You will be able to enter the awards from 14 January until thursday 13 March 2025 (end of day). Sign up for our email newsletter service or follow us on Instagram @housingdesignawards_uk to be kept informed.

Entries are digitally created using a proforma, and you will only need to upload high quality JPGs or PNGs and answer some questions. Entries will then be automatically put together in formats for viewing both online and offline. You can see the new layout here. For 2025 it would be very helpful if you could also submit any video material you have to support your entry. Increasingly project teams take drone footage before, during and after construction. Short clips of any quality, along with screen grabs from GoogleEarth, can helpfully solve matters of understanding in the judging process. But supplying such materials is not a precondition of shortlisting. Any such files should be sent to info@hdawards.org using suitable large file transfer software. An example entry can be found here

• Yes, please follow the guidelines below.
  The number of images you can upload (10 or 20) will depend on the package you select.
• Select a featured image which will be used as the key graphic in any materials produced relating to your scheme.
• Judges like a mix of drawings and photos showing elevations with plans showing plans for location, site, block plans and individual dwelling. We recommend a broadly equal ratio of elevations to plans, site layouts, apartment layouts and individual unit plans.
• The only file formats accepted are PNG and JPEG.
• Images must be high-resolution: no smaller than 750x750px and no larger than 2500x2500px.

Yes, please follow the guidelines below.
The number of images you can upload (either 10 or 20) will depend on the package you select. Our 10 image package is priced at £325 and our 20 image package at £465 (both exc VAT)

• Select a featured image which will be used as the key graphic in any materials produced relating to your scheme.
• Judges like a mix of drawings and photos showing elevations with plans showing plans for location, site, block plans and individual dwelling. We recommend a broadly equal ratio of elevations to plans, site layouts, apartment layouts and individual unit plans.
• The only file formats accepted are PNG and JPEG.
• Images must be high-resolution: no smaller than 750x750px and no larger than 2500x2500px

To allow easy comparison between key elements of relevance to all judges, we recommend you structure it as bullet points against the 12 Building For a Healthy Life criteria, available here.
These cover most criteria with the exception of information about dwellings.

No, you do not need to send a hard copy of your entry.

No, you do not need to send an electronic copy of your entry.

You do not need to submit your plans and drawings as separate elements when entering the awards at the initial stage. However, should your scheme be shortlisted, you may be contacted and asked to provide these elements and any additional information required.

If you are unable to pay for your submission online you can email us at info@hdawards.org and we will provide further instructions on how to pay.

Payment will now be integrated into the online entry system and you will need to pay for your entries before you can start to fill in any of your data. The new system will allow you to select multiple packages and pay for them in one go by credit card or bank transfer.

It is not possible to upgrade or downgrade your package after purchase. Please think carefully about the number of images you wish to include before selecting your package.

All information must be received by 6pm on Thursday 13 March 2025 (end of day).

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Yes, once your entry has been submitted the information can still be amended until the submission deadline.

We plan a mix of large events in major cities with one or two smaller, regional events incorporating a tour of a scheme which judges thought needed to be showcased.

Developments may consist of houses, bungalows, maisonettes, or flats, or any combination of these. Schemes including non-residential uses may be entered, provided housing constitutes a major element. Entries should be submitted for either a Project or Completed award. Schemes can include either new build or conversion/improvement, or a combination of both, and must be a minimum of 3 units. In the case of housing for vulnerable or elder persons, each bed must be contained within its own room. A dormitory arrangement would not be eligible whereas a cluster of bedsitting rooms each with private bathrooms but sharing a kitchen would be eligible.

To be eligible, Projects must have detailed planning approval (exc. S106) when the judges first meet in late March. It is possible to enter a scheme in the hope of receiving planning approval after the deadline and before the judges meet on 20 March. This needs to be identified as a risk with an email to info@hdawards.org and the scheme has to be withdrawn if approval is not granted by 20 March.

Fully or partly occupied developments since December 2021 may be submitted for a Completed scheme award. Any submission for a Completed award which has previously won a Project award will be shortlisted for a visit.

Each scheme entered should identify key contacts from all parties involved, including representatives from the local planning authority. Each award is made jointly to developer, contractor, architect, planning authority and planning consultant, and in most cases to the consultant landscape architect too. A representative from each will be invited to the ceremony, if shortlisted.

The 2024 HDAs winners will be announced in early autumn. Winners will be drawn from a shortlist published around Easter. Judges then visit the Completed shortlist in May with some winners filmed over June to August. Shortlisted schemes become part of the Housing Design Awards database which is widely used across the development industry for commissioning, research, site briefs, policy and planning decisions.

The judges can be found here

The judges consider:

• Relationship to surroundings and neighbourhood
• Response to site constraints and opportunities
• Sustainability in construction and maintenance
• Layout, grouping and landscaping
• Planning of roads and footpaths
• Handling of garages and car parking
• Attention to safety, security and accessibility
• External appearance and internal planning
• Finishes, detailing and workmanship
• Dwelling size and storage
• Sustainability has been formally added with an optional free text box and a mandatory field selection. Identifying whether Building for a Healthy Life has been used to help shape the development is now one of the sustainability criteria, alongside details on SuDs, energy in use, embodied energy and biodiversity.

Judges aim to interview residents during visits to the Completed shortlist to assess how schemes are received.