Modern methods of construction (MMC)
Last updated 25/02/2011: any recent updates in this colour.
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Modern methods of construction (MMC)
It is probably true to say that there are more types of non-traditional construction in the UK than in almost any other country in the world and the number of types is growing. The housebuilding industry is changing. Market forces are driving the industry to reconsider their approach to serving their customers. Government agendas on rethinking construction, planning policy, issues of supply and demand and building regulations are forcing the industry to reconsider the way houses are built. In the sustainable communities plan the government has linked use of MMC with the drive to boost housing supply, thus further raising the salience of the issue for lenders and other stakeholders. The Housing Corporation has stated that 25% of all new grant-aided construction by housing associations should be by MMC.
In terms of older non-traditional housing types, a small number of housing systems were designated as defective under the 1984 housing defects legislation, which was then incorporated into the Housing Act of 1985. A company named PRC Homes Ltd (a subsidiary of the National House Building Council (NHBC) was set up in 1985 to license repair schemes for housing systems designated as defective under the Act. The scheme was discontinued on 30 September 1996. There will thus be very few if any properties still under the original 10 year warranty. For mortgage purposes, generally lenders will only accept fully PRC Homes licensed schemes or, in some cases, the non-traditional housing appraisal (NTHAS) scheme. In addition, the life of any refurbishment should be at least 55/60 years. A large number of designs have proved problematic but were not registered under the PRC scheme. It is not uncommon for owners of these properties to encounter difficulties in obtaining a mortgage.
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has been working with the Building Research Establishment (BRE) to develop a new certification standard for MMC - LPS 2020. The new standard is intended to meet the concerns of lenders, insurers and other stakeholders in terms of key issues such as durability, whole life costs, repairability, insurability and flood resilience. The new standard, which has been subject to extensive consultation with lenders, was launched as a written standard in Spring 2006. Work with BRE continues to extend the scope of the standard from design and manufactures to erection of a design on site and application of LPS 2020 to an individual property. It is the individual property rather than a design or set of components that constitute security for a loan from the lender perspective.
