All new homes to be rated on their green credentials from 1 May

All new homes are to be rated on their green credentials from 1 May, according to Housing Minister Caroline Flint. 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.

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.

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

‘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, said Ms Flint. ‘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.'

Monitoring uptake of the Code
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.

Uptake of the Code is being supported by our commitment that all Government-funded new homes will be built to Code level 3 and the Stamp Duty Land Tax exemption for zero carbon homes. At least one major developer has already stated that all their new homes will be reach a 3 star rating against the Code whilst others are demonstrating that they can obtain a six star rating such as the development at the Carbon Challenge site at Hanham Hall in Bristol. See: www.englishpartnerships.co.uk/carbonchallenge.htm