The government has made the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/335) to implement key elements of the Future Homes and Buildings Standards. Most provisions commence on 24 March 2027, with higher‑risk building (HRB) provisions following on 24 September 2027. The instrument refocuses Part L, introduces a new L3 requirement for on‑site renewable electricity in dwellings, and sets out transitional routes. (gov.uk)
Part L is retitled “Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. Requirement L1 is recast so that reasonable provision must be made both for the conservation of fuel and power and for the minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. For clarity, “greenhouse gas” adopts the definition in section 92 of the Climate Change Act 2008, bringing the Building Regulations explicitly within the Act’s terminology. (legislation.gov.uk)
A new functional requirement, L3, applies when a building is erected that is, or contains, one or more dwellings. An on‑site renewable electricity system must be installed on the building or within its curtilage. The system must be designed so that generated electricity is available for residents to use and must be capable of a reasonable output having regard to the building’s design and surroundings.
Requirement L3 includes targeted limitations. It does not apply where the building is a “relevant building” for the purpose of regulation 7(4), where it is not possible to install a system capable of a reasonable output due to design or surroundings, or where an equivalent renewable electricity output is available to the building from another system and residents can use that electricity. The instrument also supplies a dedicated definition of “microgeneration” for L3.
Definitions and information duties are strengthened elsewhere. “Fixed building services” now include fixed lifts, escalators and moving footways in new buildings, excluding individual dwellings. New regulation 40C requires that where regulations 39 to 40B oblige information to be given to a new dwelling’s owner, it must be provided in an appropriate format. The Registered Building Control Approvers regime is updated so approvers’ functions expressly cover both regulation 40B (overheating information) and new 40C. (legislation.gov.uk)
Cross‑references are corrected across regulations 6(1)(a), 23, 43 and 44 to align with the re‑structured L1. Pressure testing and commissioning obligations remain, but the numbering and framing change to reflect the new greenhouse‑gas emphasis within Part L.
Transitional provisions for building work that is not HRB‑related operate at individual‑building level. Where a building notice, initial notice or full‑plans application is given to the relevant authority before 24 March 2027, and the work on that building is commenced before 24 March 2028, the amendments made by regulations 3 and 4 do not apply. The instrument signposts regulation 46A of the 2010 Regulations to determine whether work has “commenced”. This approach is consistent with the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation proposals to move away from site‑wide transitions. (gov.uk)
For HRBs, the transition runs through the Building Safety Regulator. Where a valid building control approval application for HRB work, a stage of HRB work, or for work to an existing HRB is submitted before 24 September 2027 and is not rejected, the amendments made by regulation 3 do not apply to that work. Separate savings apply where projects are already within transitional routes in Schedule 3 to the 2023 HRB Procedures Regulations. (legislation.gov.uk)
Earlier transitional schemes are retired. Regulation 9 of the 2013 Regulations and regulation 17(1)(a) of the 2021 Regulations are revoked, subject to savings. Where the 2013 arrangements applied immediately before 24 March 2027 and work starts before 24 March 2028, or the work concerns HRBs, those revocations do not bite and the new amendments made by regulations 3 and 4 also do not apply. (gov.uk)
For developers and housing providers, the practical effect is that new housing must plan for on‑site microgeneration-typically photovoltaic arrays-connected and configured so occupants can use the electricity. Off‑site or shared systems will only count where the building receives an equivalent output and supply arrangements make that electricity available to residents.
Design teams should update energy strategies and compliance evidence to reflect the dual test under L1: energy conservation and greenhouse‑gas minimisation. Expect this to influence notional‑versus‑as‑built calculations, plant selection and controls strategies, and the way commissioning is documented for fixed building services.
Programme managers should now anchor delivery plans to two threshold dates: 24 March 2027 for most building work and 24 September 2027 for HRB‑related provisions. Given the building‑level commencement test, phasing plans and piling strategies will need revisiting to avoid straddling the transition. Registered building control approvers should also capture the new regulation 40C information duty in their procedures. (gov.uk)
Finally, the instrument includes a statutory review clause. The Secretary of State must periodically assess whether the objectives of these amendments are being achieved and remain appropriate, and whether the same outcomes could be secured by less onerous means. The first report is due within five years of commencement, with further reports at intervals not exceeding five years.