Scandal of new homes being built to old insulation standards

Nods of approval were universal when Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his Green Homes Grant scheme aimed at making properties more energy efficient and cheaper to run while cutting carbon emissions. But there are growing concerns that “cowboy” builders will attempt to cash in on the chancellor’s generosity. The green scheme has also led critics to ask why the Government has failed to take swift action over the scandal of brand new homes being constructed to old building regulation standards, leading to poor energy efficiency.

Due to a loophole that allows developers to construct homes to building standards that applied when planning permission was granted, some new-builds have low levels of insulation and air-tightness. Most buyers are oblivious to these failings.

Local authority building control inspectors are also frustrated as they are forced to tick the box that says a developer has complied with regulations, however outdated they may be. In a perverse twist, some owners of new-builds will be eligible for the chancellor’s green grants to upgrade their insulation. The funding will be available from late September this year as a voucher and will cover two-thirds of the cost of work needed up to a maximum of £5,000. Low income households will be entitled to a £10,000 voucher.

The £2bn scheme to install wall and loft insulation, draught proofing and double glazing will run for a year. However, there are fears that unqualified, fly-by-night operators will jump on the bandwagon and set up in business purely to take advantage of grants on offer to homeowners.

The Insulation Manufacturers Association says: “The issue of quality control and accountability will be extremely important throughout this scheme. It will be critical that all energy saving measures are professionally and correctly installed by accredited installers and perform to the required standard intended.”

The IMA is also calling for more incentives over a longer period: “This one-year retrofit scheme has a limited time-frame and cannot simply be a one-off. It is crucial that further incentives for energy saving are planned and introduced immediately this one comes to an end.”

Paul Simpson, executive committee member of the National Home Improvement Council and Commercial Director at Recticel Insulation, agrees. “Last time grants were on offer we saw phoenix companies opening up overnight and taking on work they were unqualified to do and then disappearing with the money. The work needs to be done by legitimate firms that have been operating successfully.”

He adds that it is vital that the government also closes the planning loophole on the energy efficiency of new-build homes immediately. “The green grants are a great step and an heroic attempt to address the thermal performance of the country’s housing stock and improve the environment by reducing emissions but, unfortunately, they do not tackle the issue of new homes being constructed to conform with old building regulations.

“Some properties are being constructed in line with building regulations that were in force when planning permission was granted. It means that some new houses are now being built to 2007 energy standards, rather than the much higher standards that are in force now. This means they have little or no insulation at all.”

The exploitation of the building regulations loophole is down to indefinite planning permissions, which the National Home Improvement Council believes should be scrapped. “The issue isn’t with small builders, it lies with volume builders who bank land for years. The solution is to give developers a six-month window to begin construction starting from the date planning permission is granted,” says Paul.“This would ensure that properties are built to current regulations.”

He adds: “What is happening now is immoral and it adds to fuel poverty, which affects the weakest in society because homes with little or no insulation are expensive to heat. When you buy a car, it comes with an MOT, you check how many miles it does to the gallon and look at its service history. When people buy a house, they buy it because it looks nice and that has to change. We need to make building and energy-efficiency standards a top priority.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are proposing more stringent transitional requirements to ensure that new homes are no longer built to old standards, so that people living in them can conserve energy and save money.”

The proposal is part of the government’s Future Homes Standard consultation document, which is now being assessed. Those calling for the planning loophole to be closed stress that a speedy solution is vital.

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