Gas boilers will reportedly be banned in most new homes by 2027, as part of legislation to slash carbon emissions across households.
The Future Homes Standard, being brought forward by the government, will mean developers must ensure that new-builds are only fitted out with electric heat pumps or non-gas alternatives.
It aims to ensure the carbon emissions of new homes are 75 per cent lower than under current standards.
The new Labour government hopes to lay out the final guidance on phasing out gas boilers in May next year, sources told the Financial Times.
But the ban is unlikely to be enforced until 2026, when the legislation takes effect, the paper reported. There would then be a year-long delay to give housebuilders sufficient time to prepare for the transition.
While the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the government wants all new properties to be built without gas boilers by the end of the decade, one official told the FT that the gas boiler ban could include some exceptions.
The department said they are currently considering responses to the Future Homes Standard consultation, which was launched by the previous Tory government last year and came to an end in March.
James Dyson, a senior researcher at climate policy think-tank E3G, said the delay in introducing the new standards was a “scandal”.
He said: “We estimate the delay has led to about 700,000 homes being built with heating systems that need replacing — passing a cost of over £12,000 per home on to families and social housing associations”.
Mr Dyson called for the plans to be implemented as soon as possible, arguing a phased rollout would “let down families across the country” and cause energy bills to remain high.
However, concerns have been raised over the plan, with industry figures warning that the current supply of heat pumps would not be able to keep up with demand.
Steve Turner, executive director of the Home Builders Federation lobby group, said: “We need to make sure the heat pump supply chain will be in place.
“At the minute, we’re only installing about 35,000 a year – to go from there to up to 300,000 a year, plus additional ones fitted to existing homes, the supply chain will need a significant scale-up.”
Mr Turner also expressed concern over the impact on the National Grid, which would be forced to increase capacity to provide enough electricity to replace gas supplies.
“If you’re not using gas for heating, that will load more on to the grid. We need to make sure there’s enough resilience within that”, he said.
A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We remain committed to delivering highly efficient new homes that will become net zero as the grid decarbonises.
“We are considering the responses to the Future Homes Standard consultation and will respond in due course.”
