BUILDING FABRIC 43


ARE WE READY FOR THE FUTURE HOMES STANDARD?


The task of decarbonising our new building stock cannot be underestimated. REHAU UK’s Martin Hitchin says a new industry survey and white paper shows that construction needs to step up to achieve compliance with the Future Homes Standard when it’s implemented in 2025.


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ver since its announcement in 2019, the Future Homes Standard (FHS) has been regarded as a potentially transformational force within the Building Regulations landscape. The amendments it proposes concerning property ventilation and energy effi ciency  covering Part F and Part L of The Building egulations respectively  have sparked ongoing and vital discussions within the housebuilding sector.


Industry debate has further intensifi ed following the introduction of substantial adjustments to these regulations in 2022, and the publication of a further consultation document on the standard in December 2023. This most recent update contains potential changes that will affect practices across the whole construction industry, as well as its progress to meeting important net zero targets by 2050. Such new measures represent a sea-change for housebuilders and developers, and all parties involved in the housing construction and retrofi tting must adapt their practices ahead of the FHS’ introduction in January 2025.


NEW BUILDS & RETROFITS Undoubtedly, this will add a further layer of scrutiny on a sector under pressure to deliver the Government target of 300,000 new properties built annually by the mid-2020s. Yet it cannot be denied that the objectives behind the FHS are commendable. Its primary goal of ensuring all new homes emit 75-80% less carbon than previous benchmarks is a key part of the housing sectors efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But a focus on newbuilds alone risks missing the woods for the trees. Indeed, it must be noted that most housing stock in England alone was built before 1919, and 80% of current buildings will still be in use by 2050. Any decarbonisation plans that do not account for these


NONE OF THE RESPONDENTS SAID THEY WERE AWARE OF THE AVAILABILITY OF A WINDOW FRAME SYSTEM CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING THE REQUIRED FUTURE HOMES STANDARD U-VALUE OF 0.85


properties cannot truly be regarded as fi tforpurpose. Bringing these existing homes into the picture, however, will undoubtedly pose further challenges for developers carrying out retrofi t works.


REPORTING ON A CONCERNING LACK OF CLARITY IN THE INDUSTRY Given the scale of the task in hand, close collaboration will be required across the supply chain to build or upgrade new and existing properties to meet decarbonisation targets. But as the countdown to 2025 continues, it is disconcerting to see that over two-thirds of the sector appear unprepared for the imminent changes mandated in the FHS. This concerning statistic is set out in the ‘Future Homes Standard: Preparing K Housing for 2025, the latest market readiness report from polymer solutions provider REHAU. Taken from a survey of 200 decision makers spanning various sectors within


the housing industry and conducted by our independent research partner Censuswide, a concerning 79% of respondents expressed that meeting the current FHS timeline would be ‘somewhat challenging’ or ‘very challenging. While these fi ndings are valuable for establishing sector preparedness, the continued scrutiny the housebuilding sector faces around property shortages may further magnify any concurrent issues in housing construction, including this. Adapting to meet FHS standards is therefore imperative for sector stakeholders, necessitating awareness of all components that comprise housing design, and their roles in meeting the upcoming regulations. Yet despite this need for awareness, other fi ndings from REHAU’s latest white paper demonstrate further challenges. Notably, none of the respondents said they were aware of the availability of a window frame system


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