Samantha May
Consultant (Sustainability & Energy)
Home Quality Mark Assessments
Understanding the quality, performance and attributes of a new-build home can be challenging. With housebuilders and householders placing more emphasis on sustainability, both in terms of cost-efficiency and impact on the environment, grading the true quality of a home is where the Home Quality Mark (HQM) comes in.
HQM aims to create high-quality sustainable homes suitable for both the home user and the surrounding environment. Assessments can help secure planning and funding by ensuring thresholds such as energy efficiency and water usage are met.
As a licensed HQM assessor organisation, we work with developers, housing associations, architects and design teams, offering our advice on how to provide sustainable buildings with practical, sensible and cost-effective solutions.
Building better homes
- HQM helps everyone to fully understand the quality, performance and attributes of a new-build home.
- It can be used as a tool to guide and improve the sustainability performance of a development which can cut costs during the construction phase as well as reducing the overall running cost of the building in the long term.
- HQM certification provides recognition of a well-designed building which has taken measures to minimise its impact on the environment and improve the health and wellbeing of its residents.
How do they work?
The HQM assessment rating is made up of three main sections that aim to improve the quality of the home for both the home user and the surrounding environment.
- Delivery - encourages good communication between the design team, contractor and home user to ensure a high quality of construction is achieved.
- Our Surroundings - looks at the home’s ability to work with current and future surroundings.
- My Home - focuses on the internal living space to encourage comfortable, healthy and cost-effective areas to live whilst minimising the impact on the environment.
Robust three-stage approach
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We're here to support you
Using our three-stage approach, we can guide you through the HQM so the required rating is achieved.
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1. Pre-assessment
We undertake a detailed pre-assessment which provides the strategy required to meet a specific HQM level. It can provide guidance at an early stage to show which areas of the project need improvement in order to meet the required rating.
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2. Design stage assessment
We'll guide the design team in incorporating the pre-assessment into the design, ensuring the required sustainability criteria are met. Where the rating is not met, we recommend areas to improve.
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3. Post-construction stage assessment
The evidence from previous stages is reviewed and updated. We carry out a site visit to confirm the design stage elements have been implemented. Once all of the criteria have been met, the BRE issues a full HQM certification for the project.
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