Work starts on BSI Kitemark for MMC homes

Ministers hope changes will encourage greater adoption of MMC by levelling the playing field with traditional home building.

A universally recognised British Standard will broaden choice and access to product warranties, insurance and mortgages – reducing costs for home builders and buyers of MMC built homes.

This week, industry representatives will come together for the first in a series of working groups to inform the new guidance and share best practise for using MMC in areas such as manufacturing, logistics, design, and assembly of homes.

After this round of fact-finding, the government will launch a consultation on the proposals later this year.

Housing Minister Lucy Frazer said: “We want to help home building step into the future. This means embracing the latest technology to deliver more high quality, energy efficient homes for generations to come.

“Our work with the British Standards Institution and the wider industry will help to do just that – allowing more home builders to take up modern methods of construction, creating new jobs and homes across the country”

Anthony Burd, Head of Built Environment at British Standards Institution Knowledge Solutions said: “The British Standards Institution looks forward to working with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and industry on this hugely important standard.

“As society’s needs change and in light of the role all of us have to play on the road to Net Zero, improving levels of building safety and ensuring better design – Modern Methods of Construction will be key to meeting these future challenges.

“The standard will provide essential requirements and guidance for best practice in the residential building sector and much needed assurance for the growing off-site sector.”

The new requirements will be introduced by the British Standards Institution via a Publicly Available Specification.

This specification will set out the recommended technical standards when building homes using a range of Modern Methods of Construction categories, as well as defining quality assurance and compliance processes for the sector.