Published4 November 2026Updated5 November 2026
Future Homes Standard: Because a new house shouldn't need doing up
What changes for heating, solar, space, costs and handover, with practical checklists for homeowners and developers and the 2027 start dates.
The Future Homes Standard changes the energy and carbon rules for new homes in England, with implementation starting on 24 March 2027. It brings low carbon heating, on-site renewable electricity requirements and updated energy and ventilation guidance. It doesn't require owners of existing homes to remove a working boiler.
The aim is to build homes that can become zero carbon in use as the electricity grid decarbonises, without another energy retrofit to get there. Use the checklists below to turn the standard into decisions about your design, budget and programme.
The practical impact checklist
For homeowners
Commissioning or buying a new home
- Heating and hot water. Agree a low carbon heating system and hot water capacity that suit your household, with space for any cylinder and outdoor equipment.
- Solar and roof space. Plan renewable electricity generation with the rooflights and roof design. Check the appropriate output and any exceptions, rather than copying next door's panel count.
- Space and comfort. Allow equipment and servicing space without losing storage. Design insulation, ventilation and summer comfort together.
- Budget and bills. Compare installation prices on the same scope. Request running-cost estimates with the tariff and performance assumptions stated.
- Applicable standard. Ask which energy standard your particular home meets. A planning approval date alone doesn't establish it.
- Controls and maintenance. Get a Home User Guide, a demonstration of the controls and clear servicing instructions before you move in.
For developers
Planning, pricing and delivering a scheme
- Heating design. Confirm the energy assessment and services-design roles early, then coordinate the heating system, hot water, plant space and pipe routes.
- Solar and electricity. Check L3 generation requirements, usable roof area and connection or export constraints before fixing the roof and electrical specification.
- Building fabric. Coordinate insulation, airtightness, ventilation and overheating design. Check house-type layouts before repeating equipment or duct conflicts across the scheme.
- Complete build costs. Price equipment, installation, connections, testing, commissioning and handover. Include specialist fees and lead times in the budget and programme.
- Per-building transition. Record the applicable standard and building-control deadlines for each building. Starting one unit doesn't automatically protect the rest.
- Completion evidence. Assign responsibility for testing, commissioning records and the Home User Guide, so the handover is included in the delivery plan.
What needs to fit in your new home?
Send the plot, the plans and your intended start date. We can explore the layout and the specialist input your scheme needs.
Before the plans are fixed
At JSA, we can test where the rooms, roof and equipment fit, and identify the energy and services input your scheme needs. Agree those specialist roles in the appointments. Send us the plot, the plans and your intended building timetable so we can explore the architectural choices while they're still open.
Sources checked on 5 November 2026: Approved Document L (2026), Approved Document F (2026) and the Part L FAQs, the ministerial statement and the Home User Guide guidance, alongside the regulations linked above.
Areas we cover
JSA Architects across the Midlands
We work with homeowners and developers across the Midlands. Find local project examples and information for your area.
FAQs
Common questions
There isn't a reliable percentage uplift for every home. The starting specification, systems, connections and procurement affect the cost. Obtain comparable prices for the complete installation and specialist input. A cheaper box isn't the cost of a finished heating system.
No. The government's comparison is average operational carbon emissions against homes built to the 2013 standards. Your bill depends on tariffs, system performance and household use. The figure also excludes the carbon associated with making construction materials.
No. Heat pumps will be a common route, and suitable heat networks are another. The proposed home and services must meet the applicable performance requirements. An appliance on a shopping list doesn't establish compliance.
Requirement L3 is for on-site renewable electricity generation when a building containing homes is erected, subject to statutory exceptions and alternative arrangements. Solar will be common. The system and output must be assessed for the particular building, site and infrastructure.
Extensions, conversions and replacement heating have requirements appropriate to the proposed work. They don't automatically make the whole property a newly erected home for energy assessment. Confirm the applicable provisions before borrowing a new-build specification.
Articles
News & insights
Project updates, practice news, and useful guidance from JSA Architects.
Future Homes Standard: Because a new house shouldn't need doing up
Check the Future Homes Standard's effects on heating, solar, space, costs and handover. Practical homeowner and developer checklists, plus the 2027 dates.
Bigger, better, more wow in the Green Belt: rethinking a 1960s house in Quarndon
No more patio chairs: how we're redesigning a 1960s house in Quarndon's Green Belt for clients who host forty, without going Georgian.
Planning submitted for a 25-room co-living scheme in Derby: deep, dark and full of rules
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The new NPPF landed on 17 August 2026 and applies to decisions now. What changed for extensions, garden plots, small sites and Midlands projects.
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Twenty years of Midlands pub, bar and restaurant projects, plus a decade behind the bar. What a busy summer tells you about the building you trade from.
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Planning Approved for Brooklands Luxury Dwelling
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Planning Submitted: Brooklands' Redesign Heads to South Derbyshire District Council
The design's done and the application's in. Here's what JSA has proposed for Brooklands, a new home in Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire.
JSA Architects Appointed to Redesign Brooklands, a Luxury New Build in Weston-on-Trent
A permission existed and a design was on the table. Golden Brook Developments decided it wasn't good enough. They were right, and they called us.
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Future Homes Standard: Because a new house shouldn't need doing up
Check the Future Homes Standard's effects on heating, solar, space, costs and handover. Practical homeowner and developer checklists, plus the 2027 dates.
Bigger, better, more wow in the Green Belt: rethinking a 1960s house in Quarndon
No more patio chairs: how we're redesigning a 1960s house in Quarndon's Green Belt for clients who host forty, without going Georgian.
Planning submitted for a 25-room co-living scheme in Derby: deep, dark and full of rules
Deep footprints, dark middles and three sets of rules that don't always agree. What it takes to design co-living studios, and our 25-room scheme in Derby.
Bat Surveys and Building Projects: Seasons, Licences and Costs
Bats can hold up homes, commercial sites and listed buildings for most of a year. Survey triggers, council rules, permitted development, licences and costs.
A new appointment in Allestree: refurbish or replace?
A new Allestree appointment prompts a practical guide to refurbishing or replacing a house, with a worked cost example, surveys, fees and planning questions.
JSA Appointed for Listed Building Extension in Amber Valley
JSA is appointed to design a sensitive extension to a Grade II listed stone building in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, going to pre-application with CGI support.
Good Architectural Drawings Matter More Than You Think
Poor architectural drawings create assumptions, delays and cost. See why clear, accurate information matters to homeowners and commercial clients.
HMO or Flats? Why Modern Co-Living Falls Between the Rules
When does an HMO become flats? See how planning, licensing, building regulations and fire safety diverge, and how co-living developers can reduce risk early.
The New NPPF Is Here: What the 2026 Rewrite Means for Your Project
The new NPPF landed on 17 August 2026 and applies to decisions now. What changed for extensions, garden plots, small sites and Midlands projects.
We're Revisiting Our Leisure Portfolio
Twenty years of Midlands pub, bar and restaurant projects, plus a decade behind the bar. What a busy summer tells you about the building you trade from.
We Built an App That Keeps You in the Room
Datum is JSA's own project app. Every client gets a login: latest drawings, the brief, where planning's got to and what we did this week. Free on every project.
Biodiversity Net Gain: A Quick Guide for Anyone Who Isn't an Ecologist
What Biodiversity Net Gain requires for new developments in England: the 10% target, who's exempt, and how to plan for it from day one.
A 1960s Bungalow Gets a Contemporary Rethink in Lichfield
A modest 1960s bungalow in Lichfield is being extended and reconfigured for downsizing clients. Planning is submitted to Lichfield District Council.
Little Eaton Dormer Bungalows Approved, No Amendments Needed
Two backland dormer bungalows in Little Eaton have been approved by Erewash Borough Council with no amendments needed. Here's why that's rarer than it sounds.
JSA Appointed to Design 'The Forest': 73 Apartments for T&T Asset Group in Derby City Centre
T&T Asset Group has appointed JSA to design The Forest, a 73-apartment conversion in Derby city centre, covering architecture, interior design and planning.
The Grange, Finished: A Georgian Villa Restored, Warmed and Handed Back
See the finished restoration of The Grange, a Georgian villa in South Derbyshire. JSA acted as both architect and project manager throughout.
Burley Lane Site Progress Update: Quarndon Home Now Taking Shape
Site progress at Burley Lane in Quarndon: stair structure, basement golf simulator, MVHR routes, full-height glazing and November 2026 completion.
Planning Approved for Bramble Street Office-to-Flats Conversion in Derby
A vacant period office on Bramble Street, Derby, has approval for three flats. Now the unglamorous part: stairs, acoustics, flood notes and drawings.
Justin Smith Architects Is Now JSA Architects
Justin Smith Architects is now JSA Architects. Here’s the story, in Justin’s own words, and what the rebrand means for our clients and the practice.
Welcome to JSA, Joao Bravo
Joao Bravo joins JSA as our 3D artist and visualiser. A University of Derby graduate and qualified architectural technologist, originally from Lisbon.
Light at the End of the Terrace: Contemporary Rear Extension to a Victorian Townhouse in Sutton Coldfield
A contemporary rear extension brings light and space to a Victorian townhouse in Sutton Coldfield, and leaves the period terrace out front exactly as it was.
JSA Architects and British Living Group: Working Together on Derby Co-Living Development
JSA is working with British Living Group, one of the Midlands' most commercially minded developers, on a 27-room co-living conversion in Derby.
Lichfield’s Local Plan Might Be Delayed to 2029. If You’re Thinking About a Project, Here’s What That Means for You
Lichfield District Council may delay its 2043 Local Plan. If that sounds like a reason to pause your project, read this first. It probably isn't.
5,500 Homes Are Coming to Walmley. If You’re Already Living There, This Is Your Cue to Stop Putting Off Your Own Project
Birmingham City Council has approved the groundwork for 5,500 new homes near Walmley. If your own project's been on the back burner, this is your sign.
Planning Approved for Brooklands Luxury Dwelling
Golden Brook Developments had a permission for Brooklands and didn't rate the design. We redesigned it, and South Derbyshire has now approved the new scheme.
Planning Submitted: Brooklands' Redesign Heads to South Derbyshire District Council
The design's done and the application's in. Here's what JSA has proposed for Brooklands, a new home in Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire.
JSA Architects Appointed to Redesign Brooklands, a Luxury New Build in Weston-on-Trent
A permission existed and a design was on the table. Golden Brook Developments decided it wasn't good enough. They were right, and they called us.
Two Stand-Out Self-Builds Submitted for Full Planning in Little Eaton
Two bespoke self-build homes in Little Eaton designed for standout architecture and smart investment returns.
Major Family Home Remodel Proposed in Repton, South Derbyshire
Modern extension and full internal remodel proposed for character home in sought-after Repton, South Derbyshire.
Planning Appeal Secured for Bold New Home in Quarndon’s Green Belt
A new home in the Quarndon Green Belt, won at appeal. How strategic planning and a strong design got a Green Belt house over the line in Derbyshire.
