News26 March 2026

Clarion responds to publication of Future Homes Standard

The updated standard is expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions from new homes, while improving building performance and helping to lower energy use for residents.
Modern residential street with newly built detached and semi‑detached houses featuring brick and timber cladding, solar-style dark roofs, parked cars, and landscaped front gardens.

The Government has published its Future Homes Standard, setting a new benchmark for the design and performance of new homes across England, with a stronger emphasis on energy efficiency and low carbon heating.

The updated standard is expected to significantly reduce carbon emissions from new homes, while improving building performance and helping to lower energy use for residents. It also signals a clear shift in how homes will be delivered in the coming years, with low carbon technologies and high-performing building fabric becoming the norm across the sector.

For developers, the Standard provides greater clarity on the direction of travel for building regulations, enabling the industry to continue evolving its approach to design, construction and long-term sustainability.

Clarion Housing Group, through its development arm Latimer, has been working towards many of these principles for several years, focusing on reducing reliance on fossil fuels, improving energy efficiency and testing new approaches to low carbon housing delivery.

Commenting on the announcement, Richard Cook, Chief Development Officer at Clarion Housing Group, said:

“We welcome the publication of the Future Homes Standard as an important step forward for the sector, providing greater clarity on how we collectively deliver the low carbon homes the country needs.

“At Latimer, this is something we have been actively preparing for over a number of years. Today, the majority of the homes we deliver achieve EPC A or B ratings, and over the past year more than 95% of new homes we’ve completed are fossil fuel free. We have also worked closely with the Future Homes Hub and industry partners ensuring that we continue to learn and adapt ahead of regulation.

“While we will take time to review the detail of the Standard, its direction of travel is clear. We remain committed to working with partners across the sector to deliver high-quality, sustainable homes that are not only better for the environment, but more affordable to run for our residents.”