Future Homes Standard

The government has set out new plans for its Future Homes Standard, with the Housing Minister announcing that new homes will need to be constructed to higher energy efficiency standards, and building work in existing buildings must meet new standards.

The plans are due to be implemented in 2025, and will mean that new homes will have carbon dioxide emissions that are 75%-80% lower than those built to current building regulations – the aim is for new homes to be ‘future proofed’ to ensure that they are ‘zero carbon ready’, and will not need to be retrofitted in the future as the electricity grid decarbonises. From 2025, homes will not be built with fossil fuel heating, and improvements to the energy efficiency of existing homes will also be required to ensure that they are fit for the future.

The consultation refers to Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations, and in addition to making new and existing homes more energy efficient, plans also include introducing a new requirement for additional ventilation in high-risk, non-domestic spaces such as offices and gyms, with the aim of reducing the spread of infections. Additional measures will also be taken to tackle overheating in new residential buildings.

The Housing Minister commented that these standards are ‘vital to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and protecting the environment for future generations to come’. Further plans are due to be published in the next few years, before the implementation of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Grace Reed