Future Homes and Buildings Standards set in England

Siobhan Cross of Pinsent Masons was commenting after the UK government published its response to its 2023 consultation on changes to building regulations in England to implement the ‘Future Homes Standard’ and ‘Future Buildings Standard’ – 11 years and more than one million new homes after plans for a new zero carbon homes standard were dropped in 2015.

Tom Johnson and Iain Gilbey, also of Pinsent Masons, said developers now need to review project proposals, assess them against the new standards, and come up with a clear strategy for compliance – both for existing and future developments.

An overview of the changes

The 2023 consultation proposed regulations in 2024 coming into force in 2025 with a transitional period of 12 months following that. That timeline has shifted.

The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 that have been laid in parliament will come into force on 24 March 2027, or 27 September 2027 for higher risk buildings. The regulations provide for a 12-month transition period up until 24 March 2028, under which the current standards would continue to apply where initial building control documents have been submitted by 24 March 2027 and construction on the relevant building – as opposed to just on the site – commences before 24 March 2028. Separate transition arrangements apply to higher-risk buildings.

As well as changes to Parts L (conservation of energy) and F (ventilation) of the Building Regulations 2010 to improve the energy efficiency and ventilation of new buildings, the Approved Documents to which those regulations refer will be amended with the aim of making sure new homes and non-domestic buildings are future-proofed with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency. The future homes standard will ensure new homes emit, on average, at least 75% less carbon over their life than homes built under the 2013 standards, will be zero emission buildings when the grid decarbonises, will require solar panels to be installed in the majority of new buildings, and have better ventilation reducing risks of damp and mould.

Cross said: “These new standards are overdue but welcome. The Climate Change Committee made it clear last June that the building sector needs to double its rate of emissions reductions between 2025 and 2030 if the UK is to meet its 2030 emissions reduction obligations under the Paris Agreement. The fact that these new standards will not bite until March 2027 – and not fully bite until the end of the transition period in March 2028 – puts that trajectory at risk. Valuable time has been lost over the last decade.”

Johnson said there are likely to be concerns about what these additional requirements mean in terms of increased capital costs for developers and their impact on viability.

According to the latest impact assessment of the Future Homes Standard, the average cost per property will be £4,350, based on a range of property types with costs ranging from £5,160 to £1,550. The government expects these costs to fall as supply chains mature and economies of scale increase.

Cross said: “While occupiers should see energy savings, whether it might be possible to pass on all of any part of these costs through increased house prices will no doubt depend on the circumstances of the development. Balanced against these costs, the impact assessment sets out the benefits to occupiers and the wider societal benefits of mitigating the impacts of climate change, energy savings, grid enhancement via on-site generation, energy security and public health benefits.”

Many of the changes to implement the new standards will be via the amended Approved Documents and they too will come into force on 24 March 2027. However, the new standards do require some limited changes to the regulations themselves.

To date, Part L has been expressly concerned with the conservation of energy. This will be amended to add the reduction of carbon emissions as a dual purpose of Part L. The fixed building services which are within the scope of the regulations will be extended to include lifts, escalators and moving walkways, save in the case of individual dwellings.

There is a new provision requiring advice to be given to homeowners on ventilation; heating and domestic hot water; on-site electricity generation; and overheating to now be provided, in a specified format. Part L also now includes details of the on-site generation requirements. The transitional provisions are included in the 2026 regulations.

The government has developed and consulted on a ‘Home Energy Model’ (HEM) as a means by which compliance with the Future Homes Standard will be able to be demonstrated. The HEM is to replace the currently used ‘Standard Assessment Procedure’ (SAP) tool for demonstrating compliance with existing building regulation standards for domestic property.

In its response, the government acknowledged that the HEM ecosystem is not yet ready. However, it expects it to be ready within three months, at which point there will be a period when both tools can be used. The government thereafter anticipates retiring the SAP tool once the HEM is “sufficiently embed”. It said it would give six months’ notice before setting a date beyond which the SAP tool would no longer be able to be used, leaving the HEM as the only compliant tool.

For non-domestic buildings, no significant change in the assessment tools is proposed but limited amendments have been made to them.

Low carbon heat

The standards mandate, via comparison with notional building specifications, the required energy performance of buildings. Those notional specifications assume a high efficiency air source heat pump or connection to a heat network or, in the case of non-domestic top lit buildings, radiant electric heating. Compliance with the standards will not be possible with fossil fuel heating systems.

On-site generation

The government has confirmed there will be a requirement to install a system of renewable energy generation for homes or buildings containing a dwelling on, or in the curtilage of, the building which is available for use by the residents and which produces a reasonable amount of electricity. In most cases, this will likely be achieved by using solar panels and the revised Approved Document provides that these criteria will be met where solar panels equivalent to 40% of the ground floor area are installed. Exemptions apply where a reasonable amount of generation is not possible and for buildings of 18 meters in height containing dwellings or certain other residential uses.

For non-domestic buildings the requirements will be met where there are solar panels for an area equivalent to 40% of the building’s foundation area, with exceptions for low electricity consumption buildings and certain buildings of at least 18 meters in height.

Where alternative renewable generation is available – such as from a microgrid or heat networks – then reliance on solar panels may not be necessary.

Material changes of use

Current building regulation standards are lower for dwellings created by a material change of use of a building. The government has confirmed it will not be raising standards for these buildings to the equivalent of the standards applying to new homes. However, it said it will consult further on energy efficiency standards in these buildings and plans on developing an optional whole building performance target.

The performance gap

The government will not be proceeding at this time with the consultation proposals for post construction and/or occupancy performance testing or with a Future Homes Standard brand for use where such performance testing produced good results. Instead, it intends to issue a call for evidence focused on how to achieve cost effective non-intrusive post construction or post occupancy testing.

Heat networks

The new standards can be achieved by connecting into heat networks. For communal heating systems serving one building, this will require performance comparable to a building connected to a low carbon heat network. For buildings connected to district heating systems serving multiple buildings, this will require a verified declaration from the network operator that at least 90% of the energy delivered to the building was provided from low carbon sources.

The government acknowledged there can be delays in connections to heat networks during which temporary heating solutions are used. To comply with the new standard, this temporary heating will need to be from a low carbon source.

In due course, when legislation is introduced to regulate the carbon emissions of heat networks, there may be further amendments to enable compliance with the standard where the emissions of the relevant heat network are controlled under this other legislation.

Smart meters

There will be no mandatory requirement to install smart meters under building regulations. Instead, further guidance will be included in the Approved Documents on technical issues for effective smart meter installation.

Overheating

The new Part O requirements for domestic buildings introduced in 2021 will still apply. The 2023 consultation included a call for evidence on the issue of overheating. The government’s new response states that the Building Safety Regulator is considering how common issues highlighted by the call for evidence can be dealt with. The government is considering amending Part O, alongside a full technical review of the Part O Approved Document, to include extending Part O to dwellings created by material changes of use.

Impact on existing planning consents

According to the government, responses to the consultation identified where compliance with the amended regulations might necessitate amendments to planning consents. One example cited by a respondent was in the context of a large development site which had been planned with gas infrastructure where the concern was that the new standard might necessitate development of sub-stations not previously factored into planning applications. Another example was where the standard could require the design of windows on a property to be rethought, potentially bringing that into conflict with style guidance issued by local planning authorities.

However, the government has taken the view that there are existing processes within the planning regime to accommodate amendments to planning consents and it will be for the relevant planning authority to determine whether any amendment is material.

Sunsetting previous transitional arrangements

As proposed, the government has confirmed it will end the existing 2013 and 2021 transitional arrangements which enabled construction to the 2010 standards. These arrangements will now end, except for buildings where construction has started prior to 24 March 2028 and for higher-risk buildings where separate provision is made.

Actions developers should consider

Gilbey said: “Developers need to review existing development proposals and assess them against the new standards. Where they do not meet the new standards, they should review their timelines for development against the transition provisions and consider whether any amendments to existing planning consents may be needed. They need a clear strategy for compliance, both for existing and future developments. This should include ensuring their supply chains, particularly for heat pumps and solar panels, are robust and their workforce has the skills to deliver the new standards.”

Cross added: “The industry has been aware, in broad terms, of the proposed standards for over two years and has another two years to comply with them. The science is clear and the impacts of climate change are everyday more apparent. However, the frustrating practice in the real estate sector – of government proposals for increased sustainability of buildings followed by lengthy delays and uncertainty in implementation – are not helpful for serious forward planning. For those businesses struggling with the transition to the new standards, the Future Homes Hub is a useful place to start for practical resources and guidance.”