The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) set out the change in its response to the 2019 consultation on Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations and the Future Homes Standard, published in the week to 21 January 20211. Alongside that response it published consultation proposals for a 2021 uplift to Part L and Part F and for a 2025 Future Buildings Standard covering all buildings1.
The Future Homes Standard is now due for draft publication in 2023, a step the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) described as accelerating its development1. The standard itself, together with the Future Buildings Standard, is due to be implemented from 20251. The 2021 Part L uplift is intended as a stepping stone towards the full standard1.
MHCLG expects homes built to the Future Homes Standard to have carbon dioxide emissions 75 to 80 per cent lower than those built to current Building Regulations standards, with low carbon heating and very high fabric standards1. For the interim 2021 uplift, it expects a 31 per cent carbon emissions saving for new homes compared with the current standard1. CIBSE said the two-stage approach is intended to give industry time to prepare, including ensuring a sufficient supply of low carbon heating and an appropriately skilled workforce1.
CIBSE welcomed several changes it said matched its 2020 recommendations, including retaining the right for local authorities to set energy and carbon standards beyond Building Regulations, retaining a fabric efficiency standard, and omitting proposed technology factors that would have allowed heating emissions 45 per cent higher for district heating networks1. It also raised concerns: the draft specification proposes airtightness of 5 m3/hr/m2 at 50Pa with natural ventilation, which CIBSE called far from world-class; compliance targets are still set by comparison with a notional dwelling; and performance-gap measures stop at Practical Completion, with no indication of measures covering actual in-use performance1.
"Accelerating the development of the Future Homes Standard, now due for draft publication in 2023."
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Expected carbon reduction, Future Homes Standard vs current standards | 75 to 80 per cent lower1 |
| Expected carbon saving, 2021 Part L uplift for new homes | 31 per cent1 |
| Draft FHS proposed airtightness | 5 m3/hr/m2 at 50Pa, with natural ventilation1 |
| Implementation date, Future Homes and Future Buildings Standards | From 20251 |
| Draft publication date, Future Homes Standard | 20231 |
Why it matters for households
The Future Homes Standard governs how new homes are built, so its timing and content shape what heating systems and building fabric buyers of new homes will get. A 2023 draft gives earlier sight of the specification than previously indicated, which matters to anyone buying off plan or considering a new build, because the standard is expected to bring low carbon heating and very high fabric standards rather than gas boilers as the default1. The interim 2021 uplift applies first, with a smaller expected saving of 31 per cent for new homes1.
For existing homes, the picture is different. The Future Buildings Standard consultation covers energy and ventilation standards for non-domestic buildings, existing homes and overheating mitigation, but the Future Homes Standard itself concerns new dwellings1. CIBSE's concerns also bear on what a completed home actually delivers: it said compliance targets set against a notional dwelling mean little in real life and prevent verification in use, and that measures addressing the performance gap stop at Practical Completion, with no indication of rules covering in-use operational performance1. How a home performs once occupied, and how that can be checked, has not been reported as settled.
What happens next
The draft Future Homes Standard is due in 2023, with the full standard and the Future Buildings Standard due for implementation from 20251. CIBSE said it would publish further analysis of the overheating, Part L, Part F and Future Buildings Standard proposals1.