Energy bills warning over plans to scrap Future Homes Standard

UK – The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has warned that scrapping the Future Homes Standard could leave households facing higher energy bills, after the Conservatives proposed abandoning the new-build regulations.

The standard is due to come into force in England on 24 March 2027 and will require new homes to meet much higher energy-efficiency standards and use low-carbon heating, with heat pumps and heat networks expected to be the main technologies. Solar panels are also expected on the majority of new homes.

The Conservatives have included scrapping the standard in a wider housing package which the party says could cut up to £50,000 from the cost of delivering a new home. That figure relates to the overall package, which also includes changes to developer contributions, rather than the cost of the Future Homes Standard alone.

Coalition warns of higher bills

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said removing the regulations risked shifting costs from developers to households through higher energy use and the need for future retrofit. A spokesperson said the UK was already dealing with the consequences of upgrading older, inefficient housing and argued that new homes should be built to avoid repeating the problem.

Scrapping the rules may let profiteering developers build homes more cheaply, but the families who move in will pay for it through higher bills.

End Fuel Poverty Coalition

The coalition said heat pumps and solar panels should remain central to new-build policy and argued that the regulations should be strengthened rather than removed.

Heat pumps at the centre of the standard

The Future Homes Standard was confirmed by the Government in March 2026 and is intended to make new homes “zero carbon ready”.

Government guidance says gas boilers will not meet the required performance standard, while low-carbon heating such as heat pumps or heat networks will be required. New homes will also need high levels of energy efficiency, with solar included on the majority of properties.

For most building work, the regulations take effect on 24 March 2027 with a 12-month transition period. Separate arrangements apply to higher-risk buildings.

Bill savings modelled at more than £1,000

Research commissioned by the MCS Foundation found that an average three-bedroom semi-detached new-build with a heat pump and a meaningful solar PV array could save up to £1,040 a year on energy bills. Adding battery storage increased the modelled annual saving to £1,342, although batteries are not required under the Future Homes Standard. The MCS Foundation also cited government estimates suggesting that adding the renewable technologies considered in its modelling would increase development costs by just over £5,000 for an average home.

Policy reversal would affect new-build heat pump market

For the heat pump industry, the Future Homes Standard represents a significant source of prospective new-build demand, with fossil-fuel boilers effectively excluded from compliant homes once the regulations take effect. Its removal would therefore represent a substantial change to the expected route for decarbonising heating in England’s new housing stock.