This handbook encapsulates much of BRE's expertise relating to the design of housing, and is addressed to all owners, designers and maintainers of housing stock. It provides a reference manual of basic information on housing, whether new or refurbished. It is intended to help clients, contractors, developers and all involved in housebuilding, in both the private and public sectors, to appreciate the wide range of user requirements that must be addressed in the design of housing. As a reference book it provides a means of checking that housing design criteria have been met adequately. It also suggests how to achieve customer satisfaction by meeting their most important needs.