What does the Future Homes Standard mean for housebuilders?

With the release of the long-awaited Future Homes Standard on the 24^th March 2026 we now have a clear understanding of the requirements for future new homes.. These are the key changes and what we believe the impact will be on housebuilders.

Timelines and Transitional arrangements

The clock is now ticking down towards the date the Future Homes Standard will take effect – 24^th March 2027. Any homes that are subject to a building regulations application after this date will need to be built to the Future Homes Standard.

As with previous transitional arrangements, homes that are subject to a building regulations application prior to 24^th March 2027 must commence construction before 24^th March 2028 in order to remain under previous versions of Part L.

The definition of commencement is based on Regulation 46A of the Building Regulations (2010). Installing foundations is no longer sufficient, this regulation requires the ground floor level structure to be in place to be deemed as commenced.

The timeline and transitional arrangements above are longer for High-Risk Buildings. For these buildings the Future Homes Standard commences on 24^th September 2027 and the transition period runs until 24^th September 2028.

The end of gas boilers?

The aim of the Future Homes Standard is to end the use of fossil fuel heating and ensure homes need no further work to become zero carbon as the electricity grid decarbonises. This has effectively been achieved in two ways.

Firstly, the notional dwelling that sets the target primary energy (TPER) and carbon emission rates (TER) for new homes is now based on a heat pump whereas previously this was a gas boiler. This means that gas fuelled heating systems are significantly penalized due to their much lower efficiencies than heat pumps as well as electricity being a much less carbon intensive fuel than mains gas.

Secondly, the Approved Document states that heating systems should use fuel with a carbon factor no higher than 0.086 kgCO₂/kWh and primary energy factor no higher than 1.969 kWh^Pe/kWh which is what grid electricity is set at in the approved methodologies – SAP and HEM:FHS.

Early modelling on Design SAP 10 using SAP 10.3 suggests that for houses unless a heat pump is used, compliance is very challenging. For apartments direct heating and a hot water heat pump may be viable but does need some additional improvements to meet the compliance standards. Alternatively, low carbon powered heat networks also appear to perform well.

Mandatory photovoltaic panels?

A new functional requirement, L3 has been introduced into the Building Regulations which requires a renewable electricity generation system to be installed on new homes. In most cases, this will be photovoltaic panels as these are the most established cost effective way to comply.

The approved methodologies are used to calculate the minimum capacity of renewable electricity generation that is required. For houses, this is calculated as 40% of the ground floor area with panels of 0.22 kWp/m² efficiency. House builders will then have to establish max fit designs from PV designers to check if the max fit meets the minimum requirement.

The Approved Document explains an alternative approach where the max fit PV cannot meet the minimum requirement. In this case the builder must provide evidence to the Building Control Body including roof diagrams, PV max fit designs and a statement explaining why no modifications to designs can be made.

This is a new requirement and already is the subject of extensive discussions across the industry. How this will be applied in practice will need to be clearly defined and Elmhurst are in discussions with assessors, housebuilders and Building Control Bodies to understand the implications of this new requirement.

The above does not apply if the building is a High Risk Building or PV is not capable of generating at least 720 kWh/yr.