Building Standards
Update on the review to introduce a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard
December 12, 2024 by Simon Moore 1 Comment | Category Building Standards, Passivhaus standard
On Thursday 12 December 2024, amendments to The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations were laid in Parliament. This meets the commitment made by Ministers in December 2022 to give effect to Alex Rowley MSP’s final proposal for a proposed ‘Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill’.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Building Standards team have been collaborating with industry stakeholders, including our review Working Group, to gain an understanding of how a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard may look. We consulted on the principles for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard in the summer of 2024 as a first stage. This included a summary of potential regulatory changes that could be needed to enable change in response to Mr Rowley’s proposal ‘to introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all new-build housing to meet a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, in order to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance’.
Following our consultation, we concluded that our current regulations and mandatory standard which address energy and environmental performance already provided the means to deliver the improvements which are currently sought. However, changes were needed to The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 to enable more effective reporting of evidence that compliance with relevant standards is achieved.
The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2004 introduce a requirement for developers to provide an “energy and environmental design statement” with building warrant applications and an “energy and environmental construction statement” with each completion certificate. These statements will describe how the design and construction of the building complies with mandatory standards 3.13, 3.14, 3.28, 6.1 to 6.7, 6.10, 7.1 and 7.2 of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. These being the standards relevant to the delivery of energy and environmental performance.
There was also strong support in the responses to our recent consultation for amendment to standard 6.1 (energy demand) to recognise Passivhaus certification as an alternative means of compliance. This change, in itself, would not raise minimum standards and is not needed to give effect to a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard. However, it will be progressed as a separate change following the second consultation in 2025. The Stage Two consultation will set out proposals for the revision of performance targets, and for compliance requirements and supporting processes.
The Scottish Government is aiming to publish the revised standards in early 2026, but they will not become mandatory until early 2028, a timetable strongly supported in consultation responses. The longer lead in time will allow developers, designers and contractors to prepare and upskill. Collaborative working is required across the sector to achieve this, and the Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to this end.
Whilst the laying of regulations marks an important milestone in the current review of building standards, work will now continue, informed by the responses to the recent consultation, to agree and develop the detail of changes to how we set energy and environmental standards for new buildings. In particular, engagement with our working group and wider industry partners to agree the extent to which the ethos and components of the Passivhaus standard can be embedded within how we define and set performance targets and how compliance, and the real-world performance of new buildings, is better assured.
Our consultation analysis report and Scottish Government response will be published shortly on the consultation webpage.
Progress of the ongoing review will continue to be updated on the Working Group webpage.
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this has not helped us , our land its all we own and been hard work getting to were we are now, as we live in a tied house gos with the farm my husband been working there 40 years. we no were to live after he retires. the caravan on the land used for keeping feed in for animals, grandkids safe and out of the unpredictable Scottish weather , adapted roof to collect well need water supply, told to put in planning permission no objections refused. appeal dismised. there are static caravan round about us a caravan site not even a mile away. and its say our agricultural used been taken away . whot an unfair system you have were work hard all our days coming up to retirement whot was the point this country rules seem to be a rules for 1 and rules for another. and welfare of children and animals dose seem to matter eather