New statutory guidance amending Approved Documents L and F has been published ahead of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, which comes into effect from March 20271. The amendments apply to buildings and building work in England and come into force on 24th March 20271.
Three documents have been amended: Approved Document L (Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions) Volume 1: Dwellings; Approved Document L Volume 2: Buildings other than Dwellings; and Approved Document F (Ventilation) Volume 1: Dwellings1. The covering letter was issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government1.
The updated guidance covers routes for dwellings and other buildings, including mixed-use buildings, connected to a new or existing heat network to demonstrate compliance; limiting heat loss from low carbon heating systems; minimum building services efficiencies and controls, heat pump controls, fixing operational and maintenance information to heat pumps, and insulation for building heat distribution systems1. It also covers the commissioning and installation of fixed building services, including clarifying the importance of following manufacturers' instructions for heat pump installations and on-site electricity storage systems, and highlights the role of competent persons schemes when installing a heat pump or mechanical ventilation1.
Further changes include routes for certifying fixed building services installations and available enforcement options where work does not meet the required standards; the new functional requirement (L3) on installing a system for onsite renewable electricity when a dwelling, or a building containing a dwelling, is erected; and the Home User Guide, including guidance to help ensure Home User Guides are provided to material change of use dwelling owners1.
"New statutory guidance has been published ahead of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard coming into effect from March 2027"
Why it matters for households
The documents set the compliance framework that new homes in England will be built and certified against, covering fabric performance, ventilation and, for the first time through functional requirement L3, onsite renewable electricity generation on new dwellings1. For a household, the practical effect is that a home built under the new arrangements should be assessed against these amended requirements, and the Home User Guide provisions are intended to put information about the home's systems in the hands of its owner, including on material change of use1. The heat pump provisions, which stress manufacturers' instructions and competent persons schemes, bear on how installed systems are commissioned and how their controls and maintenance information are handed over1. The guidance also addresses heat networks, which matters for homes whose heating comes from a shared network rather than an individual appliance1.
What happens next
The amendments come into force on 24th March 20271. Regulations 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 come into force for higher-risk building (HRB) work and work to existing HRBs on 24 September 2027, subject to transitional provisions1. Further details, including transitional arrangements, are set out in the Building Circular letter1.
Sources1 cited
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