UKGBC reacts to the Future Homes Hub Task Group Report on Refining the 2025 Future Homes Standard, ahead of the Government consultation on the Future Homes Standard due in the spring

Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive at UKGBC said:

Today we’re not building houses that are fit for the net zero future. The Future Homes Standard is our best chance to put that right for the next generation of people living in new homes across the UK, but the current draft Standard falls significantly short of the Government’s own test of ‘zero carbon ready’ and would leave homes unfit for a rapidly warming climate. 

The Future Homes Hub has done phenomenal work in developing this report, which is a vitally important contribution to the policy debate.

But this is just one piece of the puzzle, and UKGBC urges the Government to make broader changes to housing standards to ensure a complete picture. We believe that every new home built from 2025 should not require future retrofitting and should pass in-use energy performance tests rather than relying on modelled estimates – put simply, we should calculate the real amount of energy they use.

Additionally, future homes should enable a net zero electricity system, have low embodied carbon, and be designed for resilience to our changing climate.

This is a golden opportunity to lay the groundwork for how homes of the future will both play their part in delivering a net zero UK and shape happy, healthy lives for people living in them. We look forward to the formal consultation in the spring and will continue to engage with our members and Government to deliver zero-carbon ready, climate-resilient homes.”

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