Homes must be prefabricated and use more recycled materials, says report

The RICS has called for more off-site construction of houses to cope with the shortage of housing supply.

In a new report, The Future of UK Housebuilding, it also suggests using recycled materials and 鈥檚egmented鈥 homes that can easily be extended.

Dr Chris Goodier, Loughborough University, primary author of the paper, said: 鈥淭he need for more new homes in the UK has never been more critical than it is today.

鈥淗owever, at current construction levels, an annual deficit of around 80,000 is a pressing concern.

鈥淲hile there is no quick fix to the problem, it is important that the government and industry consider more innovative solutions to development.

鈥淲ithout them, problems such as overcrowding, undersupply and unaffordable housing seem set to continue.

鈥淯K housebuilding has long been associated with expensive, time consuming methods and can mean that environmental standards are difficult to maintain.

鈥淢ore innovative, modern off-site and modular designs are not only extremely cost effective, but can be constructed with ease in a very short period of time.

鈥淔urthermore, many major mortgage providers are already willing to lend against these structures, which has been a problem in the past, meaning that first-time buyers could find them a highly practical way of getting onto the property ladder.鈥

Laing O鈥橰ourke is thought to be considering plans to build an off-site housing plant in the UK.