At a glance
Warm Homes Plan confirms £15bn of retrofit and heat network investment to 2030, targeting upgrades for 5 million homes.
New Decent Homes Standard tightens quality and energy rules across social and private rented stock ahead of May 2026 changes.
Construction forecasts point to modest 2026 growth, with infrastructure leading while housing starts remain uneven.
Supreme Court ruling narrows termination rights under JCT Design & Build, reshaping contractual risk allocation.
Costain secures £100m M5 junction to unlock a £4bn EV battery gigafactory and Gravity Smart Campus in Somerset.
Today’s update: housing quality, energy efficiency and market resilience are in focus as government hardens standards for rented homes, accelerates retrofit funding and reports rising housing starts, while legal rulings and mixed market indicators ask tougher questions of delivery models. Infrastructure-linked growth is emerging as a relative bright spot, from motorways to offshore wind, even as overall conditions remain tight. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead today.
Ongoing Stories
🏛️ Returning today, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 reappears via the new Decent Homes Standard, which now hardwires EPC C and damp/mould obligations into both social and private rented housing from May 2026, raising compliance demands for landlords and investors. (Source: UK Government)
🌱 Following earlier coverage of clean energy planning reforms, the UK’s leadership of a North Sea clean energy pact and a new 8.4GW offshore wind auction push the 43GW by 2030 ambition, reinforcing offshore wind as a central plank of the 2035 clean power goal. (Source: UK Government)
🌱 This week’s renewable energy update continues the decarbonisation theme, with renewables now supplying 44.9% of the UK’s power mix and fossil fuels down to 25.7%, underlining the structural pivot that recent grid and clean energy policy moves are designed to support. (Source: Cladco)
🏗️ Building on previous notes about evolving construction law, the Supreme Court’s fresh interpretation of JCT Design & Build contracts tightens when termination can be used, sharpening the need for disciplined contract administration on both client and contractor sides. (Source: Osborne Clarke)
Top 5 Headlines
🌱 £15bn Warm Homes Plan targets 5 million home retrofits by 2030
The government’s Warm Homes Plan is moving into delivery, with £15bn earmarked through 2030 for energy efficiency upgrades in 5 million homes, expansion of heat networks and a new Warm Homes Agency to enforce heat zoning from 2026. The package includes a £5bn Warm Homes Fund as a core funding pillar. For contractors, housing providers and investors, this locks in a long-term retrofit and low‑carbon heat pipeline that will demand scalable delivery models and capacity across the supply chain. (Source: Travers Smith)
🏛️ New Decent Homes Standard raises bar on quality and EPC performance
Government has published a reformed Decent Homes Standard for both social and privately rented homes, the first major update in 20 years. The standard requires properties to be free from disrepair, damp and mould, and introduces a minimum EPC C requirement aligned with protections in the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, effective from May 2026. This creates a significant compliance and investment programme for landlords and local authorities, with upgrade costs and programme planning likely to influence rent, viability and asset strategies. (Source: UK Government)
🏗️ Supreme Court curbs JCT D&B termination rights
The Supreme Court has overturned earlier Court of Appeal decisions, holding that under JCT Design & Build contracts termination for default is confined to situations where a specified breach is not remedied within the contractual cure period. The ruling provides clearer boundaries on when termination can lawfully be exercised. This recalibrates contractual risk and leverage, making accurate notices, cure processes and dispute strategies even more critical for employers and contractors alike. (Source: Osborne Clarke)
🚆 Costain wins £100m M5 junction to unlock £4bn EV gigafactory
Costain has been appointed to design and deliver a new M5 Junction 22A in Somerset, a circa £100m, five‑year scheme between Burnham‑On‑Sea and Bridgwater. The new junction will provide strategic access to the Gravity Smart Campus and Agratas’s £4bn EV battery gigafactory, billed as the UK’s largest. The project underlines how major road schemes are being tied directly to industrial decarbonisation investment, offering substantial opportunities for civils contractors and regional supply chains. (Source: Construction Magazine UK)
💰 Construction outlook: modest growth, infrastructure leads as housing lags
New forecasts put the UK construction market at USD 325.33bn in 2026, with a 3.77% CAGR to 2031 and infrastructure identified as the fastest‑growing segment at 7.9% CAGR. Overall output is expected to rise 1.7% in 2026, with private housing output edging up 1.5%, but the latest Glenigan Index shows residential starts down 20% year‑on‑year even as non‑residential and infrastructure starts rose 14% in Q4 2025. This suggests workloads will increasingly skew towards infrastructure and selected non‑residential sectors, with more uneven conditions in housebuilding. (Sources: Mordor Intelligence; CPA Winter 2026; PBC Today)
Also in the news
🏛️ Government’s “Decade of Renewal” January 2026 update introduces new guidance on Section 106 when no Registered Provider buyer emerges, and lifts the Housing Revenue Account threshold from 200 to 1,000 homes to support council-led delivery. (Source: UK Government)
🏗️ The latest Glenigan Construction Index reports residential project starts down 2% in Q4 and 20% year-on-year, while non-residential and infrastructure starts rose 14% on the back of public investment, indicating a moderating but still imbalanced downturn. (Source: PBC Today)
🏛️ Housing Secretary has highlighted an 18% year-on-year rise in housing starts and 33 recent planning decisions for housing and infrastructure schemes, with a stated push on social homes and insulation upgrades to address bills and safety. (Source: MHCLG blog)
🌱 Returning to the decarbonisation theme, renewables now account for 44.9% of UK power generation (wind 24.2%, biomass 7.1%, solar 6.1%, hydro 1.1%), with fossil fuels’ share halved since 2016, reinforcing the directional shift informing current grid and generation plans. (Source: Cladco)
💰 Construction equipment market growth has been revised down to 2.8% for 2026 while the UK construction PMI stayed below 50 in December 2025, with civil engineering the weakest segment, signalling ongoing caution on capex and workloads. (Source: Construction Equipment Association)
The Daily Build is written for people shaping the UK’s construction and infrastructure pipeline. If you find it useful, consider forwarding it to a colleague working on housing, retrofit or infrastructure strategy.
To stay sharp on delivery risk, regulation and market shifts, keep this briefing close to hand for your morning meetings.