As of April 2025, the Home Quality Mark (HQM) has formally transitioned into BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential (UKNCR) – or more simply, BREEAM Residential. While some may view this as little more than a rebrand, the reality is more consequential.
This marks a strategic realignment of residential certification under the wider BREEAM framework – a shift that enhances credibility, aligns with planning and investor expectations, and streamlines sustainability across all building types.
At Temple, our team is ready to guide clients through this next phase, combining technical expertise with a deep understanding of commercial realities.
Why This Change Matters
HQM was introduced in 2015 following the withdrawal of the Code for Sustainable Homes. It provided a voluntary, third-party verified approach to housing quality and sustainability, but uptake remained modest, with just over 50,000 homes certified accounting for only around 2.8% of new builds over the past 10 years.
In contrast, BREEAM is a recognised sustainability standard, in use for over 30 years, and widely embedded in planning frameworks across the UK. It enjoys strong market recognition and investor confidence, particularly in the commercial property sector.
By integrating HQM into the suite of BREEAM schemes, the Building Research Establishment (BRE) is addressing longstanding issues with HQM’s market positioning, while preserving its technical strengths.
Why Now?
The shift comes at a pivotal moment. The UK Government has set a target to deliver 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, against the backdrop of an acknowledged housing crisis and intensifying climate emergency.
Approximately 25% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions originate from the built environment, placing a significant responsibility on the sector to accelerate decarbonisation. Historically, residential development has lagged behind the non-domestic sector, but it must now take a leading role in driving down emissions and delivering low-carbon, future-ready homes. This urgency is underscored by the forthcoming Future Homes Standard, which from 2025 will require new homes to emit 75–80% less carbon than those built to previous regulations.
Simultaneously, around 70% of UK local planning authorities already reference BREEAM in their policies. Like it has for the non-domestic market, it is anticipated that BREEAM Residential will become the de facto sustainability benchmark for residential schemes, helping developers demonstrate alignment with planning, funding, and ESG requirements.
What’s New?
If you’ve used HQM before, most of the core content will feel very familiar. The core structure and content of HQM remain broadly intact, but BREEAM Residential introduces several important changes:
- New Rating Structure: Projects will now be rated using the standard BREEAM scale (‘Pass’ to ‘Outstanding’), aligning residential ratings with the rest of the BREEAM family. Additional indicator scores for ‘Cost’, ‘Wellbeing’, and ‘Footprint’ are retained, reflecting key issues of concern to householders.
- Refreshed Style: A slightly updated look throughout and a new evidence guidance structure, aligning it more with the other BREEAM schemes.
- Updated Technical Criteria: Two sections in particular have seen substantial changes:
- 4.2 Natural Light (formerly Daylight): Now assessed using target illuminance rather than daylight factor. Bedrooms are included, and a new direct sunlight metric has been introduced.
- 4 credits: Kitchens
- 4 credits: Living rooms
- 2 credits: Bedrooms
- 3 credits: Direct sunlight
- 6.2 Building Life Cycle Assessment (formerly Environmental Impact of Materials): A full-building, cradle-to-grave LCA approach replaces the former dwelling-level focus. Projects can now earn credits by undertaking LCA assessments at early design, technical design, and post-construction. Additional credits are available for submitting data to a public database and for embodied carbon performance against an updated benchmark. The credits for material procurement and utilising EPDs remain unchanged.
- Minor changes have also been made to sections including sustainable transport, indoor pollutants, sound insulation, temperature, inspections, home information, and post-occupancy evaluation.
- 4.2 Natural Light (formerly Daylight): Now assessed using target illuminance rather than daylight factor. Bedrooms are included, and a new direct sunlight metric has been introduced.
Details of these minor changes can be found here:
Summary of Changes – UK New Construction: Residential V6.1 – Knowledge Base
Looking Ahead
While the benefits of BREEAM Residential are clear, widespread adoption won’t come without challenges.
As with HQM, the scheme remains voluntary at national level — for now. Its uptake will depend on planning policy, investor expectations, and the willingness of developers to lead. Without a regulatory requirement, some may hesitate to pursue certification unless it is tied to a planning obligation, funding condition, or client mandate. Broader uptake may require stronger policy signals or targeted financial incentives.
Perceived impacts on cost and resource availability remain key barriers. Securing a high BREEAM rating may require additional design input and upfront investment, which can be challenging in a market with tight margins and rising construction costs. However, these concerns are often overstated. In many cases, any capital uplift is modest, recoverable, and offset by long-term operational savings and enhanced asset value. Nonetheless, for some developers, viability concerns may persist without clear incentives or client demand.
It is therefore crucially important to reframe the conversation. Homes that are energy-efficient, well-designed, and resilient to future regulation tend to benefit from lower operating costs, stronger long-term value, and increased appeal to both buyers and investors. As sustainable design becomes standard practice and supply chains mature, these initial costs are expected to decline as seen with previous industry standards.
There is a need to shift how we define value; moving beyond short-term capital expenditure to focus on whole-life performance, operational savings, and market differentiation.
Despite the challenges, the outlook is positive. Integrating what was HQM into the wider BREEAM framework creates a clearer, more credible pathway — and momentum is expected to grow, particularly as progressive developers and planning authorities embrace the transition. As familiarity builds and exemplar projects emerge, BREEAM Residential is well placed to become the benchmark for sustainable homes.
Developers who prioritise sustainability today will be the market leaders of tomorrow positioning themselves as serious players in a landscape where sustainability increasingly defines quality, value, and reputation.
How Temple Can Support
Temple offers comprehensive support for clients navigating the new scheme – from feasibility through to final certification. Our team of licensed BREEAM Assessors and APs understand how to embed sustainability in a way that works with your programme, not against it.
We combine in-house expertise across carbon, ecology, air quality, acoustics and planning – enabling a truly integrated approach to sustainable development.
Whether you’re:
- Seeking early-adopter advantage and want to certify your next development
- Deciding how the new scheme affects your pipeline
- Aligning your ESG framework to BREEAM
- Or simply want to demystify the process…
Temple’s here to help!
Get in touch to discuss how Temple can support your sustainability and BREEAM goals and help turn sustainability into a strategic advantage.
We deliver BREEAM certification across all design, construction and refurbishment schemes and sectors, including:
- New Construction
- Refurbishment & Fit-out
- Communities
- Infrastructure (formally CEEQUAL)
- Residential (formally HQM)
Temple’s BREEAM Assessors and Accredited Professionals provide experienced expert advice across all RIBA stages, from early-stage feasibility advice and credit gap analysis, through to process oversight, evidence coordination and certification support.
We offer clear, pragmatic BREEAM advice grounded in deep technical expertise, regulatory insight, and a collaborative, inquisitive approach, demystifying the process and tailoring our support to your project, budget, and target rating to help you create lasting value.
With Temple, you also have access to a multi-disciplinary team that delivers complementary services in-house, streamlining procurement, de-risking delivery, and adding real value far beyond BREEAM compliance.