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Historically, many local authorities have sought to raise environmental standards through planning policy. In some areas, developments have been required to achieve energy performance levels beyond those set out in Building Regulations, creating different expectations across different regions. While these policies were often introduced with positive intentions, they have also added complexity for developers operating nationally.

What will the Future Homes Standard establish?

The Future Homes Standard is intended to establish a consistent national approach to reducing carbon emissions from new homes. By improving building fabric performance and supporting the adoption of low-carbon technologies, the standard aims to ensure that new homes are future-ready from the day they are completed.

A nationally applied benchmark could provide considerable benefits. Developers would have greater certainty when designing projects, supply chains could adapt more effectively to common requirements.  Compliance processes could also become more straightforward.

That is not to suggest local authorities will lose interest in sustainability. Far from it. Many councils remain committed to ambitious climate goals and will continue to seek opportunities to improve the environmental performance of developments within their areas. The difference may be that future improvements are driven through mechanisms other than operational energy standards.

Will the Future Homes Standard deliver consistency on building sustainability?

For the development sector, the focus is increasingly shifting towards understanding what the Future Homes Standard will require and how projects can be designed to meet those expectations. Rather than simply considering compliance with today's standards, many organisations are already asking how they can align their projects with tomorrow's requirements.

As the industry counts down to implementation, one question becomes increasingly important: will the Future Homes Standard provide the consistency developers have long requested while still delivering the environmental outcomes policymakers and communities expect?

By Jon Ponting, Future Homes Standard Policy Lead at AES Sustainability