<p><span>All new homes created under permitted development rights must now meet space standards, the housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.</span></p> <p><span>The change means that homes in England approved through a “lighter-touch prior approval” process to speed up delivery will have to conform to the Nationally Described Space Standard, which includes the stipulation that a new one bedroom flat should be a minimum of 37m² of floorspace.</span></p><p><span>This follows a “minority of developers” delivering small homes “without justification,” the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said. It stated that homes delivered under permitted development rights showed “little difference in quality” compared to those built with a planning application.</span></p> <p><span>MHCLG also said the </span><span>change would build on last year’s reforms implemented to ensure that homes delivered through permitted development provide adequate natural light.</span><span></span></p> <p><span>According to MHCLG, over the past four years more than </span><span>60,000</span><span> </span><span>homes have been delivered under permitted development rights.</span></p> <p><span>Robert Jenrick said: </span><span>“Permitted development rights are helping to deliver new homes and making an important contribution to our economic recovery from the pandemic, supporting our high streets by encouraging the regeneration of disused buildings and boosting our housing industry to safeguard the jobs of builders, plumbers and electricians.</span></p> …