Guide · England · Building regulations
The Future Homes and Buildings Standards change Part L (energy) and Part F (ventilation) of the Building Regulations in England. MHCLG set out the dates and the transitional rule in Building Circular 01/2026, published 24 March 2026. This page sums up what the circular says for a self-builder planning a new house, and what it means for your budget.
Not building control or design advice. Your building control body and designer decide which rules apply to your building. Read the circular letter on GOV.UK and the updated Approved Documents before you rely on any date.
Last updated 28 October 2026.
Per the circular, the amendment regulations (S.I. 2026/335):
For work that is not higher-risk building work, the circular says the changes “will not apply to work on a building where a building notice, an initial notice, or an application for building control approval with full plans has been given to the relevant authority in respect of that building before 24 March 2027, provided that the building work to which the notice or application relates is commenced (as defined) on the relevant building before 24 March 2028.”
Two conditions, then: the notice or full-plans application has to go in before 24 March 2027, and the work has to start before 24 March 2028. The circular applies the rule to each building separately, so if you are building more than one dwelling, check each one.
“Commenced” has a legal definition. Ask your building control body what counts on your plot before you plan around it.
The circular says the standards are meant to ensure new homes “are built with low carbon heating and high levels of energy efficiency”, so they will not need retrofitting to become zero carbon in use as the grid decarbonises. The circular and its letter mention:
Timing. If your design is close to ready, talk to your designer and building control body about when you give a building notice or apply with full plans, and when work will realistically start. Missing either date means the new standards apply. Neither choice is automatically better: building to the new standard may suit a long-term home anyway.
Budget. Price the heating system, the renewable electricity system and the fabric spec that your designer and energy assessor recommend. Get quotes, because this page gives no U-values or system sizes. The circular does not set them, and they depend on your design.
ConstructionPro.io does not check compliance with Building Regulations, work out which rules apply to your building, or deal with building control for you. It records cost lines. Heat-pump grants are a separate matter: see the Boiler Upgrade Scheme self-build guide.
Building Circular 01/2026 says the amendment regulations come into force on 24 March 2027. For higher-risk building work, most of the changes come into force on 24 September 2027, under separate transitional arrangements.
For work that is not higher-risk, the changes do not apply where a building notice, an initial notice or a full plans application was given before 24 March 2027, as long as the work starts before 24 March 2028. The rule applies to each building separately. Your building control body confirms what applies.
A new functional requirement for an on-site renewable electricity generation system when a dwelling, or a building containing dwellings, is built.
No. It records cost lines, such as your heating and fabric spec, so you can budget for them. It does not check compliance with Building Regulations or work out which rules apply to your building.
A demo house ledger you can throw away, with cost lines for heating and fabric options. We do not check Building Regulations compliance.