From March 2027 the Future Homes and Buildings Standard will affect energy use, greenhouse emissions and ventilation. The new standard will update the current Building Regulations.
The updated standard applies to non-high-risk buildings and building work. Some additional revisions will apply to higher risk buildings (HRBs) from September 2027.
The new standard will help to make sure new homes and non-domestic buildings meet low carbon heating and energy efficiency requirements. Compliant buildings shouldn’t need retrofitting to meet future zero carbon goals.
The standard will include:
Compliance for homes and other properties such as mixed-use buildings connected to new or existing heat networks.
Limiting heat loss from low carbon heating systems.
Building services heat pump efficiencies, controls, and distribution.
Commissioning and installing fixed heat pumps for building services following manufacturers’ instructions for installations.
On-site electricity storage systems.
Professional installation of heat pumps and mechanical ventilation.
Certification and enforcement of fixed building service installations.
Requirements for installing onsite renewable electricity for new and existing homes.
Guides for homeowners.
For work on non-HRBs or existing HRBs, these changes won’t apply to plans notified or approved before March 2027. In these cases, building work must begin before March 2028. In some cases, the new rules won’t apply to building control approval applications made before September 2027.
Practical implications of the Future Homes Standard
In practice, from 2027, new homes won’t have fossil fuel heating, affecting the price and delivery of new projects.
The new Building Regulations Part L (2026) focuses on reducing energy use and minimising greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity will power heating and hot water systems. Heat pumps, communal and district heat networks and solar panels will become part of their design. Plant space, electrical capacity, noise, and supply chain management will become important in development plans. Roof design will also need to maximise usable areas for the solar panels and avoid shading.
Minimum requirements for building materials will broadly stay unchanged. Good insulation, airtight construction and design to minimise heat loss at junctions remain priorities.
The new Home Energy Model (HEM) is the foundation for compliance. It requires detailed information and closer coordination between professions to predict real world energy performance.
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