Good news for 2021.  The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MCLG) has announced game-changer updates to Part L and F New Homes Mandate as a first step towards the Future Homes Standard. Effective this year, it means not only significant, but imminent changes to the energy efficiency of new home design and build.

A relief for eco-focused architects, designers, builders and planners and great news for the energy efficiency of future homes; this interim uplift is long-awaited (energy requirements for new builds were last updated in 2013) and highly sought after (and fought for) by energy consultants like us.

It brings the 2025 target for the Future Homes Standard (reducing CO2 emissions by 75-80%) within our grasp and the UK’s ambitious Net Zero target for 2050 one step closer.

There’s lots of detail in the report and a few updates are still to be confirmed including: a new consultation on the overheating of residential properties; implications for non-domestic properties; the impact on new home design and build and how sign off for new builds will be way more stringent, requiring more involvement from a qualified energy consultant.

We’ll be posting details of all this and more on our blog but for now, here are the highlights:

The highlights:

  • Local planning authorities retain flexibility over local energy efficiency requirements
  • CO2 target uplift 31% – improvements to U values, greater use of solar PV and heat pumps
  • Fabric-first approach and changes to CO2 conversion factors
  • Airtightness testing proposed mandatory for new homes
  • Tightening up of the energy efficiency gap between house design and performance
  • New builds have 2 years from registering the planning application to starting build – if delayed the builder will have to adhere to updated energy efficiency regs.

Click here for the full MCLG response.

Visit our blog for recent updates to Part L and F New Homes, including energy efficiency and building regulation news for new residential and commercial properties.  We’re happy to answer any questions, simply call 01489 883231 or email info@energyreport.co.uk