Building Regs changes now in effect – What developers need to know
Duncan Gunn
Principal of Studio Gunn. Architect and Certified European Passive House Consultant.
A significant update to the Building Regulations came into force on June 15th 2022. The new regulations will impact new homes and some existing homes. These new rules will impact housebuilders and homeowners wanting to extend or renovate. In this article, I shall outline the significant changes, what developers need to know, and how they will affect current and proposed projects.
The changes, first announced in December 2021, come with ￡6.6m of direct investment into improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Heating and powering buildings currently make up around 40% of total energy use, and the ambition is to reduce this significantly. From 15 June 2022, all new homes must produce 30% less carbon dioxide emissions than current standards.
The old rules may still apply to specific projects depending on how far along the planning process you are. (a grace period will take effect until June 2023 for projects). The new building regulations came into force for applications made on or after 15 June 2022. The new requirements will not apply to applications made prior to June 15, providing substantial building work has begun before 15 June 2023 on all aspects of the application.
These amendments have been billed as the most significant changes to building regulations for over 30 years and will significantly impact planned building works after this date. The government is committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050. As part of the initiative, the changes will ensure that new dwellings and buildings improve their energy efficiency as part of the Future Homes Standard.
There have been updates to L (Conservation and Fuel), parts F (Ventilation) and a new regulation, part O (Overheating). These three parts will improve the thermal performance, ensuring buildings are safe and useable by occupants whilst working to reduce emissions and improve their energy efficiency. The change in standards will likely have cost implications for projects, increasing the amount and cost of materials to meet the new regulations. There is also the introduction of a new part, S (Charging of Electric Vehicles). This new standard will ensure that new and altered buildings are ready for the anticipated increase in EVs on the roads in the coming years.
The changes are outlined here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1057367/Circular_letter_Jan_2022.pdf
Changes to Part L (Conservation of Fuel and Power) - Part L has always been one of the more stringent building regulations and technical requirements. You require a Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) Assessor. A SAP Assessor is a professional who ensures your building complies with the latest SAP guidelines and procedures. The SAP Assessor will calculate the efficiency, energy efficiency and carbon emissions from your new building.
Part L has effectively bumped up the requirements of the U value (the resistance to an energy transfer from hot to cold). They've made the requirements for U values much more stringent, so we will be looking at more efficient insulation or insulation.
There are insulation manufacturers out there at the moment working hard to provide the sector with thinner insulation that meets these higher standards. So more insulation will be required. The other significant change in part L is the need to avoid thermal bridging in buildings. Thermal bridging is where you have a cold element, like an outside wall or a bit of steel structure. For that cold to move inside the building to the warm air not only makes that area a colder area but also creates the likelihood of condensation. This creates unhealthy buildings and a big leakage problem from heat transfer. So you lose energy, but you also generate condensation issues. This means a big part of part L will be the avoidance of thermal bridging.
Changes to Part F (Ventilation) - Part F has got more technical. More ventilation is required for new housing. Gradual improvements in the thermal performance and air tightness of buildings have improved thermal comfort whilst reducing energy consumption and are more likely to meet these regulations. Developers may require the same consultant to work on their SAP ratings for energy consumption. That consultant will help them with their ventilation strategies too. Developers will need 'Full Building' or 'Full House' Ventilation Strategies more than before. This ties in with part L (conservation of fuel and power) because if you're creating more ventilation, there are more ways that heat will leave the building. So a balancing act is needed. Part L and Part F will go very much hand in hand, and I recommend that a developer use one consultant to work on both parts. A building energy consultant should be a vital part of the design team from the outset to ensure that the technical specification of ventilation and thermal efficiency is optimised in line with the regulations. For people who want to refurbish or extend their home, the new part F requirements are far more stringent, especially for replacement windows, external doors or other thermal elements. If you're knocking a bit of a wall down and rebuilding it within your house, you are much more likely to have to meet these regulations. Mandated checklists will now make it easier to install mechanical ventilation products - both in new homes and existing homes alongside guidance on why ventilation is essential. There are new recommendations for all replacement windows to be installed with trickle vents unless:
a) there is an alternative form of ventilation, such as air bricks or whole house Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), or
b) that the works do not result in the ventilation being worse than before the works were done.
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New Regulation - Part O (Overheating) - The main intention behind Building Regulations Part O is to limit excess solar gain in new and existing homes and remove excess heat. The two methods to meet compliance with new part O are the simplified and dynamic thermal modelling methods, with standards based on whether a house is cross-ventilated or not. A standard is also included for maximum glazing allowed in a single room.
The simplified method will probably suffice for smaller schemes, where you are meeting the requirements of smaller glass areas. The dynamic thermal modelling method (which you will need a consultant for) will be where you want larger amounts of glass. And it would be best if you mitigated that with some other measures. Part O is going to have a significant impact because it takes into account things like weather. If a developer is building a block of flats, and they are single aspect, they only have windows on one side of the flat, that will go against them in terms of overheating because you can't cross-ventilate the flat, meaning that you don't get cooler air coming through it. Cross ventilation is all about ventilation. You can open a window at one side, a window at the other end, a nice breeze running through, or in the winter, have a trickle vent at one side and a trickle vent at the other. That would mean some form of ventilation going through the apartment. But if you're single aspect, that doesn't happen. And many planning authorities don't grant planning permission to new flats and apartments if they are only single aspect.
This now comes down to design basics, and we have to think about that. Part O will probably decrease the size of windows allowed in extensions and new buildings. Or the size of the glazing will have to be mitigated by some other factor to avoid overheating. So some form of calculation will be required to ascertain the correct size of windows. This issue will affect developers with smaller sites that may have daylight issues anyway, and we will see fewer and fewer sites with large expanses of glass.
New Regulation - Part S (Electric Vehicle Charging) - Building Regulations Part S aims to futureproof homes and buildings via the installation of charging points for electric vehicles (EVs) and provides technical guidance regarding the type of charging point. A ￡3,600 price cap per charge point will be introduced, designed to prevent the installation of EV chargers from being prohibitively expensive for developers.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DHLUC) believes the new regulations will help the UK meet its net zero target. It marks a path toward introducing the Future Homes Standard in 2025. The changes to the building regulations will affect all housebuilders and developers. It would be best if you started to plan for this now. Please contact me to arrange a meeting if you would like to discuss a particular building or site or how to meet the standards.
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Check out my other articles on Linkedin on five aspects you should consider when purchasing land with consent. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/5-things-developers-should-check-when-buying-planning-duncan-gunn/