Design Manual for Quality Housing
- Published on: 21 January 2022
- Last updated on: 17 February 2025
This Manual seeks to provide guidance on the design of Social Housing developments in respect of site layouts and the internal layouts of individual dwellings, principally to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), and their consultants.
The sample site layouts included in this Manual set out the urban design and placemaking priorities, consistent with compact growth, to assist in the delivery of high-quality and sustainable housing developments. These layouts are intended to illustrate the design principles and good practice that the department, when evaluating the acceptability of scheme designs for funding approval, would expect to see implemented, whilst accepting that each scheme will have its own site-specific influences.
The standard internal layouts provided in this Manual are considered to be fully consistent with the design principles set out in the department’s Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities (2007) and Design Standards for New Apartments (DSFNA) (2018) guidelines. Accordingly, whilst optional to use, these internal layouts for a wide range of houses, apartments and duplexes are considered to meet the department’s requirements for good quality accommodation for future residents.
A standardised design approach is also recognised as being key in facilitating ease of adoption of MMC. All of the Manual layouts allow for construction utilising 2D panelised systems, however following the publication of the Manual in 2022, the Department has engaged with industry and has identified a limited number of the Manual internal layouts which have been adjusted to allow for delivery utilising different forms of MMC, including 3D ‘volumetric’ systems.
The Manual seeks to promote a consistent approach nationally by local authorities and AHBs in respect of design priorities and space standards. The site and internal layouts are not for construction purposes, and statutory requirements such as planning approval and building regulation compliance will have to be met in the normal manner.
