Fewer wasted visits, lower testing travel, and every plot on one record
Book air tightness, sound and ventilation tests directly, or let your assessor do it. Work goes to local independent testers, and those already working nearby are alerted straight away. Sites confirm plots are ready before anyone sets off, and you see every pass, fail, retest and certificate by development.
Every plot needs a test, and the targets are getting tighter
Since Approved Document L 2021 took effect on 15 June 2022, every new home in England needs an air pressure test; testing a sample is no longer enough. The Future Homes Standard comes into force on 24 March 2027 and tightens the notional dwelling's air permeability to 4 m³/(h·m²) at 50 Pa. More tests, results that matter more, and testers' diaries filling up.
Approved Document L 2021 took effect. It says an air pressure test should be carried out on every new dwelling.
Sources: Approved Document L, LABCThe Future Homes Standard Approved Documents (published 24 March 2026) take effect, with a 12-month transition for work already started. SAP 10.3 is the method at first; the Home Energy Model follows.
Sources: Elmhurst Energy, home-energy-model.co.ukOf about 3,500 air tests lodged each week, around 15% were retests after a fail (analysis of six years of ATTMA lodgements to 2021). Each one is another booking, another van journey and another delay.
Source: TightVent (BCTA analysis, 2021)What's in place so a booked test happens
A test that doesn't happen holds up a plot. This is what TestConnect does today to stop that, and what you can check for yourself.
- Keep the testers and assessors you already useInvite your tester to a job, make them preferred for a site so they get first refusal, or keep booking through your assessor. The marketplace is there when you need cover. If your tester isn't on TestConnect yet, it's free for them to join.
- Booked times, and readiness confirmed firstEvery test has a booked date and arrival window. The day before, your site manager confirms the plot is ready, and a "no" stops the trip.
- You know when they're on the wayThe site gets an "on the way" alert when the tester sets off, with a live arrival time if they share their location, and the arrival is logged. Your site manager can call or text the tester from the job.
- Every result on record, passes and failsReadings, photos and certificates are kept against each plot, not lost in email threads. Results and performance shows pass rates, failures and certificates outstanding across your sites.
- Scheme membership on every air testTesters give their scheme membership number before they take an air test. It's self-declared, so you can check it on the scheme's public register. Testers lodge with their scheme as they do now.
- Feedback on service from previous jobsPosters and site managers rate turning up when agreed, communication and professionalism. Never the result, so nobody is rewarded for passing a borderline plot.
- If a tester has to drop out, you're toldWhen a tester hands a job back, you get a notification with their reason, and the job reopens to other testers in the area straight away.
- If nobody takes a job, you're toldJobs go first to testers already passing, then to testers nearby an hour later, then across the wider area. If it still isn't taken after a day, you're told, with one tap to invite your usual testers.
Free for developers, with no contract. Download all your data whenever you like. If your assessor prefers to keep sending testers under its own name, it can, and you still see every result.
Local independent testers who care about your build
TestConnect is built for self-employed testers and small testing firms, working together as a network. With an independent, the person who turns up often runs the business and puts their name to the work. They're local, they can come back quickly, and they'll take the time to walk the plot with your team, show where the air is getting out and explain what needs fixing.
The result stays honest and independent. Helping your team understand a fail never means sealing a plot to pass it.
- The fee goes to the local firm that did the test. We take no cut.
- Less driving: a tester already in the area adds minutes, not a round trip, so local testing can be priced fairly.
- Quick to come back: someone nearby can fit a plot or a retest in around work they already have.
- Fails explained: what failed, where, with photos and what to fix before the retest.
- Testers who get to know your sites: make one preferred for a development.
How a job reaches local testers
- Your own testers first, if you want: invite them, or give your preferred tester first refusal.
- Local only: the job is shown to testers whose working area covers the site, with the town and postcode district. The full address is shared once a tester accepts.
- Already passing first: jobs go first to testers already passing, whose day already takes them near the site. They get an alert straight away, with the extra miles shown.
- Wider, step by step: an hour later the job is offered to testers nearby with a free day, and after three hours across the wider area. Tests within two working days go to everyone at once. If it's still open after a day, you're told.
The order is based on route and distance only, never on pass rates or payments.
Catch "not ready" before the van leaves
The day before each visit, your site manager gets a link asking whether the plot is ready: yes, no or not sure. A "no" stops the trip and tells everyone straight away. When a plot does fail, the tester records the measured value, the defects found, photos and recommendations, so your team knows what to fix before the retest.
- Readiness checklists per test type
- Live status and tester ETA on the site manager's link
- Fail details and photos against the plot
- One-tap retest booking, linked to the first attempt
A record of the real first-time pass rate
UCL researchers working with ATTMA examined air test results from over 100,000 new homes and found a disproportionate number of results just inside the targets. They saw this as evidence that some homes were being temporarily sealed to pass rather than built airtight.
TestConnect keeps every result, including failures, with readings, photos and the full timeline. Nothing rewards a pass. That makes a site's real first-time pass rate visible, so the fix happens in the build. Homes that really are airtight use less energy for as long as they stand, and that is a far bigger saving than anything on the road.
Source: UCL Bartlett, 2017
On every plot
- Status: booked, ready, tested, passed or failed, certificate issued, lodged
- Every attempt, with the tester, equipment and time
- Corrections kept alongside the original, with a reason
- Certificate and scheme lodgement reference
- Evidence pack per plot or site for building control, the warranty provider and the BREL report Coming soon
Testing travel, measured for your Scope 3 reporting
Testers drive to every plot. Route fit gives work to testers who are already passing, plots on the same site share one visit, and avoided wasted trips are counted. For each visit we compare the miles actually added with a stand-alone return trip and convert both with the UK government's (DESNZ) conversion factors for the tester's vehicle.
Many housebuilders now have Scope 3 targets that include their supply chain. Keepmoat and Miller Homes, for example, have science-based targets validated by the SBTi that cut Scope 3 emissions per square metre by 2032. Testing travel is a small part of that, but it is real supplier data, and it should be measured rather than guessed.
Testing travel carbon report
Per site or per developer, by month, as CSV and PDF with the method notes included:
- Tests, visits and plots per visit
- Miles driven and miles saved
- kg CO2e, and kg CO2e saved
- Which conversion factor set and year was used
Estimate what batching plots into fewer visits could save
Change the numbers to match your sites. This is a rough estimate, not a measurement: it treats every visit as a return trip from the tester's base and uses the DESNZ 2025 conversion factor for the vehicle you pick. See the method.
From plot list to certificate
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Add the plots
Import your plot list or link the developments your assessor already manages. Say which tests each plot needs.
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Set a fee or ask for prices
Post with a fee to testers who cover the area, invite testers you use, or make one preferred for the site. Or ask for sealed quotes and compare price, earliest date, extra miles and estimated CO2e side by side, with "Lowest carbon" and "Soonest" marked.
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Ready, tested, certified
The site confirms readiness, the tester records the results on site, and the certificate and lodgement reference appear against the plot.
Asking for prices won't be a reverse auction. Lowest price never wins automatically, quotes are sealed, and the default order is soonest first. Cheap testing that leads to temporary sealing costs more in the end.
What if nobody takes the job?
Jobs go first to testers already passing: those already working near your site that day get it, and an alert, straight away. An hour later it's offered to testers nearby with a free day, and after three hours to every tester whose working area covers the site. Tests within two working days go to everyone at once. If it still hasn't been taken after a day (or two days before the test, if that's sooner), you're told, with one tap to invite your usual testers, raise the fee, ask for prices, change the date or keep waiting. You can also invite testers yourself, give your preferred tester first refusal, or send the job to everyone at any time.
Can we keep using our usual tester or assessor?
Yes. Invite your tester to a job, make them preferred for a site so they get first refusal, or have work allocated to them automatically when they're free. If they're not on TestConnect yet, it's free for one tester to join. Your assessor can keep booking your tests as now. The marketplace is there for when your usual people are busy.
How do we know who's turning up?
Each booked test shows who is coming: the tester's first name and company, or, if your assessor sends testers under its own name, the tester's first name and the assessor's. Your site manager's link shows the arrival window, an "on the way" alert when the tester sets off (with a live arrival time if they share their location) and the arrival once they're on site. The tester's mobile is shared with the site by default, so your site manager can call or text them. For air tests, whoever posts the job sees the tester's scheme membership number, marked as self-declared, so it can be checked on the scheme's public register.
What if a tester cancels?
If a tester hands a job back, you're told straight away, with their reason, and the job reopens to other testers in the area, with fresh alerts to those nearby. If you'd only invited specific testers, it comes back to you to invite someone else. Turning up when agreed, or giving notice, is part of the code of conduct and of the service feedback testers receive.
Is it really free?
Yes, for developers and assessors, always, with no contract. Posting jobs, sites and plots, site manager links, readiness checks, Results and performance and the carbon report cost nothing. You pay the tester, or your assessor, for the test as you do now. Testers pay £5 a month per tester if they want the business tools, and we take no commission on any job.
Who sees our data?
Your own team; the assessor and the tester working on each job; and site managers, for their own sites only and never prices. Testers see a site's full address and contacts only once they've accepted a job there. Each organisation's records are kept apart inside the database itself, our support staff can only look if you allow it, and every look is logged. You can download all your data at any time.
Do we have to change how we work with our SAP assessor?
No. Your assessor can keep booking your tests, and you see progress, results and, by default, certificates for your developments in the same record, marked "Booked through" your assessor. Your assessor decides whether its testers attend under the assessor's name or their own, and you still see every result. You can also book some tests direct, and filter your tests and Results and performance by direct or through an assessor.
Does it support local firms?
Yes, that's why we built it. TestConnect is made for self-employed testers and small local firms, working together as a network. A job is only shown to testers whose working area covers your site, and those already working nearby that day are alerted straight away. We take no commission, so the fee goes to the local business that did the test. Less driving also means a local tester can price fairly and still make it pay, and can come back quickly for a retest.
Will TestConnect tell us if a plot complies?
No. TestConnect records what the tester measured and the certificate they issued. Compliance is decided by your building control body, so check anything you're unsure about with them.
Is the carbon figure a measurement?
It is an estimate with a published method. Miles come from the tester's route, their mileage log or a stand-alone trip, and are converted with the UK government's conversion factors for their vehicle. It covers testing travel only, and we never claim that anything has no climate impact.
Do our site managers need to install anything?
No. They get a secure link by email or text that works in any phone browser. They can confirm readiness, add access notes and photos, and see the tester's ETA. Prices are never shown.
Sources
- Air test on every new dwelling: Approved Document L, Volume 1 (2021 edition), paragraph 7.4; LABC
- Future Homes Standard dates, notional 4 m³/(h·m²) and SAP 10.3: Elmhurst Energy; home-energy-model.co.uk; Approved Document L, Volume 1 (2026 edition)
- About 3,500 tests a week, around 15% retests: TightVent, BCTA analysis of the ATTMA lodgement database (2021)
- Results clustered just inside targets: UCL Bartlett (2017)
- Housebuilder Scope 3 targets: Keepmoat (Housebuilder & Developer); Miller Homes (Scottish Construction Now)
- Conversion factors: DESNZ greenhouse gas reporting conversion factors 2025
Last checked: October 2026.
Free for developers, always
Set up your developments, invite your site managers and see every plot's status in one place.