Mean-Field Theory

Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook MP has outlined the government’s housing and planning reforms in a speech to the UK Real Estate and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF). The minister detailed legislative measures including the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025, which received Royal Assent in December and enables dismissal of legal challenges to Development Consent Orders deemed ‘totally without merit’. A revised National Planning Policy Framework was published within six months of taking office, with a wholly restructured version consulted on in December and a final revised version to be published this summer. The government has established a £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme and a National Housing Bank backed by £16 billion of new financial capacity.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) has added frequently asked questions (FAQ) guidance to its Communities for Afghans phase 2 documentation. This addition complements existing documentation for the Afghan sponsorship project, which partners communities with eligible Afghan households under the Afghan Resettlement Programme. The scheme, which opened applications for Principal Sponsors on 17 March 2025 and has a deadline of 10 April 2025, aims to strengthen the role of voluntary and civil society organisations in providing local support for resettlement.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has added a Draft Updated Best Value Direction document to its ongoing consultation on Local Government Pension Scheme improvements in England and Wales. The three page draft direction supplements the consultation covering pension access proposals including normal minimum pension age, mayor and councillor pension access, academies participation and new Fair Deal arrangements. The consultation remains open until 22 December 2025.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced the allocation of £9.58 billion under the first phase of the £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme. The funding is intended to support the delivery of 73,600 social and affordable homes across England and has been awarded to 33 Strategic Partners, including local authorities, housing associations and other housing providers. MHCLG has stated that the allocation provides recipients with long-term funding certainty to facilitate large-scale housing delivery. Further funding allocations are expected to be made during the course of the programme.

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) are considering the views expressed by the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) in a recent decision. The FTT was asked to consider whether a roof garden should be classified as a storey, when determining whether a building met the height and storey criteria under the Higher Risk Buildings (Descriptions and Supplementary Provisions) Regulations 2023. The FTT acknowledged that it was not within its jurisdiction to decide whether the building in question was a higher-risk building. MHCLG reaffirmed that the sector and regulatory bodies should continue to refer to the existing government guidance, until instructed otherwise.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have launched a joint consultation on proposed reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) regime. The consultation seeks views on several measures aimed at improving the regime across five key areas: updating what Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) measure through additional metrics, updating when energy certificates are required by refining the rules for obtaining EPCs and Display Energy Certificates (DECs), managing energy certificate quality, improving the accessibility of building performance data, and strengthening the quality of air conditioning inspection reports (ACIRs). The consultation closes on 26 February 2025.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero have launched a consultation on new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) for socially rented homes. The proposal sets the standard at Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C or an equivalent rating by 2030. Currently, socially rented homes are not required to meet a minimum EPC standard, with existing requirements roughly equivalent to an EPC Band F rating. The proposed MEES will form part of the revised Decent Homes Standard (DHS) under Criterion D on thermal comfort, which MHCLG is also consulting on. The consultation closes on 10 September 2025 and includes a call for evidence on decarbonisation plans.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have published a partial government response to their consultation on reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) regime. The response confirms elements of the government’s planned reforms to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), Display Energy Certificates (DECs) and air conditioning inspection reports (ACIRs), with a further response covering the remaining proposals to follow in 2026.The consultation ran from 4 December 2024 to 26 February 2025.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have published the government response to the consultation on improving energy efficiency in socially rented homes in England, alongside a final-stage impact assessment, confirming plans to introduce Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) via the Decent Homes Standard. Social homes must achieve EPC Band C against one metric by 1 April 2030 and against a second metric by 1 April 2039, with providers able to choose between fabric performance, smart readiness or heating system metrics. The final position adopts a phased and more flexible approach than originally proposed, removing the requirement to meet both metrics by 2030 in light of cost and deliverability concerns. A £10,000 per-property spend exemption per metric, each lasting 10 years, will apply, alongside transitional arrangements which recognise properties meeting existing EPC Band C (EER) as compliant until 2030. The final-stage impact assessment indicates that estimated costs have increased since consultation, particularly due to more stringent assumptions around fabric performance, which has informed the decision to extend compliance timelines and introduce greater flexibility while maintaining expected benefits such as reducing fuel poverty, lowering energy bills and supporting decarbonisation.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have confirmed a revised timetable for the introduction of reformed domestic Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), with implementation now expected in the second half of 2027.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) have updated the Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) members list. On 21 July 2023, the government launched the RAS, which recognises the action taken by responsible developers to identify and remediate or pay to remediate life-critical fire safety defects in residential buildings 11 metres or over in height. As of 27 August 2024, 46 developers have joined the RAS. The developers who have joined the RAS have collectively committed to remediating over 1,100 buildings, equating to over 75,000 homes, at a cost to themselves of over £2bn.