Sustainable housing—is it legal?

Most construction professionals would expect to be conversant with the relevant legislation relating to building and development: the Building Act and its approved documents, the Town and Country Planning Act, the Planning Policy Statements, the Contaminated Land Regime and the Control of Pollution Act probably spring to mind. What about sustainable housing? What legislation should be considered when thinking about housing in the context of its social, environmental and economic aspects? What issues are relevant for housing rather than houses? This paper explores the regulatory framework for sustainable housing in England and Wales, and identifies sources of information. It emerges that sustainable housing may be covered by a complex network of policy aims and guidelines, but there is little that requires housing providers to take sustainability into account unless they wish to obtain funding from bodies such as the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships. The paper does not set out construction legi...