Circular letter: Nearly zero energy buildings requirements for new buildings (England)

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	Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government 2 nd Floor Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF
The Chief Executive Unitary, Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England County and County Borough Councils in Wales The Town Clerk, City of London The Clerk, Council of the Isles of Scilly The Sub Treasurer, Inner Temple The Under Treasurer, Middle Temple The Head of Building Control Unitary Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England County and County Borough Councils in Wales City of London Council of the Isles of Scilly Approved Inspectors cc: The Chief Executive: County Councils in England National Park Authorities in England & Wales The Local Government Association	10 February 2021

Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government 2 nd Floor Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF

The Chief Executive Unitary, Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England County and County Borough Councils in Wales The Town Clerk, City of London The Clerk, Council of the Isles of Scilly The Sub Treasurer, Inner Temple The Under Treasurer, Middle Temple The Head of Building Control Unitary Metropolitan, District and London Borough Councils in England County and County Borough Councils in Wales City of London Council of the Isles of Scilly Approved Inspectors cc: The Chief Executive: County Councils in England National Park Authorities in England & Wales The Local Government Association

10 February 2021

Dear Sir or Madam,

NEARLY ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW BUILDINGS

The purpose of this letter is to clarify the implementation of the requirements for nearly zero energy buildings for new buildings with respect to Regulation 25B of the Building Regulations 2010 (with the exception of new buildings owned and occupied by public authorities, which were required to be nearly zero energy buildings from 1 January 2019 – the implementation of the requirements for those buildings is set out in an existing Circular Letter1).

This letter sets out guidance for new buildings, which are required to meet Regulation 25B from 31 December 2020.

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Scope of this Circular Letter

The guidance in this Circular Letter applies to buildings and building work in England and excludes buildings owned and occupied by public authorities.

Regulation 25B

Regulation 25B states: ‘Where a building is erected, it must be a nearly zero-energy building’.

For new buildings owned and occupied by public authorities, the coming-into-force date for Regulation 25B was 1 January 2019.

For all other buildings, the coming-into-force date for Regulation 25B was 31 December 2020.

Compliance with Regulation 25B

Compliance with this requirement is achieved by both:

a.meeting the Target Emission Rate required under Regulation 26 and

b.undertaking an analysis of the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of using high-efficiency alternative systems, which include decentralised energy supply systems based on energy from renewable sources and taking this analysis into account as required by Regulation 25A.

Please note that the energy efficiency standards of the building regulations are currently under review. We have consulted on a meaningful and achievable interim increase to the energy efficiency standards for new homes as a first step towards the Future Homes Standard.

More information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the- future-homes-standard-changes-to-part-l-and-part-f-of-the-building-regulations-for- new-dwellings and https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-buildings- standard

Enquiries

Any enquiries on this Circular Letter should be addressed to: EPBSoftware@communities.gov.uk

Yours faithfully

Rebecca Williams-Phelan

Deputy Director

Energy Performance of Buildings Division, Building Safety Portfolio

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government