Environmental standards for new housing

Building regulations

All new housing in England must adhere to building regulations, under the Building Act 1984 and the Building Regulations 2010. The statutory requirements set out in Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations 2010 include water efficiency (part G), drainage and waste disposal (part H), combustion appliances and fuel storage systems (Part J), conservation of fuel and power (part L), overheating (part O) and infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles (part S).

Generally, building regulations set standards that need to be met (such as energy performance standards) rather than how they need to be achieved (for example, building regulations do not require the use of a particular type of insulation). The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government publishes guidance called ‘Approved Documents’ on ways for builders and developers to meet building regulations.

For further information on building regulations, including how they are enforced and the approaches in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, see the Library briefing on Building regulations and safety (July 2024).

Housing, energy efficiency and net zero

In 2022, emissions from residential buildings accounted for a fifth (20%) of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the government’s advisory body, said the UK will not meet its emissions targets “without near complete decarbonisation of the housing stock”.

The government’s 2021 Heat and buildings strategy committed to introducing a ‘Future Homes Standard’ by 2025 to ensure that “new-build homes are future-proofed with low-carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency”. It consulted on the Future Homes Standard between 2019 and 2020 and on its technical proposals for meeting the standard from November 2023 to March 2024 (including changes to building regulations).

In its 2023 to 2024 consultation, the government also sought views on whether to add solar panels to buildings. The government said solar panels could decrease the energy bills and emissions from new homes. On the other hand, solar panels had high upfront costs and may not be as important to reducing emissions once the electricity grid decarbonised.

The government stated on 15 May 2024 that the Future Homes Standard would come into force in 2025 and that solar panels would be encouraged:

Our consultation proposals setting out the proposed technical detail of the standard demonstrated the effectiveness of rooftop solar in reducing energy bills for consumers with solar panels. For non-domestic buildings, the Future Buildings Standard consultation proposed significant amounts of rooftop solar which is also expected to drive the use of solar power on warehouses and commercial buildings.

Amendments to the building regulations and approved documents to introduce the Future Homes Standard were not made before the July 2024 General Election. The Labour government said in July that it is keen to see more homes fitted with solar panels.  

Planning permission is not normally needed for solar panels on domestic roofs (with some exceptions) as they are covered by permitted development rights. The Library briefing When is planning permission not needed? Permitted development in England (February 2024) contains further information.

For more information on measuring environmental impact and decarbonising homes, see the Library briefing on Housing and net zero (July 2024).

For data on energy efficiency of homes, variations by different types of properties and households, insulation measures and government funded/mandated energy efficiency schemes, see the Library briefing Energy efficiency of UK homes (July 2024).

Nutrient neutrality

Nutrient neutrality refers to a requirement for new housing developments located in certain areas to not add further “nutrient pollution” to the water catchment. It applies to developments in areas with protected habitat sites already in an unfavourable condition, due to existing nutrient pollution, and is underpinned by the Habitats Regulations (which establish protections for sites that have significance for nature).

In August 2023, the Conservative government announced that it would amend the Habitats Regulations to “do away with red tape” through an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (now Act). The amendment was not passed.

In response to a written question tabled on 17 July 2024, the Labour government responded that it “will implement solutions to unlock the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections”, and set out that it would “only act in legislation where we can confirm to Parliament that the steps we are taking will deliver positive environmental outcomes” (PQ 556).

For more information about nutrient neutrality requirements, see the Library briefing on nutrient neutrality and housing development (October 2023).

Biodiversity net gain

Biodiversity net gain (BNG) is an approach to development, defined by the government as ensuring “that habitats for wildlife are left in a measurably better state than they were before the development”. From February 2024, mandatory BNG was introduced as a planning requirement, requiring the habitats lost due to development to be accounted for and addressed (for example, through creation of new habitat).

For more information about biodiversity net gain, see the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology POSTnote briefing on biodiversity net gain (September 2024).

Water and sewerage

New developments have standard requirements (under the Building Regulations) to connect housing to water and ensure an adequate system of drainage (for example, through a sewer).For more information see the Library briefing on economic regulation of the water industry (August 2024) and the Library article on sewerage connections for new housing developments in England (May 2024).

Further parliamentary and press coverage is attached.