UKNC: Residential (HQM) /

UK New Construction: Residential

Information correct as of 17thJuly 2025. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.

Emissions from products – Building materials for M&E purposes - KBCN1740

All M&E materials are excluded from VOC assessment requirements. However, from V7 onward, while finished M&E products may be excluded, all on-site applications of paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants used for M&E purposes must be included in VOC assessments under their relevant material categories.
02 July 2025 - Inclusion of duct insulation removed

Erratum-Projected climate change environment-Emissions scenario missing from manual - KBCN1742

The CIBSE future climate weather files should also use the following emission scenarios. For naturally ventilated buildings - Medium. For mechanically ventilated or mixed mode buildings - High.

Flood Risk Assessment older than five years - KBCN1744

This sentence appears in the definition of 'Flood Risk Assessment': Where more than five years have passed since the FRA was carried out, evidence would be required to demonstrate that the basis of the FRA has not changed in that time. The requirement for evidence that the basis of the FRA has not changed where more than five years have passed is applicable only at Design Stage. It is not required at Post Construction Stage where a compliant FRA was undertaken at Design Stage and the development was carried out in accordance with that design.

HQM evolves to BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential - KBCN1727

The benefits 
BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential (UKNCR) V6.1 supersedes HQM V6 as the current BREEAM assessment for new homes in the UK.   UKNCR retains the core technical robustness and quality focus of HQM while enhancing its alignment with the wider BREEAM framework. This update ensures that residential projects benefit from an integrated, science-based approach to sustainability that meets the evolving demands of the housing sector.   This brings several key improvements: 
The certificate 
UKNCR certificate’s format and branding will align with other BREEAM New Construction certificates.   Each home will receive a certificate indicating:   The percentage scores required to achieve each rating level remain the same as in HQM V6.   For further information, please see our FAQs. 
The technical manual and assessment tools 
UKNCR will have a new look across its:  However, the following will remain consistent with HQM V6:   For access to all UKNCR V6.1 resources, please refer to BREEAM Projects. 

Knowledge Base – Applicability of HQM KBCNs to UK New Construction: Residential V6.1 - KBCN1731

The assessment issues and criteria in BREEAM UKNCR V6.1 are broadly the same as HQM V6, except for the specific changes outlined in KBCN1723. We are now in the process of undertaking a comprehensive review of previous guidance on the Knowledge Base for HQM One and HQM V6 to determine its applicability to UKNCR, and the Knowledge Base will be updated in due course. In the meantime, if you wish to apply a previous KBCN, please review the changes outlined in KBCN1723 and compare the criteria in the technical manuals. If the criteria are the same, and you are satisfied that a previous HQM KBCN is relevant to UKNCR, you can follow this guidance. If there are differences in the UKNCR criteria, but you believe a previous HQM KBCN can be applied, please submit a technical query on the webform to confirm this.

Mixed use buildings (benchmark) – Embodied carbon reporting tool  - KBCN1729

Where the assessed building is mixed use, a comparative, floor-area-weighted benchmark is used to determine the number of credits awarded for criteria ‘06 Embodied carbon benchmark comparison’.   To calculate this, in the ‘Embodied carbon reporting tool’, in the ‘1. Project Input’ tab, enter:  This will enable the tool to calculate the floor area weighted benchmark on the ‘5. Benchmark’ tab

Summary of Changes – UK New Construction: Residential V6.1 - KBCN1723

UK New Construction: Residential V6.1 (UKNCR) is an update to the Home Quality Mark V6 (HQM V6). It includes a minor technical update, addressing key feedback from our HQM assessors, and the broader market. The technical manual was released on 16 April 2025.    The updates are limited in scope, with the main changes in:   There are minor changes and clarifications in:   The update also includes corrections throughout the manual for minor known issues and typographical errors in HQM V6.   The below table summarises the changes made:  
Issue
Description of update
1.2 Sustainable Transport Options - Updated ‘Cycle storage’ definition has replaced  'Cycle storage requirements' definition
4.1 Indoor Pollutants Updated ‘Representative sampling of indoor air’ methodology item. Updated ‘Minimising airborne formaldehyde, and airborne TVOCs, from all sources – calculation method’ methodology item, to clarify use of BS ISO 16000-6:2021 VOCs in air by active sampling. Clarified Methodology items ‘Accreditation of organisations performing laboratory analysis’ and ‘Accreditation of organisations performing sampling’.
4.2 Natural Light   This issue has been substantially rewritten, and extensive changes have been introduced. Changes in issue name Issue is now called ‘Natural light’ Changes to criteria (new) - 4 credits – Daylight illuminance (Kitchens) - 4 credits - Daylight illuminance (Living rooms) - 2 credits - Daylight illuminance (Bedrooms) - 3 credits – Direct sunlight Methodological changes Daylight is now assessed using the target illuminance metric rather than the previous daylight factor metric. Bedrooms are now considered in the daylight assessment. And a new direct sunlight metric has been introduced. This updates the natural light methodology in line with current best practice.
4.3 Noise Sources Updated Methodology item, ‘Internal noise levels – habitable spaces and kitchens’.  
4.4 Sound Insulation Clarified criteria 1 requirements for communal areas and co-living buildings. Updated ‘Suitably Qualified Acoustician (SQA)’ definition.
4.5 Temperature   - Clarified ‘Projected climate change environment’ methodology item, to clearly identify the DSY weather data files that should be used.
4.6 Ventilation   - Updated criteria 7 reference to ANC Guidelines Measurement Of Sound Levels in Buildings 2020.
5.1 Energy and Carbon Performance - Removed reference to SAP XML files in the methodology section.
6.2 Building Life Cycle Assessment This issue has been substantially rewritten, and extensive changes have been introduced. Issue name - Issue now called ‘Building life cycle assessment’. No changes - 2 credits – Product procurement policy. - Up to 4 credits – Product environmental information. New criteria - 3 credits – Early design LCA and embodied carbon reporting. - 2 credits - Technical-design and embodied carbon reporting LCA. - 4 credits - Post-construction LCA and embodied carbon reporting. - Up to 8 credits - Comparison against the embodied carbon benchmarks. - 2 credits - Submit embodied carbon data to a public database. Methodological changes The new methodology includes calculations and reporting of LCA and embodied carbon at building level during concept design, technical design, and post-construction stage. The calculations must still be completed with a BREEAM recognised LCA tool following EN15978. The credits for different life cycle stages can be achieved independently of one another (i.e. if you do not target the concept design credit you can still target the technical design credit). Changes to the benchmark  The benchmark comparison credits have been changed to align with industry standards. This is now at building level (not dwelling level). It includes modules A1-A5, B1-B5, C1-C4 and is in measured in kgCO₂e/m². Clarification of Evidence Requirements Clarification of evidence requirements across all stages.
6.3 Life Cycle Costing - Clarified that, for criterion 2, reports must be available to potential owners, rather than occupiers.
9.1 Project Preparation - Included a post-construction column in the ‘Schedule of evidence requirements’ table.
9.2 Commissioning and Testing - Updated Table 55 to refer to ‘EAS (Elmhurst Airtightness Scheme)’.
9.3 Inspections and Completion - Updated criterion 1 to confirm the relationship to the ‘Construction inspections scope’ Methodology item, and Table 55. - Clarified where criteria relate to potential owners, rather than occupiers.
10.1 Responsible construction practices - Clarified items p and q in Table 57.
11.2 Home information - Updated criterion 1 and the ‘Accessible and flexible format’ definition to clarify the requirement for hard copies of home information.
11.4 Post Occupancy Evaluation - Introduced ‘Sample of homes’ Methodology item, confirming how homes can be sampled for this issue.
Appendix A Updated indicator scores for the following issues, to reflect changes made to the criteria for these issues: - 4.2 Natural Light. - 6.2 Building life cycle assessment.
Appendix C Updated text to reflect changes made to Evidence Tables across all issues.  
All  Updated evidence guidance for all assessment issues '- Additional guidance on evidence requirements has been added to all assessment issues, in line with the recent improvements to BREEAM UK New Construction 2018 and Version 6.1.
15 April 2025  - Updated to reflect the latest changes prior to release

UKNCR V6.1 – Excel tools and templates: Summary of changes - KBCN1728

Excel tools and templates available for use for UKNCR V6.1 and the changes made:  New Tools  Embodied carbon reporting tool - to reflect the updates made to the ‘6.2 Building life cycle assessment’ issue.  Rebranded tools  The following tools have been rebranded to ensure it is clear that they are applicable to both HQM and UKNCR. Please refer to the tool for confirmation of the versions of HQM each tool can be used for.   No technical changes have been made to these tools:   To access these tools, please go to the ‘View and download the UKNCR V6.1 Assessment Tools and supporting documents’ folder on BREEAM Projects 
Information correct as of 17thJuly 2025. Please see kb.breeam.com for the latest compliance information.