The nationally described space standard, and how many new homes meet it

What the space standard is

The nationally described space standard is the government's table of the least internal floor area a new home should have. It was published in 2015 as one of the optional technical housing standards, and it replaced the different space standards councils had used before with one national table.

It measures gross internal area: the floor inside the external walls, on every floor, including stairs, landings and built-in cupboards. Any area where the headroom is under 1.5 m, such as the edges of a loft room, does not count.

The table

The standard sets an area for each size of home, described by its bedrooms and the people they sleep (a 3 bedroom home with one double and two single bedrooms is a 3 bedroom, 4 person home), and by its storeys, because stairs take space. Each size also needs a minimum of built-in storage.

A one bedroom home for one person may be 37 square metres where it has a shower room instead of a bathroom. Studio flats, the one bedroom, one person row, are the smallest homes the standard allows.

The rules for rooms

The standard also sets rules for the rooms themselves:

• a home for two or more people has at least one double or twin bedroom;
• a single bedroom has at least 7.5 m² of floor and is at least 2.15 m wide;
• a double or twin bedroom has at least 11.5 m², and the first is at least 2.75 m wide, every other at least 2.55 m;
• the ceiling is at least 2.3 m high over at least 75% of the floor.

A room smaller than the single bedroom minimum provides no bed space under the standard, so a small "study" adds nothing to the people a home is designed for.

How many new homes meet it

We compared the stated floor area of every new home for sale in England with the standard's figure for the size of home most often sold at each bedroom count: a one-storey flat for two people with one bedroom, and a two-storey house for four, five and six people with two, three and four bedrooms.

The middle half of homesSpace standard minimum

1. 1 bedroom550 sq ft
2. 2 bedrooms765 sq ft
3. 3 bedrooms1,012 sq ft
4. 4 bedrooms1,371 sq ft

05001,0001,500

Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 12 November 2026. Standard: Technical housing standards: nationally described space standard, read 12 November 2026.

Show the figures

New homes against the national space standard

Bedrooms	Standard (people, storeys)	Standard	Middle size	At or above
1 bedrooms	2 people, 1 storey	538 sq ft (50 m²)	550 sq ft	89%
2 bedrooms	4 people, 2 storeys	850 sq ft (79 m²)	765 sq ft	21.3%
3 bedrooms	5 people, 2 storeys	1,001 sq ft (93 m²)	1,012 sq ft	55.5%
4 bedrooms	6 people, 2 storeys	1,141 sq ft (106 m²)	1,371 sq ft	95.5%

55.5% of the 3 bedroom new homes that state a floor area meet the 93 square metres of a two-storey home for five people, and 21.3% of the 2 bedroom homes meet the 79 square metres of a two-storey home for four. The middle 3 bedroom new home is 1,012 square feet, or 94 square metres.

Two cautions. A listing rarely says how many people a home is designed for, and a 3 bedroom home designed for four people has a lower minimum (93 square metres is the five person figure); and a builder's stated area can include an integral garage, which the standard does not count. So the share below the line is a guide to how tight new homes are, not a count of homes that break a rule.

The spread within each size

The floor area of new homes for sale by bedrooms, the middle half of each size marked, with the middle:

1. 1 bedroom550 sq ft
2. 2 bedrooms765 sq ft
3. 3 bedrooms1,012 sq ft
4. 4 bedrooms1,371 sq ft
5. 5+ bedrooms1,880 sq ft

05001,0001,5002,0002,500

Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 12 November 2026.

Show the figures

Floor area of a new home, by bedrooms

Bedrooms	Smallest quarter up to	Middle	Largest quarter from	Stating a size
1 bedroom	541	550	572	319
2 bedrooms	731	765	827	1,102
3 bedrooms	932	1,012	1,107	2,726
4 bedrooms	1,274	1,371	1,500	2,585
5+ bedrooms	1,751	1,880	2,166	477

The spread is wide. Half of all 3 bedroom new homes fall between 932 and 1,107 square feet, so two homes sold as 3 bedroom houses can differ by a room's worth of floor.

When the standard applies

The standard is optional. A council can require it through its local plan, after showing the need for it, and then every new home given planning permission under that plan must meet it. Where the council has not adopted it, a builder may build smaller homes. Since 2021, homes made from offices and shops under permitted development rights have had to meet it too.

You can check whether your council has adopted it by searching its local plan for "nationally described space standard". If it has, and a home looks small for its bedrooms, ask the sales adviser for its gross internal area and the number of people it was designed for.

By type and by builder

The middle size of each kind of new home:

Middle sizePrice per sq ft

1. Detached houses9,648 homes1,338 sq ft£350 a sq ft
2. Semi-detached houses4,459 homes970 sq ft£348 a sq ft
3. Terraced and town houses1,723 homes932 sq ft£371 a sq ft
4. Flats and apartments1,666 homes746 sq ft£527 a sq ft
5. Bungalows142 homes981 sq ft£382 a sq ft

Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 12 November 2026.

Show the figures

Size and price per square foot, by type of home

Type	Middle size	Per sq ft	Middle price	Homes
Detached houses	1,338 sq ft	£350	£450,000	9,648
Semi-detached houses	970 sq ft	£348	£320,995	4,459
Terraced and town houses	932 sq ft	£371	£295,000	1,723
Flats and apartments	746 sq ft	£527	£363,000	1,666
Bungalows	981 sq ft	£382	£380,000	142

And the middle size of a 3 bedroom home from each of the biggest builders, where at least ten state a size:

1. London Square1,237 sq ft
2. Elan Homes1,186 sq ft
3. Esquire Developments1,179 sq ft
4. Hill1,154 sq ft
5. Anwyl Homes1,154 sq ft
6. Matthew Homes1,148 sq ft
7. Cala Homes1,134 sq ft
8. Elivia Homes1,128 sq ft
9. Bovis Homes1,107 sq ft
10. City & Country1,103 sq ft
11. Ashwood Homes1,079 sq ft
12. Rowland Homes1,075 sq ft

Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 12 November 2026.

Show the figures

Middle size of a 3 bedroom home, by builder

Builder	Middle size	Homes for sale
London Square	1,237 sq ft	112
Elan Homes	1,186 sq ft	68
Esquire Developments	1,179 sq ft	120
Hill	1,154 sq ft	180
Anwyl Homes	1,154 sq ft	127
Matthew Homes	1,148 sq ft	55
Cala Homes	1,134 sq ft	328
Elivia Homes	1,128 sq ft	49
Bovis Homes	1,107 sq ft	455
City & Country	1,103 sq ft	66
Ashwood Homes	1,079 sq ft	40
Rowland Homes	1,075 sq ft	99

Builders reuse their house types from site to site, so a builder's sizes are fairly consistent. Our article on the average house size in the UK goes further, by region and builder, and compare plots puts the floor areas of two or three homes side by side.

How we worked it out

The floor areas are those stated for the new homes NewHomeSearch lists as for sale in England today, read each day from the builders' own websites and the listings portals through HomePortfolio. A stated area below 150 or above 15,000 square feet is treated as a misread figure and left out, and a size is compared only when at least ten homes of it state a floor area. One square metre is 10.7639 square feet.

The standard's figures are those of the government's nationally described space standard, read at the source on 7 November 2026. Every figure is worked out again from the day's listings each time the page is opened. Read more in the methodology.