How do I prove compliance for a funded retrofit project?

A landlord’s practical guide to getting sign-off, protecting funding, and avoiding nasty surprises.

If you are using public funding for energy efficiency works, proving compliance is not a nice-to-have. It is the difference between a smooth handover and a project that gets held up, queried, or in the worst case refused sign-off.

Across most UK-funded retrofit routes (including schemes where TrustMark is mandated), compliance is usually demonstrated through a combination of the right process (PAS 2035), the right people (qualified roles), and the right evidence (documents, photos, commissioning and records). 

1) Know what “compliance” actually means on funded work

For many funded domestic retrofit projects, “compliant” typically means:

• The project follows PAS 2035 requirements (assessment, design, installation, verification and handover)

• Work is delivered through a TrustMark quality-assured route where required

• Installers meet the correct certifications (often PAS 2030 for energy efficiency measures, and MCS for some microgeneration)

• Ventilation and airtightness are handled properly, with evidence to back it up

The exact “evidence pack” varies by scheme and by measures, but the building blocks above are the common thread.

2) Get the sequencing right, because you cannot fix it later

A huge number of compliance issues come from works starting too early.

On funded projects, assess and design are not paperwork you can backfill after the fact. If you install first and try to document later, you often cannot prove that risks were identified and designed out at the right stage.

A simple rule that keeps landlords safe is:

Assess → Design → Install → Verify → Handover

That sequence is the backbone of PAS 2035 compliance.

3) Make sure the right roles are in place, and qualified

For PAS 2035 projects, funders and quality assurance routes will typically expect appropriately qualified professionals, such as:

• Retrofit Assessor

• Retrofit Coordinator

• Retrofit Designer (where design is required)

TrustMark and associated scheme requirements focus heavily on ensuring these roles meet the relevant PAS requirements.

If you are a landlord managing a portfolio, this matters because it affects whether your project can be signed off cleanly.

4) Build your “evidence pack” from day one

Think of compliance evidence as something you collect as you go, not a folder you rush together at the end.

A strong evidence pack commonly includes:

Property and project records

• Property details, measures, scope and programme

• Baseline information used for eligibility and design decisions

• Risk considerations (especially moisture, ventilation, fire safety interfaces, and dwelling-specific constraints)

Installation evidence

• Before, during and after photos that clearly show what was installed and how key junctions were treated

• Product information and specifications

• Any deviations, variations, and how these were approved and recorded

Testing, commissioning, and verification

• Ventilation checks and commissioning evidence where required

• Airtightness testing evidence if an airtightness target is set (where applicable)

• Certificates (as relevant): electrical, glazing, building control, MCS (where applicable)

Handover and resident information

• Controls and ventilation use guidance

• Warranty and maintenance information

• Completion records required by the scheme or quality assurance route

If you get the photos and commissioning evidence wrong, it can trigger return visits, delays, and headaches. Photo evidence guidance is a common cause of sign-off friction, so it is worth treating it seriously.

5) Understand who signs off what (and why it matters)

For schemes like ECO4 and GBIS (and related local authority flex routes), Ofgem guidance is clear that TrustMark plays a key role in quality assurance and PAS 2035 compliance checks.

In practical terms, that means:

• You need competent, correctly certified delivery partners

• Your paperwork and evidence need to stand up to audit

• You should expect quality assurance checks, and you should be ready for them

6) The common landlord mistakes that cause compliance problems

These are the big ones we see:

• Starting works before assessment and design are complete

• Treating EPC improvement as the only objective, ignoring moisture and ventilation risk

• Missing key photos (especially junctions and “hidden” stages)

• No commissioning evidence for ventilation upgrades

• Using contractors who are not operating within the correct quality-assured routes for the funding being used

How Target Green helps landlords get compliant sign-off

At Target Green, we support landlords and housing providers across the UK to deliver funded retrofit programmes with a clean, audit-ready trail. That includes retrofit assessments, coordination, design, and building control support, plus the practical evidence pack approach that protects programmes and funding.

If you want confidence that your next funded project will stand up to checks, get in touch and we will help you set up a compliance-first plan before work starts.