09 Quality Assurance

03 Construction record: crit 5.b. - KBCN1655

Crit 5.b. currently says: The record is available to: Occupants on request, as part of any visual defects inspections and when moving in. It needs to be available for the duration of the building warranty in place. However Crit 5.b should say: The record is available to: Potential owners on request, as part of any visual defects inspections and when moving in. It needs to be available for the duration of the building warranty in place. This will be corrected in the next reissue of the technical manual.

Appropriately qualified person – alternative requirements to membership of a professional body - KBCN1802

Where the definition of an Appropriately qualified person has not been met in relation to membership of a relevant professional body, the alternative requirements have been reviewed and can now be demonstrated as follows: Criteria requirements: Alternatively, where they do not hold any membership of a professional body, the individual can still be considered appropriate where the following is met:

The company has an enforced quality plan and ethical code of conduct, and: - ISO 9001 accredited management system OR - clear quality procedures.
The individual: - is an established professional, with experience of leading others on a building site. - keeps up-to-date with changes in construction methods, statutory legislation through regular CPD and training.

Evidence requirements:

The company: - Confirmation of company ethical code of conduct AND - ISO 9001 certificate OR - Company quality procedure documents
The individual: - Qualifications, CVs, job descriptions confirming their role - CPD records OR company training policies/records

Commissioning – Role of Specialist commissioning manager - KBCN0604

The specialist commissioning manager for a complex system must be a specialist contractor and not a general sub-contractor. They must be on hand to independently verify the work carried out by whoever installs the system. In principle, it is possible for the specialist commissioning manager to be from the same organisation as the main contractor provided any conflicts of interest have been declared and records show how they have been managed to provide confidence that commissioning will be carried out appropriately. The separate roles of the main contractor and specialist commissioning manager are so that the installation and commissioning are carried out independently by different parties.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to all HQM versions and UKNCR V6.1

Commissioning certificates – evidence - KBCN1311

Certificates demonstrating compliance with any relevant standards are acceptable for the commissioning criteria, where they cover all the systems referred to in the criteria (hot water, heating, ventilation etc.) and any relevant commissioning best practice guidance has been complied with. The ‘commissioning best practice guidance’ outlines how to carry out commissioning for various different systems that may be present. Some of the guidance is more appropriate for complex systems and often won’t be relevant. The person or persons carrying out the commissioning activities is expected to be familiar enough with the standards referenced, to determine the ones that are relevant to the systems they are commissioning.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to all HQM versions and UKNCR V6.1

Complex Systems - KBCN1617

These include, but are not limited to all communal systems with a centralised plant, systems that provide combined services (e.g. HVAC systems) and complex passive ventilation systems.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to all HQM versions and UKNCR V6.1

Construction inspections and record evidence for homes - KBCN1284

For design stage, something like a clear policy and commitment should be acceptable as long as it shows that it will cover the scope of checks in the inspections and completion issue and any other relevant criteria. For post-construction stage, it is appreciated that although evidence should be thorough, too much detail may not always be helpful or feasible. Evidence does not need to show every detailed check made but it does need to show that these checks have been made for every assessed home. The purpose of the minimum requirements for 'construction inspections' and 'construction record' is to ensure consumers can trust HQM-certified homes have been built and finished to a high standard, which is essential to the value of HQM. With this in mind, a sample should be acceptable to show the detailed checks carried out for the construction record criteria as long as evidence also shows that the same checks are being made for every single home being assessed (this could be in a more summarised format). In particular, occupants need to have access to the full construction records for their own particular home if they want it and evidence needs to show that all homes have been checked to the extent required for the construction inspections minimum requirement (see relevant criteria in the manual). In general, we try to make evidence requirements flexible and not overly prescriptive wherever possible, particularly for issues with new content like this one. This is to avoid the unnecessary generation of evidence for the sole purpose of HQM and to recognise existing evidence sources that are available, which can be provided in various formats. As the assessor, you need to be satisfied that the evidence supplied sufficiently demonstrates that the aims of these criteria are being met. The format of evidence is flexible as long as it clearly demonstrates the outcome for each criterion is being met in practice.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Erratum-03 Post-construction testing - KBCN1583

There is an error in the manual in table 55. Where it states the testing method is 'airtightness testing', the requirement is incorrect, it should not state 'crit 4' but 'crit 6' instead.

Gardens finished - KBCN1328

The ‘finished and habitable’ requirement within the 'visual defects inspection' criteria is focused on ensuring occupants can move into a new home that is accessible, functional, comfortable and safe. As a minimum, any hard landscaping needed to access the home is in place.Soft landscaping may not be complete for the purposes of this criterion as long as the garden areas are capable of planting being done after occupants move in. For example, gardens are clear of building debris and adequate topsoil is present for planting.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM One, HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Independent Air Testing Scheme (IATS) – Elmhurst Airtightness Scheme (EAS) - KBCN1699

Please note that the Independent Air Testing Scheme (IATS) has been rebranded as the Elmhurst Airtightness Scheme (EAS) and therefore where referenced, this may also be accepted.

Inspection and Completion – Crit 2 correction - KBCN1520

Crit 2 currently says: The results of the visual defects inspection and any outstanding remedial work are reported and given to occupants before they move in as part of their home information. However Crit 2 should say: The results of the visual defects inspection and any outstanding remedial work are reported and given to the potential owner as part of their home information. This will be corrected in the next reissue of the technical manual.

Issued to correct error in crit 2.

Off-site construction - KBCN1315

The principle for prefabricated homes is the same in terms of the construction inspections criteria to ensure quality assurance is carried out throughout construction. As long as evidence is provided to demonstrate the criteria are being met, this should be acceptable.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Pre-testing apartment blocks - KBCN1298

For the purposes of the pre-testing criteria, it is possible for there to be flexibility with developments such as apartment blocks if a preliminary air leakage test is carried out for the whole apartment block (instead of every single unit within the block separately). If this approach is taken, inspection and preliminary air tightness testing also needs to be done on a sample of homes within the block, after all services have been installed, as determined by the appropriately qualified person who has determined the pre-testing regime. The sample size should include the apartments that are most likely to experience leakage issues, such as those with a large external surface area and more complex or abundant fabric joints and seals, in order to better identify and resolve potential issues through remedial works.

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Project preparation criteria for assessments starting after RIBA stage 3 - KBCN1285

The purpose of the minimum requirements within the 'Quality assurance' category is to ensure consumers can trust every HQM-certified home has been built and finished to a high standard, which is essential to the value of HQM. Emphasising quality from an early stage is an important part of achieving this, which is why the project preparation issue criteria requires processes and plans to be in place before RIBA stage 3. Ideally, the HQM assessor would be appointed earlier than this to help get the most from using HQM when there is the best opportunity to influence the project and credits are easier to achieve. However, there can be flexibility if the same quality outcomes outlined in the project delivery plan will be achieved. The project delivery plan criteria aim to encourage processes that will deliver quality homes, early enough to influence things like scheduling, procurement, resources and roles that may be required, if they aren't already in place. This helps achieve the delivery of quality outcomes on-site required as part of the other minimum requirements in Project Preparation, Commissioning and Testing and Inspections and Completion. If there is flexibility, it needs to be ensured that these requirements will still be met. To consider this further, more information about the project needs to be sent via the webform on the Assessor Support page of BREEAM Projects including:

How far along is the project on site? What has actually been carried out at this point?

Does the late consideration of HQM ONE affect the project's ability to meet the other minimum requirements that require a certain level of quality assurance throughout construction? How will this be assured and demonstrated?

29-Oct-2025 - Applicable to HQM V6 and UKNCR V6.1

Thermographic survey – Seasonal constraints - KBCN00031

Where seasonal constraints prevent the thermographic survey from being completed prior to certification at the post construction stage, the requirements can be satisfied with:

Evidence that a Suitably Qualified Professional (SQP) has been contractually appointed
Written confirmation by the SQP that the seasonal constraints prevent the survey at an appropriate time before certification
The survey is scheduled to take place at the earliest opportunity after the handover, and
There is a specific contractual agreement in place to remedy any identified defects before the defects liability period expires.

Thermographic surveys are designed to map the thermal efficiency of buildings and to detect areas where there are breaches in the thermal envelope. Surveys need to be conducted when temperature differences between the external areas of the building and surrounding air can be detected after the envelope is sealed. There may will be instances where the survey cannot be done before certification after the envelope is sealed and as such, the survey would take place after certification.

29-Oct-2025 - Applied to all HQM versions and UKNCR V6.1

UKNC: Residential (HQM) / HQM ONE / C Delivery /