations working with BRE on the Home Quality Mark include: 

CALA Homes
Linden Homes
Lend Lease
Kier
Kingspan
Sustainable Homes
Gentoo
Accord
AES Southern Ltd
Construction Products Association
Galliford Try
Wienerberger
Volker Fitzpatrick
St Gobain
Ecology Building Society
HTA
Hoare Lea
Element Sustainability
Zed Factory
Sustainable Building Solutions

BRE (Building Research Establishment)  

BRE is a world leading building science centre that generates new knowledge through research. This is used to create products, tools and standards that drive positive change across the built environment. BRE helps its government and private sector clients meet the significant environmental, social and economic challenges they face in delivering homes, buildings and communities.

BRE is owned by the BRE Trust, a registered charity. The Trust uses the profits made by the BRE companies to fund research and education that advances knowledge of the built environment http://www.bre.co.uk

For further information go to  http://www.homequalitymark.com

SOURCE BRE (Building Research Establishment)