Government announcement on M4(2) and M4(3) standards in the draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) | Latest news

Statement from Christina McGill, Director of Social Impact and External Affairs at Habinteg Housing Association

We welcome the government’s proposals to strengthen requirements for accessible and adaptable housing through reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This week’s announcement includes a new national expectation that at least 40% of new homes should meet the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard, alongside continued provision for M4(3) wheelchair-accessible homes.

This announcement sends an important and positive signal that the housing needs of disabled and older people need specific strategic attention. Just 12% of our current housing stock provides even the most basic accessibility features, leaving millions of people in homes that don’t adequately meet their needs. For many, this means living with the risks of trips and falls or being dependant on others to undertake ordinary daily activities such as washing and cooking.  

As a long-term campaigner for accessible homes and as co-chair of the Housing Made for Everyone coalition Habinteg believes that improving accessibility standards in new housing is therefore not an optional nice-to-have, it’s essential to the long term success of the country’s new homes programme.

Requiring a minimum of 40% of new homes to be built to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard or higher is a step in the right direction. If delivered in areas that don’t already have a policy to build them, it will make a positive difference in providing inclusive places to live that can adapt to people’s changing needs and the needs of different households well into the future.

However, while the direction of travel is welcome, we believe the proposal could go further. Habinteg’s recent Accessible Homes Forecast showed that around two thirds of local plans already include requirements for M4(2) homes. Our findings indicate that in eight out of nine English regions over 40% of new homes will already be built to the M4(2) standard or M4(3) wheelchair user standard over the coming decade.

It’s therefore critical that any nationally imposed percentage rule is implemented as a bare minimum and not seen as a target to include in local plans that are coming up for review.

We’re also keen that any new policy should apply across all tenures. Without clear guidance, M4(2) requirements could be designated in Local Plans through affordable tenures alone, leaving accessible homes vulnerable to non‑delivery on viability grounds and limiting access to accessible homes in the market sector. This would undermine the inclusive intent of the policy.

Crucially, the previous government recognised that all new homes should be accessible and adaptable as standard. So, despite being a step in the right direction, introducing a 40% minimum requirement would be a step back from that ambition. We must recognise that building homes that lack accessibility and adaptability features stores up costs for individuals, families, the NHS and social care services, as homes require expensive adaptations or force people to move when their needs change.

Making all new homes meet or exceed the M4(2) standard would be a forward‑looking response to demographic change and would ensure that accessibility is embedded across the whole housing market, not treated as a niche or specialist issue. Developers have long called for a level playing field and a new national baseline would deliver this.

We look forward to engaging with colleagues across the housing and planning sector in developing our detailed response to the NPPF consultation. Our ultimate goal remains for the government to go further and require 100% of new homes to be built to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard, with appropriate and robust provision for M4(3) wheelchair accessible homes. Only by doing so will England deliver the inclusive, future‑proofed housing stock that people need and deserve.

Image: Christina McGill