Boris Johnson has pledged to give apartment dwellers the “space they need” after he was confronted over rules which allow landlords to build tiny homes the size of his ministerial car.
A new government commissioned report found property developers were using freedoms introduced five years ago to create very small homes, some no bigger than garden sheds.
Under the rules, apartments can be created in existing buildings such as offices and shops without detailed planning permission.
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The report, commissioned by the housing ministry, found that many developers used the scheme to create much smaller than usual flats.
Only a tiny number had access to private outdoor space, while some had no windows.
One developer had plans approved to convert an office into two flats measuring eight and nine square metres, smaller than most parking spaces.
During prime minister’s questions in the Commons, Mr Johnson was told that the report had found studio flats “of just 16 square metres… a space as small as his ministerial car”.
The prime minister said that after the coronavirus crisis the UK would “build back better, build back more beautifully, but also give people the space they need to live and grow in the homes that we will build”.
