Construction · England · SI 2026/335
Future Homes Standard: zero carbon ready, from 2027
The Future Homes Standard is law in England: SI 2026/335 was made on 23 March 2026 and applies to new building work from 24 March 2027.
It amends Part L of the Building Regulations 2010, adds requirement L3 for on-site renewable electricity on new homes, and arrives with new Approved Documents, per Building Circular 01/2026.
It regulates operational carbon only: the carbon in the materials stays outside national law in England.
The instrument
SI 2026/335, and when it bites
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards are enacted by The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, made on 23 March 2026.
The instrument amends the Building Regulations 2010, renaming Part L from “Conservation of fuel and power” to “Energy and greenhouse gas emissions” and updating Part F.
It also amends the Building (Registered Building Control Approvers etc.) (England) Regulations 2024, so that approvers have functions in relation to the new homeowner-information duty.
The Circular letter gives the dates in one sentence: the Regulations come into force on 24 March 2027, except that regulations 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 come into force for higher-risk building work and work to existing higher-risk buildings on 24 September 2027.
So the Standard is made law, but no new work has to meet it in 2026.
The Building Regulations are devolved, and the Circular is marked “Applies to England”; Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own standards and timetables.
- 23 Mar 2026SI 2026/335 made
Building Circular 01/2026 published the next day.
- 24 Mar 2027In force for building work
Not higher-risk work, or work to an existing higher-risk building.
- 24 Sep 2027Higher-risk building work
Regulations 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 come into force for it.
- 24 Mar 2028Transitional protection ends
For pre-2027 notices where work has not commenced.
What the Regulations change
Four amendments, and two revocations
Building Circular 01/2026 lists what SI 2026/335 does to the 2010 Regulations. Each line below is its own.
| Change | What it does | Who it reaches |
|---|---|---|
| New requirement L3 | A system of on-site renewable electricity generation for new dwellings and buildings containing dwellings | New homes and residential buildings |
| Part L of Schedule 1 | Reflects the dual aims of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving energy | All work Part L covers |
| “Fixed building services” | Now includes lifts, escalators and moving footways in new buildings other than individual dwellings | New non-domestic and mixed-use buildings |
| New regulation 40C | Information for homeowners of new dwellings in an appropriate format | Builders of new homes |
| Revocations | Earlier transitional arrangements made in 2013 and related arrangements made in 2021, which let construction proceed to 2010 energy efficiency standards, are revoked, subject to exceptions | Old sites still building to 2010 standards |
The revised Approved Documents
Approved Document L (Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions) Volume 1: Dwellings and Volume 2: Buildings other than Dwellings, and Approved Document F (Ventilation) Volume 1: Dwellings.
Their transitional arrangements are the same as the Regulations’.
What the guidance covers
Compliance routes for buildings on heat networks, limiting heat loss from low carbon heating, heat pump controls and commissioning, routes for certifying fixed building services, requirement L3, and the Home User Guide.
The target
75% less operational carbon, and “zero carbon ready”
The Explanatory Memorandum says the standard will effectively preclude the installation of fossil fuel heating systems and achieve a 75% reduction in operational carbon emissions, compared with buildings built to the 2013 version of the energy efficiency standards.
The reduction comes mainly from low-carbon heating such as heat pumps, high fabric efficiency and on-site renewable generation.
The ministerial statement describes the homes as “zero carbon ready”, meaning they will naturally become zero carbon over time as the electricity grid fully decarbonises.
The Circular says the same in its own words: buildings constructed to these standards will not require retrofitting to become zero carbon in use as the grid decarbonises.
The 75% is operational carbon, the emissions from heating, lighting and running a building, measured against a 2013 baseline.
It is not a cut in the carbon embodied in bricks, steel and concrete, and it is not an absolute figure.
Not “zero carbon”: the term is “zero carbon ready”.
Not “net zero”: the 75% compares running emissions with the 2013 standards.
Not “whole-life”: embodied carbon is outside the Standard.
What embodied carbon is, and who asks for it instead, is on embodied carbon.
Sources: Explanatory Memorandum · HCWS1445
Requirement L3
On-site renewables: a function, not a panel count
The Explanatory Memorandum describes L3 as a functional requirement for a system for renewable electricity generation to be installed on, or within the curtilage of, a newly erected dwelling or a building containing one or more dwellings.
A functional requirement states the outcome, not the kit: there is no kilowatt figure and no panel count in the Regulations, and any qualifying renewable electricity system can meet it.
The statutory guidance on how to meet it sits in Approved Document L.
The government’s own expectation, in HCWS1445, is solar panels “installed in the majority of new homes” — the majority, not every one.
Exemptions apply, notably for some higher-risk buildings and where generation is technically infeasible.
Transitional arrangements
Which projects keep the old Part L?
Most searches for “Part L 2027” are really asking whether a particular project is caught.
For work that is not higher-risk, the Circular says the changes will not apply where a building notice, an initial notice or a full-plans application was given before 24 March 2027, provided the work is commenced (as defined) before 24 March 2028.
Both limbs are needed: a notice given in time protects nothing if the work starts on or after 24 March 2028.
For higher-risk building work the test is different: the changes do not apply where a valid building control approval application was submitted to the regulator before 24 September 2027 and has not been rejected.
Protection for one stage of higher-risk work carries to later stages unless the original application is rejected or lapses.
Some earlier transitional arrangements, from the 2021 Part L uplift and the introduction of the higher-risk regime, also continue to protect certain work.
The checker applies the two tests to your dates; “commenced” keeps the meaning the Regulations give it.
Transition check · which Part L applies?
Given before 24 March 2027.
The old standards apply only if the work is commenced (as the Regulations define it) before 24 March 2028.
Enter a commencement date, or plan to start by then.
“Commenced” has the meaning the Regulations give it; check it against the instrument, not a site diary.
Source: MHCLG Building Circular 01/2026, transitional arrangements; SI 2026/335.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Embodied carbon
Still unregulated, and Part Z is a proposal
Where embodied carbon is measured at all, it is measured under a contract, a profession’s rules or a planning condition, not a national statute.
| Instrument | What it is | Who it binds | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part Z | A proposed new part of the Building Regulations: whole-life carbon assessment for larger projects, later limits on upfront carbon | Nobody yet | Proposal — not laid as an instrument |
| RICS whole life carbon assessment, 2nd edition | The professional methodology for whole-life and embodied carbon | RICS members, from 1 July 2024 | Professional standard |
| PAS 2080:2023 | Whole-life carbon management for buildings and infrastructure; superseded the infrastructure-only 2016 edition | Parties that adopt it, often by contract | Voluntary specification |
| Local planning conditions | Whole-life carbon assessment required by some planning authorities | Applicants in those areas | Local, not national |
The common misreading
That the UK already mandates embodied-carbon reporting for buildings. It does not, at national level in England.
Part Z has not been laid as a statutory instrument, and its thresholds and dates are placeholders.
Where PAS 2080 does bite
A regulator can point to it: Ofgem’s RIIO-3 reporting guidance names PAS 2080 as the example industry standard for network companies’ embodied carbon.
The Ofgem environmental report page covers that duty.
Reporting
What the Standard means for a builder’s reporting
The Future Homes Standard is a building standard, checked through building control, not a disclosure regime.
A housebuilder’s reporting duties come from elsewhere: SECR if it is large or quoted, ESOS if it qualifies, and the FCA’s UK SRS rules if its shares are listed.
The Standard still matters to that reporting, because a builder that reports its value chain under the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard accounts for the products it sells as well as the materials it buys.
The Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions page explains which emissions land in which scope.
Construction is one of several industries with its own rules; the others are on UK sustainability reporting by sector.
Like environmental permitting, building regulation divides by nation rather than applying UK-wide, which the page on regimes by jurisdiction explains.
Frequently asked
The Future Homes Standard, answered
What is the Future Homes Standard?
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards are amendments to the Building Regulations 2010 made by The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/335, made on 23 March 2026.
They rename Part L “Energy and greenhouse gas emissions”, add a requirement for on-site renewable electricity on new homes, and come with new Approved Documents L and F. MHCLG says buildings built to them will not need retrofitting to become zero carbon in use as the grid decarbonises.
When does Part L 2027 come into force?
On 24 March 2027 for building work that is not higher-risk building work.
For higher-risk building work and work to an existing higher-risk building, the relevant regulations come into force on 24 September 2027.
Both are subject to transitional arrangements.
What are the transitional arrangements?
For work that is not higher-risk, the changes do not apply where a building notice, initial notice or full-plans application was given before 24 March 2027, provided the work is commenced (as defined) before 24 March 2028.
For higher-risk building work, they do not apply where a valid building control approval application reached the regulator before 24 September 2027 and has not been rejected.
Does the Future Homes Standard apply in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. SI 2026/335 and Building Circular 01/2026 apply to England.
Building regulation is devolved, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set their own standards and timetables.
Will new homes be zero carbon?
No. The official term is “zero carbon ready”: new homes should produce at least 75% less operational carbon than homes built to the 2013 energy efficiency standards, and become zero carbon over time as the electricity grid decarbonises.
The 75% is operational carbon only, not the carbon in the materials.
Are gas boilers banned in new homes?
The Regulations do not name a ban.
The Explanatory Memorandum says the standard will effectively preclude the installation of fossil fuel heating systems, because a home must meet the performance it sets.
Must every new home have solar panels?
Not exactly.
New requirement L3 asks for a system of on-site renewable electricity generation on new dwellings and buildings containing dwellings.
It is a functional requirement, not a panel count, any qualifying renewable electricity system can meet it, and the government expects solar panels on the majority of new homes, not all.
Is embodied carbon reporting mandatory for buildings in England?
No. The Future Homes and Buildings Standards regulate operational carbon.
There is no national legal requirement in England to assess or limit embodied or whole-life carbon.
Part Z is an industry proposal, not law; the RICS whole-life carbon standard binds RICS members only; PAS 2080 is voluntary.
Does the Future Homes Standard create a reporting duty for housebuilders?
No. It is a building standard checked through building control, not a disclosure regime.
A housebuilder’s reporting duties come from SECR, ESOS or, if listed, the FCA’s UK SRS rules.
Regulation 40C does add a duty to give homeowners information about their new home.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/335
Made 23 March 2026; the instrument that enacts the Standards.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/335 — Explanatory Memorandum
The 75% operational-carbon comparison with 2013, “effectively preclude” fossil-fuel heating, and the renewable-generation requirement.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentBuilding Circular 01/2026 — letter
Coming-into-force dates, the transitional arrangements, the four amendments and the revised Approved Documents.
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentThe Future Homes and Buildings Standards: Building Circular 01/2026
The circular itself; applies to England.
- UK ParliamentWritten ministerial statement HCWS1445, 24 March 2026
“Zero carbon ready”, and solar panels in “the majority” of new homes.
- legislation.gov.ukThe Building Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2214
The Regulations SI 2026/335 amends, including Part L of Schedule 1.
- BSIPAS 2080:2023 Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure
The second edition, effective 31 March 2023; a voluntary specification.
- RICSWhole life carbon assessment for the built environment, 2nd edition
Mandatory for RICS members from 1 July 2024; a professional standard.
- Part Z campaignPart Z — Proposal
An industry proposal for embodied-carbon regulation; not law.
- OfgemEnvironmental Reporting Guidance (RIIO-3)
A regulator naming PAS 2080 as the example standard for embodied carbon.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
The value-chain standard a builder reporting Scope 3 follows.
Continue reading
Read next
Reporting by sector
Construction beside film, aviation, shipping, networks and finance.
Ofgem RIIO environmental report
Where PAS 2080 appears in a regulator’s reporting guidance.
Regimes by jurisdiction
Which UK rules apply in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
See also: MEES.