Morning, Friday, 20th March 2026
Online
This conference will examine next steps for energy efficiency policy in housing in England, discussing priorities for investment, delivery, and regulation. It is scheduled as an opportunity to examine the Government’s Warm Homes Plan following its expected publication, alongside wider goals for housing standards, tackling fuel poverty, economic growth, net zero, and implications of ending the Energy Company Obligation.
Policy, finance & preparing for transition
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss implications of imminent decisions on the design and coordination of major schemes, including the Government’s response to the Improving the energy performance of privately rented homes consultation, the future of the Great British Insulation Scheme, and updated requirements for new developments under the Future Homes Standard.
Attendees will consider how cost caps, obligations, and exemptions can be structured fairly, as well as practicalities for transitional arrangements between schemes, and how support and investment can best reach low-income, off-gas-grid, and non-domestic rented properties. The role of financial instruments and development organisations will be examined, including the National Wealth Fund and Homes England, and how they can best support implementation and align short-term policy initiatives with long-term goals.
Regulation & tech
Sessions will look at approaches to modernising the technical and regulatory frameworks to support confidence and delivery. The Home Energy Model, reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings Regime, and updates to EPCs will be considered, and their interaction with wider housing and energy systems. Delegates will also assess priorities for data reliability, alignment with the forthcoming Fuel Poverty Strategy, and implications for low carbon heat deployment and household resilience, including expansion of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to include air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries.
Enforcement & capacity
Financing and enforcement frameworks will be considered, and how they can be made workable for landlords, suppliers, and local authorities alike. Attendees will assess enablers for building effective delivery capacity, including workforce development, strengthened certification systems, securing resilient supply chains across housing types and regions, and clarifying the role of local authorities in enforcement.
Further sessions will assess approaches to achieving consistency across minimum standards, building regulations, and planning policy, particularly where overlaps or inconsistencies might risk slowing progress. The wider duties of landlords and local authorities will also be looked at, including the expansion of the Decent Homes Standard into the private sector under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, as well as early implementation of duties under Awaab’s Law for social landlords.
Consumer priorities
Discussion will focus on how consumer confidence and protection can be enhanced. Delegates will assess the wider impacts of ending the Energy Company Obligation announced in the 2025 Autumn Budget, looking at long-term decarbonisation objectives, access to upgrades for low income households, and energy bills. Eligibility rules, accessible redress mechanisms, and support for households navigating retrofit choices will be assessed, drawing on findings from the National Audit Office’s recently published Energy efficiency installations under the Energy Company Obligation value for money report.
Access to upgrades for lower income households will also be a key theme, with latest thinking on how lenders and the wider sector can support access to funding through products such as green mortgages, as well as the role of consumer advice in raising awareness of grants and schemes.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy and regulation: final decisions on new MEES for domestic and non-domestic PRS - implications of the EPC C 2030 target - building regulations, planning policy, and consumer standards
- scheme design and targeting: future of ECO4 and GBIS - coordination of offers for low-income and off-gas grid homes - clarity and trust for upgrading households - learning from past initiatives
- delivery capability: supply chain readiness across technologies and regions - capacity of certification systems - role of local authorities in coordinating retrofit delivery
- cost and finance: implications of cost caps and exemptions - reforms to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme - options for finance models to support homeowners and landlords
- compliance and enforcement: variation in local authority capacity - enforcement in fragmented rental markets - impact of delays on investor confidence and consumer uptake
- consumer protection and fairness: adequacy of redress and oversight - equity of access across household types - transparency in expected benefits and disruption risks
- data and measurement: accuracy and reliability of EPCs - role of the Home Energy Model - interoperability with housing, energy, and planning systems
- long-term planning and impact: Energy Performance of Buildings Framework reform - appliance and heating system standards updates - system resilience, demand, and low carbon heat rollout
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
