The UK Green Building Council has published its response to the government's consultation on the Future Homes Standard, together with members from across the wider sector, and has sent a joint letter to government setting out an industry-backed proposal for a stronger standard1. The consultation was published as COP28 closed1, and covers the regulations for homes constructed beyond 20252.
UKGBC states that the government offered a choice between the two weakest options set out by the Future Homes Hub Ready for Zero report, and that neither can be considered genuinely future because many buildings in the UK are already built to a higher standard1. It says individual developers, many of them UKGBC members, have invested years and millions of pounds in skills, technologies and supply chains to deliver more, and describes the outcome as a huge missed opportunity1. In UKGBC's account, this means a further standard will be necessary shortly after the Future Homes Standard to finish the job, bringing continued uncertainty for members and the sector, making investment planning impossible and creating bottlenecks of skills and supplies that make the next phase of development more expensive than it needed to be1.
"Instead the Government has offered a choice between the two weakest options set out by the Future Homes Hub (FHH) Ready for Zero report."
The response sets out what UKGBC says a truly future standard should include1:
| Measure | UKGBC recommendation |
|---|---|
| Fabric performance | U-values and air tightness in line with the Climate Change Committee's recommendations limiting heat demand to 15-20kwh/m2/year |
| Ventilation | Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) to improve air quality, comfort and heating efficiencies |
| Compliance basis | In-use energy performance, with energy use intensity targets and locationally appropriate technologies |
| Solar | Mandatory installation of solar PV, reflecting evidence of cost benefits and wide public support |
| Carbon | Regulation for whole life and embodied carbon assessments, as proposed by industry |
UKGBC says its proposed pathway would provide a genuine transition so that by the early 2030s the UK could be host to new homes that are comfortable to live in, affordable to run, and at the cutting edge of low- and zero-carbon1. It has also developed five tests for government policy on future homes and buildings, which it says help policymakers develop approaches that are both needed and practically deliverable by industry2. UKGBC states it is continuing to engage with policymakers to develop the standard2.
Why it matters for households
The Future Homes Standard sets the rules for how new homes are built, so its contents determine how much a new home costs to heat, how well it holds warmth, whether it generates its own electricity and how it copes with overheating, flooding and drought2. UKGBC's position is that the options consulted on would leave many new homes at a standard below homes already being built today, which affects both the running costs of those homes and how much grid capacity they draw on at peak times1. Its recommendations on fabric, ventilation, in-use performance, solar and embodied carbon are aimed at the physical characteristics of a home that determine its energy independence over its lifetime. The consultation itself is an example of how rules of this kind are proposed and decided, and the outcome will apply to homes built after 20252.
What happens next
UKGBC says a further standard will be necessary shortly after the Future Homes Standard to finish the job, and that it is continuing to engage with policymakers to develop its proposed pathway1. No date has been reported for the government's response to the consultation.