Future Homes Standard: what it means and what comes next

What is the Future Homes Standard?

The Future Homes Standard updates Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part F (ventilation) of the Building Regulations for England. It is the most significant change to residential energy standards in a generation.

Residential buildings currently account for around a fifth of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Heating and powering buildings represents approximately 40% of the country’s total energy consumption. [Source: House of Commons Library, September 2024; DESNZ] The Climate Change Committee has been clear: the UK cannot reach net zero without near-complete decarbonisation of its housing stock.

The 2021 uplift to Part L was an interim step, requiring new homes to achieve around 31% lower emissions than the previous standard. [Source: HEM Guide] The Future Homes Standard goes dramatically further. The headline requirements include:

Low-carbon heating as standard – gas boilers are effectively phased out for new builds, replaced by heat pumps or connection to heat networks

Rooftop solar PV – a new functional requirement under Part L3 means most new homes will need to install solar PV equivalent to 40% of the ground-floor area, with defined exemptions for tall buildings and sites where output cannot reach 720 kWh/year [Source: Approved Document L 2026]

Enhanced building fabric – improved insulation, stricter airtightness targets, thermal bridge reduction, and in many cases triple glazing to meet tightening U-values

SAP 10.3 as the initial compliance methodology – the government confirmed in February 2026 that SAP 10.3, not the Home Energy Model, will be the approved methodology at launch. HEM is expected to receive approved status at least three months after the FHS goes live, followed by a dual running period before it eventually replaces SAP. BRE has been awarded the contracts to develop both HEM and SAP 10.3. [Source: MHCLG; Elmhurst Energy, 24 March 2026; BRE, 21 May 2025]

Together, these measures aim to ensure new homes are “zero carbon ready” – meaning no further retrofit work should be necessary to bring them to net zero as the electricity grid continues to decarbonise.
 

When does the Future Homes Standard take effect?

The Future Homes Standard was published on 24 March 2026. The confirmed implementation timeline is:

24 March 2027: regulations come into force for non-higher-risk building work

24 September 2027: regulations come into force for higher-risk building work, in recognition of the greater complexity of the Building Control process for these projects

24 March 2028: transitional period ends – all new homes must comply regardless of when they were registered

During the transition, projects with applications submitted before 24 March 2027 may build to current Part L 2021 standards, provided construction commences before 24 March 2028. Projects submitted on or after 24 March 2027 must comply with the Future Homes Standard immediately. [Source: MHCLG Building Circular 01/2026; HEM Guide, updated 24 March 2026]

The message is straightforward. If you are designing homes now, you should be designing for the Future Homes Standard.
 

Is the Future Homes Standard enough on its own?

Here’s where it gets interesting.

The Future Homes Standard is a significant regulatory step forward. No question. But regulations set a floor, not a ceiling. They establish the minimum acceptable performance. Every developer building to that standard will meet the same baseline. And when everyone meets the same baseline, nobody stands out.

Consider what the Future Homes Standard does not cover. It focuses primarily on carbon emissions from energy use – operational carbon. It does not address whole-life carbon. It does not comprehensively assess health and wellbeing outcomes for residents. It does not evaluate biodiversity impacts, water efficiency beyond current standards, or the quality assurance processes that determine whether a home actually performs as designed once it’s built.

Poor housing already costs the NHS over £1 billion every year. [Source: BRE Cost of Poor Housing research] Cold homes, inadequate ventilation, and damp are health hazards with consequences that extend far beyond the buildings themselves. The Future Homes Standard will improve energy performance. Whether it will produce homes that are genuinely healthier, more resilient, and better for occupants across the board is a different question entirely.

This matters because true sustainability goes beyond operational carbon. Whole-life carbon, occupant health, biodiversity, water stewardship, responsible material sourcing – these are the dimensions that distinguish a genuinely sustainable home from one that simply meets the energy performance minimum. Holistic assessment captures what regulations, by their nature, cannot.

And for developers seeking genuine differentiation – and for investors, planners, and housing associations who want evidence that a development performs beyond the regulatory baseline – independent, third-party certification provides something regulations cannot: verified proof of that performance.

How does BREEAM help developers go beyond the Future Homes Standard?

BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential evaluates the environmental, social, and economic performance of new homes across categories where best or innovative practice exceeds the regulatory minimum, or where building regulations simply do not reach. Energy and carbon performance is one piece. The full assessment covers health and wellbeing, water efficiency, materials, waste, ecology, pollution, transport, and management – with a rigorous quality assurance process that runs from design through to post-construction.

This matters for several reasons.

First, it puts the occupant at the centre. An energy efficient home that doesn’t work for the people living in it risks undermining the very outcomes regulations are trying to achieve. If residents can’t operate their heating system, if ventilation is inadequate, if overheating makes rooms uninhabitable in summer – the design intent falls apart. BREEAM’s assessment considers sustainability in the round, recognising that a home’s performance depends not just on its energy rating but on whether it genuinely functions for the people who live there. Third-party verification and post-construction checks provide confidence that homes actually deliver what was promised.

Second, it future-proofs against what comes next. Regulations only tighten. The government has already signalled interest in whole-life carbon assessments, healthy homes standards, and biodiversity requirements. BRE’s Head of Government and Scientific Delivery, Gwyn Roberts, noted that the government also needs to take further steps to improve standards for existing buildings and address whole-building energy efficiency and overheating risk. [Source: BRE response, 24 March 2026] Developers who build to BREEAM standards today are already positioning themselves ahead of where regulations will be tomorrow. That’s not gold-plating. It’s strategic preparation.

Third, it unlocks commercial advantages that compliance alone cannot. BREEAM certification is recognised by investors, lenders, and planners. It supports access to green finance instruments. It provides the verified ESG credentials that institutional investors increasingly require. And it gives buyers and tenants confidence that a home has been independently assessed against a rigorous, nationally recognised standard with over 27 years of track record.
 

What should developers do now?

Waiting for implementation is tempting. It is also risky.

The Future Homes Standard is now confirmed and published. Heat pumps, solar, enhanced fabric – the requirements are set. The statutory instruments are laid. SAP 10.3 is the approved compliance methodology from day one, with HEM to follow. What remains is implementation, not uncertainty about the destination.

Developers designing schemes now should be stress-testing their designs against the published standard. Supply chain conversations about heat pump installation, solar specification, and enhanced fabric performance should already be underway. Skills gaps in your delivery team need identifying now, not six months into the transition period.

And for those who want to move beyond the regulatory baseline – who recognise that the market is shifting towards verified performance, that investors are asking harder questions about ESG credentials, and that consumers are paying closer attention to how their homes actually function – engaging early with BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential creates a structured pathway to demonstrate independently certified performance, attract green finance, and differentiate in a market where compliance is simply the starting point.
 

The bottom line

The Future Homes Standard will raise the floor for every new home built in England. That is welcome and necessary. But when every home meets the same minimum, the developers who thrive will be those who chose to aim higher. Who invested in verified, independently certified performance. Who can prove it.

Regulations set the rules. Certification sets you apart.

Find out how BREEAM UK New Construction: Residential can support your next development. Contact the BRE team to discuss your project.
 

Sources

• GOV.UK, “The Future Homes and Buildings Standards: 2023 consultation – Government response” (24 March 2026)
• MHCLG Building Circular 01/2026 (24 March 2026)
• GOV.UK, Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1445 (24 March 2026)
• Approved Document L 2026 (24 March 2026)
• HEM Guide, “Future Homes Standard — Complete Guide” (updated 24 March 2026)
• House of Commons Library, “Environmental standards for new housing” (September 2024)
• Climate Change Committee, Sixth Carbon Budget: Buildings sector report
• BRE, Cost of Poor Housing research
• BRE, “Our response to the Future Homes and Buildings Standards” (24 March 2026)
• BRE, “BRE to lead on development of SAP as industry prepares for Future Homes Standard” (21 May 2025)
• Elmhurst Energy, “MHCLG release the Future Homes Standard” (24 March 2026)
• DESNZ, 2024 Provisional greenhouse gas emissions statistics