UK Green Building Council urges mandatory rating for Code

The Green Building Council has emphasised the need for a mandatory rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes for all new homes.

The bill currently states that buyers of new homes not built to the code will be given a statement indicting that no sustainability certificate exists for the property.

According to Paul King, chief executive of UK-GBC, the wording is crucial. “Mandatory rating should mean mandatory,” he said.

He added that if the current wording is not changed to mandatory, then home buyers will be left in a state of confusion.

King said: “If a new home has not been built to the Code then the accompanying documents should state explicitly that the home ‘fails’ the Code of Sustainable Homes, or achieve ‘no stars’.

“They should be left in no doubt that a home that has not been assessed against the Code has only been built to minimum building regulations and is therefore not a sustainable home.”