Table of Contents
- Does the Future Homes Standard affect my home right now?
- What is the Future Homes Standard and is it definitely happening?
- What will new homes have to include?
- What does this mean for installation quality?
- Why does this still matter if I'm in an existing home?
- What is the Warm Homes Plan?
- Why is this happening now?
- Our view at Heat Geek
- What to watch
- Conclusion
- FAQs
Quick Verdict: The Future Homes Standard is confirmed. From March 2028, virtually all new homes built in England must include a heat pump or other low-carbon heating, rooftop solar, and significantly better insulation, cutting carbon emissions by at least 75% compared to homes built to 2013 standards. If you're buying a new build, this changes what you should expect. If you're in an existing home, it still matters: the scale it creates will bring down costs, expand installer capacity, and make clear where government policy is heading next.
Does the Future Homes Standard affect my home right now?
For most people reading this, the short answer is no. Not directly. Building regulations apply to new construction only. If you're in an existing home, your property is not subject to the Future Homes Standard. The Warm Homes Plan is the relevant programme for retrofitting existing homes, and we cover that separately below.
If you're buying or planning to buy a new build, the picture is different. From March 2028, new homes in England must comply with the new standard. That means heat pumps, solar panels, and a well-insulated fabric should all be standard features, not optional upgrades. If you're purchasing off-plan or on a development that will complete after that date, you should expect these to be included.
Either way, the FHS is not irrelevant to existing homeowners. We'll explain why below.
What is the Future Homes Standard and is it definitely happening?
The Future Homes Standard (FHS) is a major update to building regulations in England, requiring new homes to be built to a much higher energy performance specification. Gas boilers will no longer be permitted. Most homes will need a heat pump. Solar panels will be required on the roof.
It has been in development for over a decade, with successive governments consulting and delaying. In that time, around 1.5 million new homes were built in England all with gas boilers. On 24th March 2026, the Government confirmed it. The legislation will be laid later in 2026, followed by a 12-month transition period. New homes will need to comply from around March 2028.
This is confirmed policy, not a consultation or proposal.
What will new homes have to include?
Heating: Gas boilers are out. Most new homes will have an air or ground source heat pump. Heat networks are also permitted where available. The compliance model (SAP 10.3) sets a notional heat pump COP of 2.5. To put that number in context: a COP of 2.5 means the system produces 2.5 units of heat for every unit of electricity it consumes.
Solar panels: Every new home must include a renewable electricity generation system. In most cases this means rooftop solar PV covering an area equivalent to 40% of the ground floor space. That is a demanding target. The Home Builders Federation has warned that around 60% of homes will face challenges meeting it due to roof size, orientation, or shading. Exemptions exist where solar genuinely cannot be fitted, but each property must be assessed individually.
Fabric standards: Walls, roofs, floors, and windows must all meet tighter insulation and airtightness standards. The combination of heat pump, solar, and improved fabric is estimated to cut carbon emissions by at least 75% compared to homes built to 2013 standards and save homeowners up to £830 a year versus a typical EPC C-rated property.
Batteries are not required: The industry broadly agrees that battery storage would maximise the value of on-site solar, particularly for self-consumption overnight. The Government has not mandated them at this stage, which most people in the sector consider a missed opportunity.
What does this mean for installation quality?
This is where the FHS goes further than most people expect, and it matters.
The regulations don't just specify what technology must be installed. They specify how it must be installed and documented. A commissioning checklist is required as evidence that the heat pump has been set up correctly, with the Approved Document referencing MCS and Heat Pump Association UK guidance as the benchmark. A competent person scheme must be used for all heat pump installations. Operational and maintenance information must be physically attached to the heat pump unit. A Home User Guide must be provided covering the heat pump, hot water cylinder, and thermal store.
Guidance on correctly sizing heating systems is also included. Oversizing is one of the most common causes of poor heat pump performance in the UK, and the fact that it now gets explicit attention in building regulations is overdue. If your installer cannot explain the calculation behind the system size they are proposing, that is a red flag. See our heat pump guide for the questions worth asking before you commit.
These requirements exist because good technology installed badly still underperforms. That is something we have been saying for years. It is also why every installer in the Heat Geek network is rigorously vetted, every system is digitally monitored after installation, and every installation is backed by the Heat Geek guarantee.
Why does this still matter if I'm in an existing home?
Four reasons.
- The FHS will roughly triple the UK heat pump market, from around 100,000 installations per year to around 300,000. That level of manufacturing and supply chain expansion reduces unit costs over time. Homeowners who install now do so before demand increases and an install backlog begins.
- A larger installer base means more competition and better availability. It also means the MCS standards and commissioning rigour now embedded in the FHS will become normal practice across the industry, rather than the mark of the better installers.
- The FHS signals where policy on existing homes is heading. It sits alongside the Warm Homes Plan, which is explicitly about retrofitting the existing housing stock with grants and subsidised finance. The two programmes are designed to work together.
- Finally, there is the question of property values. As new builds come with A-rated EPCs as standard from 2028, older properties at D or E will face growing pressure in the market. Installing a heat pump now improves your EPC rating and protects your asset value ahead of that shift.
What is the Warm Homes Plan?
The FHS covers new builds. The Warm Homes Plan covers the existing 29 million homes already standing.
In January 2026, the Government described it as the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history. On the same day as the FHS confirmation, several elements of the Warm Homes Plan were confirmed or updated:
A £5 billion Warm Homes Fund has been announced, with a Call for Evidence launched to determine how best to deploy it. £130 million has been allocated to mayoral authorities for street-by-street upgrades to low-income homes. A further £295 million has been added to the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 for 2026 to 2027.
Separately, the Government announced that plug-in solar units will be made available through UK retailers including Lidl and Amazon within months. These are small, balcony-mounted panels that households can self-install and plug into a standard socket. They are already widely used across Europe. In Germany, an estimated 1.5 million homes have them, with around 500,000 new units installed last year. The Government estimates they could save households up to £110 a year, with panels available from around £400.
The FHS and the Warm Homes Plan together represent the most joined-up energy policy the UK has produced for housing. So credit where it is due.
Why is this happening now?
The timing is not a coincidence.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was direct: "The Iran War has once again shown our drive for clean power is essential for our energy security so we can escape the grip of fossil fuel markets we don't control."
UK households have had two sharp reminders of fossil fuel exposure in recent years. The Ukraine conflict in 2021 to 2022 pushed typical annual energy bills above £2,500. The Iran conflict has renewed that pressure. Both times, the cause was the same: gas priced in global markets by events the UK cannot influence.
Electricity from solar and wind is produced domestically. Its price does not move when conflict breaks out in the Middle East or Eastern Europe. A home running on a heat pump and its own solar generation is structurally less exposed to that volatility. That is not primarily an environmental argument. It is a financial one.
Our view at Heat Geek
We welcome the Future Homes Standard. Not because it creates demand for heat pumps (a tripling of the new-build market will create supply chain pressures the industry needs time to absorb), but because it is the right policy.
We have spent years making the case that heat pumps work, that they perform well in UK homes when properly designed and installed and that the barrier to good outcomes is not the technology but the quality of installation. The FHS takes that seriously. Commissioning checklists, certified installers, sizing guidance, user information. These requirements address the actual causes of underperforming systems in the UK market.
By writing MCS standards and commissioning rigour into law, the FHS raises the floor for every installer operating in new builds. That is good for homeowners. It is also good for the installers and companies who have been meeting those standards already.
On energy security, the case for getting off gas does not need elaborating after the last four years. Heat pumps, solar panels, and well-insulated homes reduce your exposure to global fossil fuel markets. That is as relevant to a household budget as it is to national energy policy.
Our honest position: the FHS should have come sooner. A decade in development is too long. But it is confirmed, it is serious, and the installation quality requirements embedded in it are exactly what this industry has needed.
What to watch
The solar exemptions. The 40% ground floor space requirement is the most contentious element of the FHS. How exemptions are applied in practice will determine whether the standard has real teeth. A requirement that can be routinely designed around is not a standard.
Batteries. Not mandating battery storage is a gap. On-site solar is most valuable when the generation can be used on demand, not just when the sun is shining. This may be revisited in future updates.
Installer capacity. Tripling the market requires tripling the trained, certified installer base. A 12-month transition period is short. The supply chain and workforce development work needs to start now.
Scotland and Wales. The FHS applies in England only. Scotland and Wales have separate building regulations and their own retrofit programmes. Scottish homeowners should look at Home Energy Scotland; Welsh homeowners should check the Warm Homes Wales scheme.
Conclusion
For new-build buyers, the Future Homes Standard means heat pumps and solar will be built in as standard from 2028. The running costs, EPC ratings, and energy independence that come with it are included in the price of the house.
For everyone else, the FHS matters because of what it does to the wider market: more manufacturing, more trained installers, lower costs, and a clear signal that the UK is not going back to gas. Paired with the Warm Homes Plan, it is the most credible housing energy policy the UK has put forward.
If a heat pump is something you are already considering, the case for acting before 2028 is straightforward. Costs will come down as scale builds, but demand will go up first.
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FAQs
Does the Future Homes Standard apply to my existing home? No. The FHS applies to new-build homes only. Your existing home is not directly affected. The Warm Homes Plan is the relevant programme if you want to retrofit.
When exactly do new homes need to comply? The legislation will be laid in 2026, followed by a 12-month transition period. In practice, new homes will need to comply from around March 2028. Developers should be designing to the new standard before that date.
Will the FHS make new homes more expensive to buy? The additional build cost is estimated at around £10,000 per home. Whether that passes fully into purchase prices depends on the market. Lower energy bills, estimated at up to £830 a year versus a typical EPC C home, should offset a significant portion of that over time.
Can I get a heat pump in my existing home now? Yes. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides a £7,500 grant for heat pump installations in existing homes in England and Wales. You do not need to wait for the FHS. The Warm Homes Plan will expand that support further.
What if I'm buying a new build currently under construction? There is a 12-month transition period once the legislation is laid. Projects well underway may complete under existing regulations. Ask your developer which rules apply to your specific purchase and completion date.
The Future Homes Standard applies to new dwellings in England only. Regulations in Scotland and Wales are set separately. All figures correct as of March 2026.
