(Image credit: Chris Watt)
HOMES for Scotland has welcomed the Scottish Government’s ‘pragmatic’ decision to not take forward the Heat in Buildings bill in its present form on the basis of concerns around the cost of retrofitting existing properties.
The organisation called on similar action to be taken regarding the increased regulatory burden on new homes, which it said has been estimated to add over £30,000 onto the cost of building a new property.
Homes for Scotland director of policy, Fionna Kell, said, “At a time of national housing emergency and with new homes in Scotland already highly energy efficient and built to some of the most stringent standards in Europe, we need to be encouraging the delivery of more homes of all tenures.
“With the Heat in Buildings Bill primarily focused on the upgrading of secondhand homes, which is where most work needs to be done in terms of decarbonising homes, it is now crucial that the Scottish Government pauses and reviews proposals around the introduction of further demands on the home building sector, such as the current proposals for a Passivhaus equivalent standard, until long term costs to homeowners and the impact on the sector’s ability to help end Scotland’s housing emergency are known.
“We will continue to work closely with officials regarding this.”
