England risks building new 'death traps' as experts warn of overheating crisis

England is at risk of creating a new generation of homes that will become dangerously overheated during heatwaves, according to a coalition of building engineers, health experts and climate scientists who say current building regulations are not fit for a warming climate.

The warning, published in a joint report by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers and the UK Health Security Agency, argues that new homes are being built to standards that assume the climate of the past rather than the future. Modern construction methods, including lightweight timber frames and large areas of glazing, can make homes heat up rapidly and retain that heat, creating conditions that are not merely uncomfortable but potentially lethal for vulnerable occupants.

The report estimates that up to 4.5 million homes in England are already at risk of overheating, and that number is growing by approximately 200,000 per year as new homes are built to inadequate standards. The problem is most acute in London and the South East, where the urban heat island effect compounds rising temperatures, but the report warns that no region is immune.

The solutions are well understood: external shading, natural cross-ventilation, reflective roofing materials and thermal mass that absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night. Many of these measures add modestly to construction costs but are rarely required by building regulations, which continue to focus on keeping homes warm in winter rather than cool in summer.

The government has committed to updating building regulations to address overheating, but the report argues that the proposed changes do not go far enough and that mandatory standards, rather than guidance, are needed to prevent what it describes as "a predictable public health crisis."