Home quality mark HQM
On 3 March 2015, BRE (Building Research Establishment) introduced a voluntary, national Home Quality Mark (HQM) for new housing, to ensure quality isn’t compromised in the drive to build more homes. Ref BRE, New Home Quality Mark puts consumers at the heart of house building.
The mark was launched a Ecobuild, and is intended to influence the way consumers choose homes to buy or rent, giving them confidence that they are choosing a well built, cost-effective home. It will also allow house builders to highlight the innovative features of their homes and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
Homes built to the Home Quality Mark will be independently evaluated by a licensed BRE Global assessor using a 5-star rating system indicating the quality and performance of the new home, according to:
- Overall running costs.
- The impact on the occupant’s health and wellbeing.
- The home’s environmental footprint.
- Its resilience to flooding and overheating.
- The digital connectivity and performance of the home.
Developments built to standards such as Passivhaus or the Code for Sustainable Homes can be credited under the mark where compatible criteria apply.
A number of stakeholders are working with BRE on the development of the mark from its current beta testing stage, and it is currently being trialled on the E4 brick house under construction on the BRE Innovation Park in Watford. Builders have been able to register developments under the mark since June 2015. BRE Academy will be launching a new training course for assessors in the summer of 2015.
Chief Executive of BRE, Dr Peter Bonfield said, ‘It is our long term goal that the Home Quality Mark will become the de facto sign of a better home – something that home buyers can rely on and use in their purchase decisions. It will also be used by house builders to demonstrate the quality and performance of the homes they deliver.’
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Active House.
- Aktivplus.
- British standards.
- Building Research Establishment.
- Buildmark.
- CE marking.
- Code for Sustainable Homes.
- Cracking in buildings.
- Diversity and the housing crisis.
- Earthship.
- Healthy housebuilding briefing note.
- Home quality mark - access and space.
- Home quality mark - green finance.
- HQM ONE.
- Independent certification of homes.
- Kite mark.
- Lifetime homes.
- NHBC.
- NHBC technical standards.
- Passivhaus.
- Sustainable home.
- Third party certification.
- Wellbeing and creativity in workplace design - case studies.
- Zero Bills Home.
- Zero carbon homes.
Issue support documents
![]() |
These are Multiple Author Articles - click on them and add to them today. It's easy. |
You can also add to General Multiple Author Articles here.
Issue support documents are written for named BREEAM Issues or sub-issues. More info. (ac) = awaiting content.
Thanks to our Knowledge Sharing Ambassadors for a lot of this content | |
[edit] Management:
- BREEAM Sustainability champion
- BREEAM Environmental management
- BREEAM Considerate construction
- BREEAM Monitoring of construction site impacts
- BREEAM Aftercare support
- BREEAM Seasonal commissioning
- BREEAM Testing and inspecting building fabric
- BREEAM Life cycle cost and service life planning
- BREEAM Stakeholder consultation (ac)
- BREEAM Commissioning (ac)
- BREEAM Handover (ac)
- BREEAM Inclusive and accessible design (ac)
- BREEAM Post occupancy evaluation
[edit] Health and Wellbeing
- BREEAM Visual comfort Daylighting (partly ac)
- BREEAM Visual comfort View out
- BREEAM Visual comfort Glare control
- BREEAM Indoor air quality plan
- BREEAM Indoor air quality Ventilation
- BREEAM Thermal comfort
- BREEAM Internal and external lighting (ac)
- BREEAM Indoor pollutants VOCs (ac)
- BREEAM Potential for natural ventilation (ac)
- BREEAM Safe containment in laboratories (ac)
- BREEAM Acoustic performance
- BREEAM Safety and security (ac)
[edit] Energy
- BREEAM Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions
- BREEAM Energy monitoring
- BREEAM External lighting
- BREEAM Low carbon design
- BREEAM Passive design
- BREEAM Free cooling
- BREEAM LZC technologies
- BREEAM Energy efficient cold storage (partly ac)
- BREEAM Energy efficient transportation systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient laboratory systems
- BREEAM Energy efficient equipment (partly ac)
- BREEAM Drying space
[edit] Transport
- BREEAM Transport assessment and travel plan
- BREEAM Public transport accessibility
- BREEAM Sustainable transport measures
- BREEAM Proximity to amenities
- BREEAM Cyclist facilities
- BREEAM Alternative modes of transport (ac)
- BREEAM Maximum car parking capacity
- BREEAM Travel plan
- BREEAM Home office (ac)
[edit] Water
- BREEAM Water consumption
- BREEAM Water efficient equipment
- BREEAM Water monitoring
- BREEAM Water leak detection (ac)
[edit] Materials
- BREEAM Hard landscaping and boundary protection
- BREEAM Responsible sourcing of materials
- BREEAM Insulation
- BREEAM Designing for durability and resilience
- BREEAM Life cycle impacts
- BREEAM Material efficiency (ac)
[edit] Waste
- BREEAM Construction waste management
- BREEAM Recycled aggregates
- BREEAM Speculative floor & ceiling finishes
- BREEAM Adaptation to climate change
- BREEAM Operational waste
- BREEAM Functional adaptability (ac)
[edit] Land Use and Ecology
- BREEAM Site Selection
- BREEAM Ecological value of site
- BREEAM Protection of ecological features
- BREEAM Minimising impact on existing site ecology
- BREEAM Enhancing site ecology
- BREEAM Long term impact on biodiversity (ac)
[edit] Pollution
- BREEAM Impact of refrigerants
- BREEAM NOx emissions
- BREEAM Flood risk management (ac)
- BREEAM Surface water run-off (ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of night time light pollution (partly ac)
- BREEAM Reduction of noise pollution
Once an ISD has been initially created the '(ac)' marker can be removed
This particular index is based around the structure of the New Construction and RFO schemes.