Eco friendly ratings for all new homes: UK Property Shop News

The Government's drive towards zero carbon housing took a step forward today with the announcement that all new homes are to be rated on their green credentials from May 1st.

A rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes, which measures nine categories of sustainable design including energy, water and waste, will be required for all new homes. Homes which exceed the sustainable standards in existing Building Regulations will be awarded up to six stars. Those homes that have not been assessed against the Code will score a nil-rating.

Speaking at the Eco Build 2008 conference today, Housing Minister Caroline Flint said: "We need to tackle climate change by improving how green and energy efficient our homes are. New build housing will play an important part in this, and we are already committed to all new housing being zero carbon from 2016. These measures are essential in tackling climate change. By requiring a rating for all new homes against the Code for Sustainable Homes in the run up to 2016, we are making the standards that different homes reach more transparent and are creating an important incentive for house builders to provide greener, more sustainable homes. Providing these ratings will also give buyers valuable information about their home, allowing them to make an informed choice and helping people to reduce their own household carbon emissions."

Welcoming today's announcement Paul King of the UK Green Building Council said: "The Code for Sustainable Homes will fundamentally change the way we build and buy new homes in this country. Buyers of new homes, for the first time, will see how green their home is - not just on its carbon emissions, but on other vital issues such as water consumption and impact on biodiversity. This will help stimulate the market for green building as consumers demand more sustainable homes that have lower energy bills, are built producing less needless waste and that are great places to live. For industry, the Code plays a crucial role setting the trajectory towards the target of all new homes emitting zero carbon from 2016. This goal has brought about a fundamental change in mindset, galvanising the construction sector and is already producing really innovative design. We still have challenges to overcome to bring sustainable homes genuinely into the mainstream, not least in the existing stock, but this represents a vitally important step and one for which Government should be congratulated."

The Code for Sustainable Homes is the national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes. It measures the sustainability of a new home against nine categories of sustainable design including energy, water and waste, and will provide buyers and developers will have a common standard on sustainability to inform homes that they buy and build respectively. The Code also contains the standards for constructing new homes to age friendly designs, as set out earlier this week in the Department's Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods: A National Strategy for Housing In An Ageing Society.

The Code is part of a package of measures aimed at improving the sustainability of new homes, which includes:

* Major progressive tightening of the minimum energy performance standards in building regulations - by 25% in 2010 and by 44% in 2013 - up to the zero carbon target in 2016. This will improve the energy performance of all new homes, and encourage the use of energy from renewable sources.

* Introducing new minimum standards in Building Regulations to make new homes more water-efficient - it is estimated that by installing low flush toilets and more water efficient taps in new homes we could reduce household consumption by up to 20 per cent.

* The Planning Policy Statement on Climate Change, which puts climate change at the heart of the planning system - by ensuring that new communities are located and designed in a way which reduces the need to travel and makes best use of low carbon and renewable energy. The PPS will apply to all development, not just homes and makes clear references to the Code for Sustainable Homes.

* The stamp duty exemption for zero carbon homes, which came into effect on 1 October 2007 for houses will act as a further incentive for developers to build zero carbon homes.

Additionally, every home being bought and sold already needs an Energy Performance Certificate to show buyers how energy efficient it is.

The government is committed to continuing to monitor uptake against the Code and ensuring all those building new homes are both aware of the requirement to provide a Code rating to buyers and encourage them to build Code homes. To meet the initial demand for assessments the government has ensured that there are already enough trained and licensed Code assessors, and more will be trained in the coming months.

Ratings will apply to those homes being newly designed and built from April 2008, specifically when the builder reaches the stage of submitting a building notice, a full plans application or an initial notice for the purposes of building regulations after 6 April 2008. This will mean that builders can choose now to design and build to the Code and give themselves time to do so, rather than opting for a nil rating.