Living in a Home Quality Mark Home
What does HQM mean for the homeowner?
It’s important you love where you live. It’s also important you make a smart choice on how your home will impact your pocket, your health and wellbeing and the environment around you.
An impartial rating that you can trust
The Home Quality Mark (HQM) is an independently assessed standard for new homes, which uses a simple 5-star rating to provide information from impartial experts on a new home’s design, construction quality and running costs.
As consumers we are accustomed to having wide ranging information available on products such phones, white goods, cars and insurance before we select and purchase them. But we often have far less information when it comes to choosing a new home to buy or rent – despite the much greater costs involved. The Home Quality Mark has been developed to meet this critical need for independent, reliable information.
HQM will enable householders to easily, but fully, investigate the quality of homes – establishing their likely running and maintenance costs, impacts on health and wellbeing, ability to cope with the demands of a changing climate and environmental impacts.
Star ratings and quality indicators
The Home Quality Mark comprises two elements, a five-star rating giving a clear overall picture of the home’s quality, and a set of indicators focussed on specific aspects that are of particular interest to key groups involved, such as home occupants, developers and planners.
The indicators for those buying and renting new homes are householder costs, positive impacts on health and wellbeing, and environmental footprint.
What is measured?
Independent HQM assessors examine a range of issues that are divided into three sections:
- Delivery – the processes that enhance understanding and co-operation between the designer, constructor, client and householder.
- Our Surroundings – the ability of homes to work with current and future surroundings.
- My Home – the provision of living spaces that are comfortable, healthy, cost effective and have reduced environmental impacts.
HQM Standard
HQM ONE is now available.
HQM Training
Find out more about HQM training and how to become a licensed assessor.
Why a Home Quality Mark?
Recent independent research shows that householders value expert guidance that they can trust when selecting a home.
How Is It Assessed?
Independent, fully trained and licensed professionals will asseess and score wide ranging aspects of a new home to give an overall quality rating.
Who is Behind the Home Quality Mark?
BRE, the UK's leading building science centre.
