New homes 'to cost £7,000 more due to new green laws'

The cost of a new home could rise by an average of £7,000 from next year because of the government’s new environmental laws, the Home Builders Federation has warned.

By Andrew HoughPublished: 2:36PM BST 01 Sep 2009

From next spring, all new homes will be required to meet the government’s energy efficiency standards under a new Code for Sustainable Homes.
The HBF warned the new changes, requiring new homes be environmentally sustainable, will add some £7,000 to the cost of new home from next year and even more stringent changes could add £30,000 by 2016.

Steve Turner, of the HBF, said: "New-home owners will end up paying more when they buy the property. However, this should be offset in the long term by savings on energy bills."
David Ritchie, chief executive of Bovis Homes, told The Times: "The next set of government regulations will add a cost burden of between £4,000 and £6,000 on to the cost of building a home.
“Code level 3 (the Government's new standard) will represent a significant improvement to energy efficiency and we can deliver it, but this then has a cost to buyers.”
New homes are about six times more energy efficient than older properties, industry figures show, as new-home owners save an estimated £556 more a year on energy bills.
Latest figures from Nationwide show the average cost of new-build is £157,934.