Air Conditioning Torn From Homes Under Net Zero Clampdown

Written by Will Jones on June 26, 2026. Posted in Current News

UK homeowners are being forced to tear out air conditioning from their properties under Net Zero laws that prioritise “passive cooling” and only permit “active cooling” as a “last resort”.

The Telegraph has the story.

Council planning officers ordered residents to remove air-con units over fears they produce too much carbon dioxide, stating they should only be used as a “last resort”.

The Net Zero clampdown is part of building regulations that state “active cooling” should only ever be allowed when all other means of “passive cooling”, such as opening windows or using fans, have been exhausted.

The Tories said Britain was being “kept in the dark ages” under a Net Zero mindset that denies people “modern conveniences that are completely normal in other countries”.

Meanwhile, temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 40°C this week, with Britain sweltering under a record heatwave that has forced schools to close, brought trains to a halt and led to the Met Office issuing a red “risk-to-life” warning.

Widely published advice states planning permission is not required to install air-con. However, planning is required in certain situations, such as in conservation areas, and there are different rules for flats, leasehold homes, as well as shared buildings.

It means there is a risk units are installed under the assumption they are permitted, but are later caught by council enforcement officers.

In one of a string of cases uncovered by the Telegraph, a resident living in North London was forced to “permanently remove” two air-con units from the back of their home.

Planning inspectors working for Camden council said there was “no justification” for the air-con units and that they failed to comply with the local authority’s so-called “cooling hierarchy”.

In an appeal, the resident was told to open the windows and balcony doors of their first-floor flat to ventilate the property “by natural means”.

Their concerns about security were dismissed, with inspectors saying the risk was not “as great as those associated with ground floor windows” and that the windows could be shut at night.

Planning documents stated that “the main issue” of concern for inspectors was whether the “need for active cooling is justified, with particular regard to local policies” on energy.

Another resident was ordered to remove three air-con units from their property, despite complying with all planning requirements.

Camden council planning inspectors made “particular note” of the “absence of ceiling fans” in their home, even though it was not listed as a requirement.

Despite inspectors finding that they were “neither intrusive nor harmful” to the character of the local area, the resident was told to rip out the units.

They were eventually allowed to keep the air-con on appeal to the Planning Inspectorate – in spite of the council’s strict climate tests – by demonstrating that the property already had numerous eco upgrades such as solar panels.

Air-con engineers told the Telegraph that they had been called out to remove perfectly operational units worth thousands of pounds across London.

Worth reading in full.