The Future Homes Standard and ventilation

What is the Future Homes Standard?

The Future Homes Standard is the government set of Building Regulations changes for new homes in England, confirmed on 24 March 2026 and in force from 24 March 2027. It is designed to make new homes produce far less carbon, mainly through low-carbon heating such as heat pumps, better fabric, and updated ventilation rules. It updates Approved Documents F and L among others.

The ventilation part of the standard sits in the 2026 edition of Approved Document F. The wider standard also covers heating, insulation and, for many homes, on-site renewable energy. Its overall aim is that a new home built to it is zero-carbon ready, needing no further work to its heating or fabric as the electricity grid decarbonises.

When does the Future Homes Standard take effect?

The Future Homes Standard takes effect on 24 March 2027. There is a 12-month transitional period, so homes where building work has already started by that date can be completed under the previous 2021 rules until 24 March 2028. New projects that start after the changeover follow the new standard.

The transitional arrangement matters for anyone with a scheme spanning the deadline. If your foundations are down before 24 March 2027 you may be able to finish under the 2021 rules, but your building control body confirms this. For a project starting fresh after the date, design to the new figures from the outset.

Sources: GOV.UK

What are the ventilation changes under the Future Homes Standard?

For ventilation, the whole-dwelling supply rate becomes a flat 6 litres per second per bedroom, the same regardless of assumed occupancy, which is simpler than the current bedroom-and-floor-area method. Background ventilators must have a minimum equivalent area of 5,000 square millimetres in each habitable room. The figures are set out in the 2026 edition of Approved Document F.

Compared with the 2021 rules, this removes the two-method calculation for the supply rate and replaces it with a single per-bedroom figure. The larger background ventilator requirement reflects a wider move toward making sure fresh air can always reach habitable rooms, even as homes get more airtight. Extract rates for wet rooms are still central to the approach.

Sources: GOV.UK

Does the Future Homes Standard require MVHR?

No. Like the current rules, the Future Homes Standard sets the ventilation a home must have but does not mandate MVHR. However, because new homes must be highly efficient and airtight, and will usually be heated by a heat pump, MVHR is often the most practical way to ventilate them well without losing heat. Many new homes will pair a heat pump with MVHR.

This is worth stressing because heat pumps and MVHR are sometimes confused. The heat pump heats the home; the MVHR ventilates it and recovers heat from the air being thrown out. They do different jobs and are often installed together in a Future Homes Standard house, but neither is a substitute for the other.

How should I prepare for the 2027 ventilation changes?

If your project will complete close to 24 March 2027, check with your building control body which edition applies, because it changes the ventilation calculation. Designing to the newer 6 litres per second per bedroom rate and the larger background ventilators from the start avoids reworking a scheme that began under the old rules.

For a self-build or a developer plot timed near the deadline, the safe move is to design to the newer, and generally more demanding, figures. A system sized for the new rules will comply under the old ones too, so you avoid the risk of a late redesign if the timeline slips past the changeover.