Policy

The report found that the complexities of service charges and ‘staircasing’ – where customers increase the proportion of the property they own rather than rent - make the product hard for consumers to understand.

The joint venture partners proposed major amendments to their masterplan for the 53-acre mixed-use development in early 2025, including changes to the heights, massing and uses of several buildings.

Experts welcomed the certainty provided by the standard, but warned it could make schemes less viable, especially for SME builders.

BPF chief executive Melanie Leech said government's planned ban on retention payments, sums withheld from construction contractors until a job is completed, would be using "a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Experts have questioned whether the schemes can be completed to the government's deadline and whether some sites are still viable.

All new-build homes will have to include heat pumps or be connected to a heat network and solar panels, rather than the gas network, from 2028, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75%.

The measures will come into effect before the end of the month in revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework.