Net zero consultation?

Net zero consultation?

0:03 AM, 22nd June 2023, About 11 months ago 4

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Hello, in case Property118 readers are not aware the building regulations changed on June 15th 2022 with a 12-month transition period just ended. It applies to new builds so if you are thinking of building an annexe which could be rented out at times (like we are) then they have just added £30-40k to a £220 build

The new regulations were prepared over a 3-4 year period where consultations were sorted. It seems the responses were limited but they went ahead anyway. There has been total confusion in the market which has caused a drop in build programmes as everyone gets to grips with the new rules. It will, of course, be added to the cost of properties pushing up property prices further in due course with a lag because the builders scrambled to get building regulation approvals before the deadline, so have a portfolio to work on. For others, they have gone bust as the extra cost has made the project unviable. You will require a Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) which is much more onerous and focused on carbon leakage (heat loss) and production of your own electricity. You get credit for renewables like heat pumps, solar is a must but the expectation is to go electric-only on the entire property.

In my honest opinion, the system is ill-thought-through on a practical level, going from 10 to zero in one leap and lacks any engineering expertise. For instance, they now require 150mm (6″) of insulation in walls. The extra 2″ is costly with a minor return on heat loss. The heat loss curve is a reverse exponential and as a thermal engineer myself the gain beyond 2-3″ is negligible.

To this end, the Government has started another consultation period to amend the building regulations again by 2027. Reading between the lines, it is clear they feel the current update was a little overzealous and not thought through practically. They want to be more “user friendly and practical”, while we suffer in the meantime.

To this end, there is a consultation going on for Net Zero buildings via this site: https://www.nzcbuildings.co.uk/
I would encourage all to have your say. Inevitably there will be some effect on existing buildings and rented properties in due course. The madness of net zero continues. Clearly Britain wants to be a leader and the first to jump over the cliff!

Thanks for reading,

Bryan


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Comments

Rod

13:14 PM, 22nd June 2023, About 11 months ago

iHowz have paused their efforts to try and get any meaningful response from the government on when the new MEES/EPC standards for the PRS will be published.
Maybe they're going to leave it for Labour with their £28Bn retrofit and green budget?

Darren Peters

15:09 PM, 22nd June 2023, About 11 months ago

Just wondering exactly how the extra money extorted, the marginal difference in insulation and the inevitable increase in red tape is going to reduce the massive levels of pollution coming from China, India and others.

It's not like the UK or EU are putting massive pollution tariffs on imports from polluters.

SCP

18:59 PM, 22nd June 2023, About 11 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Darren Peters at 22/06/2023 - 15:09
Great comment!
How we love to blame others and lecture them too.
I think the EU has slapped a carbon tax on some Indian products.
India is about to slap a historic carbon tax on the EU for its historic sins.
The EU is in recession.
Our debt exceeds our GDP.
We desperately need a FTA with India. We will not get it as long as we allow anti-Indian forces to exist and act.
De-dollarisation is in full swing. The West's access to the printing press is over.
The emphasis is now on a currency that is based on resources.
Per the IMF, Russia is the richest country based on resources.
When the Arctic ice melts, Russia will own over £10tn assets.
Why is there a War in Ukraine?
I could go on, but we need to wake up and learn about geo-politics.

Michael Crofts

21:01 PM, 24th June 2023, About 10 months ago

Just in case anyone thinks SCP is a nutter I will say that I half agree with this: 'De-dollarisation is in full swing. The West's access to the printing press is over.'
I only half agree because we still have a printing press, or the electronic equivalent. But soon nobody (including me) will want the dollars or pounds or Euros it produces. Those of us who own real assets will not sell them priced in the old currencies.
Not one person in 10,000 has clocked what is coming towards us. The West's money, based on nothing more than promises which cannot be fulfilled, is dead in the water. Money based on real resources is what will count in the future. In the UK we have some real resources (coal, oil, Lithium, not much else) but we are not allowed to exploit them.
Meanwhile we are going to kill our housing construction market with our absurd net zero policies while the resource-rich countries, with China tagging along, will develop a real economy based on resource-backed money while we watch (and starve) from the sidelines.

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