Homebuilding revolution to come of age amid housing crisis

Britain’s modular construction companies are moving at speed to deliver a revolution in the housing market unseen in the UK for generations, according to new research published yesterday by Make UK Modular, the trade body for modular housing. Greener, Better, Faster: Modular’s Role in Solving the Housing Crisis, shows that while innovation has left the construction industry largely untouched until now, precision engineered homes, factory-built in areas where employment is required and delivered to regions of the UK where housing is scarce, could help solve Britain’s growing housing crisis.

Factory engineering means modular homes can be built to consistently high sustainability standards, delivering savings of 55% on energy consumption compared to the average UK home and cost 32% less to heat than a traditional new build. This translates to savings of up to £800 a year for a three-bedroomed family home, and energy reduction rises to 60% for single- or two-person households living in smaller properties. Record investment by modular construction companies accounts for 30% of all R&D in the construction sector. This R&D is set to deliver even more energy efficient homes in the coming months at a time when households are struggling with an unprecedented cost of living crisis.

With housing availability and affordability at an all-time low, traditional construction is struggling to deliver Government targets for 300,000 new homes a year, exacerbated by a chronic and worsening shortage of skilled construction labour. Homes England missed its 2021-22 affordable homes target by 21.5%.

Building new homes at pace
However, modular housing has already proven it can build new homes at pace. Modular factories have been set up in those areas of the UK where employment is needed, creating a secure labour pipeline. Employment prospects are attractive with modular manufacturers delivering quality training and upskilling for new staff, enabling much-needed homes to be guaranteed for speedy delivery to regions of the UK where housing is in short supply.

Modular manufacturers already produce 3,300 homes a year; one in 60 of all new houses in the UK and by 2025, and with the right support, this could grow to over 20,000 new modular buildings each year, according to Make UK Modular. Not only are these modern precision-engineered homes quicker to build than traditional homes, but with no snagging or defects it is possible for a single crane to install a house perfectly in one day. Despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, modular has doubled its delivery of new homes since 2017 with a contracted pipeline of 8,000 homes already in place.

Modular manufacturers have chosen to build over 40 factories in post-industrial provincial towns or cities, creating over 3,000 jobs and delivering £700 million of investment to low-growth, low-employment areas — a figure which Make UK Modular says could easily double with some simple Government support.

Steve Cole, Make UK Modular director, said: “There is a housing success story in this country, and it is modular. The Government must capitalise on this as opportunities to transform our broken housing market into the most sophisticated in the world do not come around every day.

“The Government must accelerate modular delivery, building on the investment made and the jobs created, by removing the remaining barriers holding the industry back.”