The Energy Saving Trust published its response to the Energy Efficient Scotland consultation on improving energy efficiency in owner occupied homes on 3 October 20251. The response supports the Scottish Government's proposal to introduce a legally binding energy efficiency standard for owner-occupied housing1.
The Trust states that the planned regulatory approach would help create a secure market, enabling energy efficiency and renewable heat companies to invest, leading to falling costs and technology innovation, reducing costs for households and ultimately making home energy efficiency much more achievable1. It describes the proposal as building on the Scottish Government's existing advice and financing programmes1.
"Our response supports the Scottish Government's ambitious proposal to introduce a legally binding energy efficiency standard for owner-occupied housing."
The published page carries a location notice stating that it contains information and links most relevant for people living in Scotland1. The response document itself is available as a PDF download from the same page1.
The sources do not give the proposed standard's target rating, the compliance deadline, the measures owners would be expected to install, or any cost estimates for households. Those details have not been reported in the material published alongside the response. The consultation's own start and closing dates are also not stated. The page was last updated on 3 October 2025, the same date given for publication1.
Why it matters for households
A legally binding standard for owner-occupied homes would extend regulation into a tenure that has so far been covered mainly by advice and grant funding rather than enforceable rules. For a household, the practical effect of a binding standard is that the energy performance of the property becomes a regulated attribute of the home rather than a matter of choice, which can affect when work is carried out and what happens at the point of sale. The Trust's argument is that a predictable regulatory signal brings installer and supplier capacity into the market, which it says lowers costs over time1. Scotland's devolved powers over building standards and energy efficiency are set out in Energy and Buildings Policy in Scotland: Devolved Powers Explained, and the existing social housing standard is covered in EESSH: The Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing in Scotland. Support for improvement work in Scotland currently runs through The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, while the privately rented sector already has its own standards, described in What are the new energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in Scotland?. How homes in Scotland are heated, and the fuels involved, is covered in How Scottish Homes Are Heated. The role and funding of the body issuing the response is set out in The Energy Saving Trust: What It Does and Who Funds It.
What happens next
No next steps are dated in the published response. The page does not state when the Scottish Government will respond to the consultation, whether a standard will be brought forward, or on what timetable.
Sources1 cited
- Improving energy efficiency in owner occupied homes - Energy Saving Trust, energysavingtrust.org.uk