Innovation Spotlight: Modular Housing

There isn’t one solution to ending homelessness and the sector is constantly evolving and responding to ever-changing needs and environments. One of Homeless Link's core roles is to identify and platform innovation in the homelessness sector. Over the last couple of months, we have identified a number of projects focussed on modular housing and in this piece, we explore the opportunities, risks and future of the practice. Is modular housing a solution for ending homelessness?

Why modular housing?

If you were to ask ten people what the main cause of homelessness was, you might get a broad spectrum of opinions from poverty drivers, a lack of prevention work and no funding security, but a universally accepted truth is that we are in a housing crisis. A lack of suitable and affordable homes is one of the key battles we face in our aspirations to be a country free from homelessness and the growth in modular housing is responding directly to this issue by providing housing that is quick to build, relatively cheap and easily replicable.

What is modular housing?

That’s a slightly more complicated question than you might expect.

Modern Methods of Construction, or MMC has seven official categories. When we talk about ‘modular housing’, we are mainly talking about category one, volumetric, which refers to housing that has been partly or wholly constructed in a factory. However, even narrowing that definition down, still leaves a very broad range of buildings that fall under the category of modular housing.

What are the different kinds of modular housing?

There is a growing industry of modular housing, and in the UK volumetric MMC is the only category to have a Trade Group - Make UK Modular. Their tagline:

“Greener, better, faster. Modular’s role in solving the housing crisis.”

A report from this group stated that there was capacity to build 20,000 low carbon, energy efficient homes across England by 2025. The key word in this sentence, is home and seems to be one of the most controversial aspects of the use of modular housing within the homelessness sector.

Modular housing has taken on many different forms in providing both permanent and temporary housing solutions for a wide range of people. In the USA, people who are far away from experiencing homelessness are investing in modular:

Image is of a large, four-bedroom family home.

And large is the point, because space standards matter when it comes to modular. Space standards are not building regulations, but they do remain as a technical planning standard and according to the national space standard, the minimum gross internal floor space for a one-bedroom flat for one person is 37m2.

Although modular housing absolutely has the potential to provide a permanent and space compliant home, the reality is that most of the modular housing being used for people experiencing homelessness is something quite different.

Typically, the modular housing within the sector is temporary, with an expectation of move-on within a specific timescale and is smaller than the national space standard at 24m2 or less.

According to the Centre for Homelessness Impact’s Modular Housing report (2022), there are some 33 schemes across 22 local authority areas in the UK. Interestingly, this report separates the schemes into two categories: 27 using prefabricated modular units (or volumetric MMC) and six, being converted shipping containers.

Already, we see a blurring of lines about what is meant by modular housing in the homelessness sector. ~With the above definitions in mind, a converted shipping container isn’t actually modular and would fall in a category of its own. What the schemes identified had in common though, was an intention to provide temporary housing solutions as an alternative to traditional hostels or temporary accommodation, and as a step toward permanent housing.

What opportunities does modular provide?

One of the most prominent and evidenced modular housing schemes is Jimmy’s Cambridge.

Jimmy’s Cambridge provides 22 self-contained modular homes with wraparound support across four different sites for people experiencing rough sleeping. In 2020, Jimmy’s Cambridge launched its first modular homes scheme which was designed and built by a team including Allia and New Meaning Foundation. In 2020 and 2021, 16 more modular homes designed and provided by housebuilder, The Hill Group, were installed on three sites owned by Cambridge City Council.

Those interviewed in research conducted by Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (2023), spoke positively about their experiences:

In Cambridge, the ‘Mods’ are used for people with medium to high support needs and for whom traditional hostel accommodation is not working. The Mods are not viewed as a replacement to hostels but add an alternative housing solution for a small group of people who need a different offer.

Interestingly, one of the conclusions drawn from the evaluation was around the point of temporary accommodation and that several residents did not want to move-on and would have liked this modular housing to be their permanent home.

In addition to Jimmy’s Cambridge, HPI has identified a further eight modular housing schemes, all of which are providing a similar offer to Jimmy’s Cambridge but with some differences. This includes Centrepoint’s recent announcement to launch an ambitious 300 modular homes for young people aged 18-25 across Manchester and London.

Based on a review of these projects and associated evaluations, the three biggest benefits of temporary modular housing seem to be:

Costs and the build affordability, with one unit at Jimmy’s Cambridge costing around £25k, although increases to building material costs has affected this.
Quick turnaround times from inception to move-in for people experiencing immediate homelessness or rough sleeping
A better alternative to some hostel accommodation for some people, where there are shared facilities/communal areas

But are there risks?

Not all temporary modular housing is made equally, and the quality of provision is an issue. The Centre for Homelessness Impact’s (CHI) report found that:

“There are concerns about the quality of the design of some of the schemes, the distance of some sites from local amenities, and the lack of onsite communal facilities, particularly in schemes that house children.”

There is also a concern around size. With no requirement to meet the national space standard, how small is too small? In the LGA Modular Housing report (2017), examples of container housing such as Snoozebox were given, which are as small as 7m2.

A resident of Jimmy’s Cambridge said:

“For one person it's [the size] fine. […] I was living in a tent before so it’s fine for me. (Resident at Site 2).”

In webinar hosted by CHI on modular housing, a professional from a modular housing company said:

“We wouldn’t get away with 24m2 homes for general needs tenancies.”

Jimmy’s Cambridge explained that the space question has not really been an issue for them, with residents being very happy with their Mod, some even preferring a smaller space as it brings with it a sense of safety. However, there are some elements which are crucial to making their modular housing scheme work, such as:

Small sites with a maximum of 4-6 units
In-house maintenance to respond to repair needs
Relationship-based and trauma-informed support

What is the future of modular?

The controversy around modular housing is not actually about modular housing, because that’s simply a construction method, nothing more and nothing less. The controversy lies in what is considered adequate shelter for someone experiencing homelessness. If you’ve ever watched a survival programme on television, you will know that there are always three priorities: water, food and shelter.

The experience of homelessness, or more specifically, rough sleeping, is traumatic and is compounded by the length of time without a home, and other complex health and social care needs. Without shelter, you are missing some basic essentials to survive like: protection against the elements, a place to rest and sleep, the ability to stay warm and safety against dangers. With a survivalist lens, short-term, 24m2 (or less) modular housing is an excellent solution and provides all of the necessary elements of a shelter.

And some of the examples of temporary modular housing that exist across the UK go beyond simply providing shelter and have genuinely thought about the broader requirements of accommodation, like quality, aesthetics and support, however, it is not a permanent home.

Where modular is used as temporary shelter, standards are needed

Firstly, where modular is used as transitional or temporary housing, our sector must agree its red lines on standards, perhaps even a set of principles to guide some consistency for practice across the country and ensure that all projects, like Jimmy’s Cambridge, can be celebrated.

Where modular could provide good quality permanent homes really end homelessness

Secondly, however good temporary modular housing projects are, it is undeniable that we are limiting the potential of the innovation. The current funding model is heavily weighted toward temporary rather than permanent accommodation for people experiencing rough sleeping. However, we do see alternative models such as Housing First, providing permanent housing and it may be that modular has a role to play.

A country free from homelessness, means everybody has a place to call home and that home could indeed be modular.

What do you think?

The HPI is keen to explore this topic further, both on the need for standards around temporary modular housing and the potential of modular in providing permanent homes for people experiencing homelessness. If you are involved with modular housing and would like to join a roundtable discussion, please contact alex.smith@homelesslink.org.uk.