<p>The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has welcomed the government’s announcement on the long awaited Part L, stating that it “gives some clarity after a long period of uncertainty”. But HBF expressed concern over the effect of the delay to the announcement and its bearing on the 2016 zero carbon homes target. “We will need to assess the implications of the new proposals on the 2016 zero carbon target as the announcement requires the industry to achieve a further separate objective in what is a now a very short term interim period,” it said.</p> <p> </p> <p>The changes – which will now come into force in April 2014 and not this year – include a requirement for new homes to achieve a 6% carbon reduction on 2010 regulations across the build mix. This is slightly lower than the 8% reduction originally considered. A fabric energy efficiency target will also be introduced to emphasise the importance of achieving a sound building fabric.</p> <p> </p> <p>The government will not “at this time” go ahead with any regulation for a new homes quality assurance process. It would instead, it said, continue to support the industry’s zero carbon-led initiative to address the performance gap of …