PAS 2035: Why Compliance Isn’t a Box-Ticking Exercise

As the UK accelerates towards net zero, the retrofit sector faces growing pressure to deliver not just more projects, but better ones. That’s where PAS 2035 comes in; a framework designed to improve retrofit quality, reduce performance gaps, and ensure long-term outcomes for residents and housing stock alike.

But here’s the challenge. Too often, PAS 2035 is treated as a hoop to jump through, not the quality safeguard it’s meant to be. When compliance becomes a tick-box exercise, the result is retrofit that meets standards on paper but fails to deliver real results.

At AVARA, we believe PAS 2035 compliance should be the foundation of good retrofit, not a regulatory afterthought. Here’s why it matters and how we embed it meaningfully in everything we do.

What Is PAS 2035 and Why Was It Introduced?

PAS 2035 is the UK’s official standard for domestic retrofit. Introduced in 2019, it was developed in response to growing concerns over poor-quality retrofit projects and a lack of accountability in energy efficiency work. It outlines a whole-house, whole-life approach to retrofit, requiring structured assessments, proper planning, and qualified professionals for every stage.

The aim? To eliminate the “install now, fix later” mentality that has plagued the industry and to ensure that retrofit delivers real, measurable outcomes in terms of comfort, carbon, and cost.

Where It Goes Wrong

Despite its good intentions, PAS 2035 is often misunderstood or poorly implemented. Some common missteps include:

• Box-ticking assessments that don’t reflect real building conditions
• Copy-paste retrofit plans that fail to consider site-specific details
• Appointing unqualified Retrofit Coordinators to meet funding requirements
• Skipping ventilation strategies, leading to damp and poor indoor air
• Misaligned measures like heat pumps installed without adequate insulation

These oversights create retrofit projects that may appear compliant, but don’t stand up to scrutiny. Worse, they risk undermining public trust, especially among social landlords and residents who are promised results that never materialise.

At AVARA, we don’t treat PAS 2035 as red tape. We see it as a critical quality framework that, when applied correctly, results in better homes and better outcomes. We build every project around principles of rigour, integrity, and accountability because in a sector where quality can be hard to see upfront, how you deliver matters just as much as what you deliver.