The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities first published the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation on 13 December 20231. The consultation covers changes to Part 6, Part L and Part F of the Building Regulations for dwellings and non-domestic buildings, and seeks evidence on Part O1. It applies to England only1.
The consultation was scheduled to run for 12 weeks, from 13 December 2023 to 6 March 2024, but the deadline was extended by three weeks to 11:59pm on 27 March 20242. The extension followed an issue with the consultation version of the Home Energy Model software, which affected modelled solar photovoltaic yield where panels were not facing south1. The government said the issue was relatively minor and a fix had been issued, but that it could have affected whether designs passed or failed the Future Homes Standard notional building specification in marginal cases1.
The proposals set performance requirements based on notional buildings with an efficient air source heat pump or a fourth generation heat network using air source heat pumps2. The consultation states that gas boilers, including hybrid and hydrogen-ready boilers, will not meet the proposed standards, and that the standards proposed are also unlikely to allow the installation of biofuel systems, including wood and manufactured solid fuels2. Two options are consulted on, one with and one without solar PV panels2. The consultation also covers a small number of areas relevant to existing buildings: material change of use, some elements of updated guidance and minimum standards, and changes to Approved Document L, Volume 1: Dwellings and Approved Document F, Volume 1: Dwellings to improve commissioning of fixed building services in new and existing homes1.
Part O, the overheating requirement, was introduced as a legal requirement in the Building Regulations in December 2021 and came into effect on 15 June 20222. The consultation sought views and evidence on how it has worked in practice2.
"We intend to publish the new regulations and associated guidance in 2024"
The consultation documents include a Future Homes Standard consultation stage impact assessment (53 pages), a Future Buildings Standard consultation stage impact assessment (51 pages), notional building specifications for dwellings (166 pages), smart meter installation guidance for new domestic buildings (7 pages), and draft consultation-stage Approved Documents L (Volumes 1 and 2) and F (Volume 1)1.
Why it matters for households
The standards being consulted on concern new homes, so they bear on what a newly built home in England will contain and how it will be heated, ventilated and powered once the rules take effect. The consultation's own framing is that all performance requirements are based on notional buildings with an efficient air source heat pump or a fourth generation heat network using air source heat pumps, and that gas boilers, including hybrid and hydrogen-ready boilers, will not meet the proposed standards2. For a household buying or occupying a new home, that points to a building designed around a heat pump rather than a gas boiler, with the associated hot water storage and insulation specification. The consultation also proposes changes affecting existing homes in limited areas, including commissioning of fixed building services1. The two options consulted on differ on whether solar PV panels are included2, which affects how much of a new home's electricity could be generated on site. The consultation does not set out running cost figures for households, and no such figures have been reported in these documents.
What happens next
The consultation closed at 11:59pm on 27 March 20241. The government response was published on 24 March 2026, alongside a 145-page consultation response document1. The page states that where relevant, the outcomes will now be implemented through a statutory instrument and new approved documents1. The consultation description, as published, said the government response would be published in early 20261. The consultation documents state that the government intended to publish the new regulations and associated guidance in 2024, with the standards coming into force from 20252.