A home to die for? We can do better

 

A home to die for? draws attention to the conditions that residents are facing in their homes, including collapsing staircases and ceilings, crumbling brick facades, homes located alongside heavily polluted roads or those with serious damp issues.  

 

The new photobook, produced by the TCPA as part of its Healthy Homes campaign, illustrates how the housing crisis is about more than just a shortage of homes. The UK faces a crisis of good quality, well located and genuinely affordable housing. This directly affects people’s health and wellbeing, with over one in ten people in the UK living in homes that are ‘not decent’.

 

People on the lowest incomes are more likely to live in poor quality homes (Health Foundation) and nearly one in four people (24%) from Mixed White and Black African backgrounds live in non-decent homes (MHCLG). The government has set an ambitious target of building 1.5 million homes by 2029 – but to address rising health inequalities, this ambition must also address the quality of these homes. 

 

Progressive developers are already building homes that prioritise the health and wellbeing of their inhabitants – aiming to create communities to a high standard that will actually improve over time. As the recent shortlisted schemes for the Healthy Homes category of The Pineapples awards highlighted, we know how to build homes that are healthy, affordable, zero carbon and adaptable to meet people’s lifelong needs. We also know that those homes must be built to create complete, compact and connected neighbourhoods so people can easily access work and amenities. 

 

One in three consumers describe their new-build home as ’poor quality’

 

Why are so many new homes missing the mark? Shockingly, one in three (32%) consumers describe their new-build home as ‘poor quality’ (CIOB, 2025). These issues extend far beyond cosmetic imperfections, with the Competition and Markets Authority finding that a ‘substantial minority’ of developers delivered housing with serious structural problems such as collapsing ceilings (2024). As our photobook reveals, many housebuilders continue to prioritise profit over quality, resulting in housing that is poorly located, sub-standard, unsafe and unaffordable. 

 

But it’s not just new-build homes that are cause for concern. Poor-quality homes are also being produced through the Permitted Development (PD) rule changes introduced over the last decade. In the rush to boost housing numbers, PD rules allow a wide range of non-residential buildings, including offices and light industrial warehouses, to be converted into homes without requiring a full planning application.

 

Worryingly, housing converted through PD do not have to meet all building regulations, including structural safety, damp, overheating and accessibility rules. PD developers do not have to consider local planning requirements that aim to improve the housing, such as the provision of dual aspect windows to enhance ventilation. These developers also do not make the usual local contributions to affordable housing and essential services, such as schools or the GP, as they would through the full planning process.