The Welsh Government published a summary of responses and a final impact assessment for its review of Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) and Part F (Ventilation) of the Building Regulations on 24 May 20221. The consultation itself ran from 19 December 2019 to 12 March 2020 and closed on the latter date1. The page was first published on 17 December 2019 and last updated on 24 May 20221.
The consultation sought views on changes to Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations for new dwellings1. In its own description of the exercise, the Welsh Government said:
"This consultation sets out our plans to improve the energy efficiency requirements for new homes in 2020. The document also provides detail on the direction of travel for energy efficiency requirements for introduction in 2025."
The consultation was described as the first stage of a two-part consultation about proposed changes to the Building Regulations1. It also covered the wider impacts of Part L for new homes, including changes to Part F, its associated Approved Document guidance, airtightness and improving as-built performance of the constructed home1.
The outcome documents are a summary of responses, published as a 4 MB PDF, and a final impact assessment, published as a 555 KB PDF1. The final impact assessment is titled "part-l-wales-impact-assessment-domestic-existing-and-new-build" in its file path, indicating it covers domestic existing and new build1. The original consultation documents, including draft consultation versions of Approved Document F and Approved Document L and an earlier impact assessment, remain available on the same page1.
Why it matters for households
Part L sets the energy efficiency requirements that new homes in Wales must meet, and Part F covers ventilation. Changes to these requirements affect how much energy a new home needs for heating, hot water and lighting, and how well it manages air quality once built. For a household, the practical effect of tighter Part L requirements is a home that is cheaper to run and less exposed to rising fuel prices, because less energy is needed to keep it warm. The reference in the consultation to "improving as-built performance" points to a known gap between how a home is designed to perform and how it performs once constructed, which affects real running costs rather than theoretical ones1. The direction of travel towards requirements for introduction in 2025 signals that the standards are intended to tighten further, which matters to anyone buying a new home or planning work that must comply with the Building Regulations in Wales. The wider regulation and policy framework sets the context in which these requirements sit.
What happens next
The consultation closed on 12 March 2020 and the outcome documents were published on 24 May 20221. No further steps, dates or implementation timetable are given on the page1.