Defra has confirmed it will not change the hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown schedule in time for 2027. In its update on the consultation page, the department says "we will not legislate in 2026 to change the phasedown steps from 1 January 2027", which means the step already written into the F gas Regulation goes ahead as planned. If you run R404A or R410A equipment, that is just over three months away, and nothing has been softened.

The headline reform has not gone away, it has just slipped. That leaves operators in an awkward spot: the bigger change is still coming, nobody knows its exact shape yet, and the current rules keep tightening in the meantime.

What Defra proposed and what it has decided

On 5 November 2025 the government launched a consultation on a faster phasedown. Its press release described "an almost full phase-out of HFCs by 2048, a 98.6% cut with changes being introduced from 2027", and set that against "the current target of cutting the amount coming onto the market by 79% by 2030". The consultation closed on 17 December 2025.

The May 2026 update says that after assessing the 137 responses, Defra "concluded that further work is required on changes to the HFC phasedown". It adds that "for 2027, this means that the relevant HFC phasedown step in Annex 5 of the F gas Regulation will continue to apply", and that the department remains "committed to introducing ambitious reform". A report summarising responses and an outline of next steps is promised "later this year".

So the 98.6% figure is a proposal, not law, and the 79% by 2030 target remains the current one. The Defra page does not put a number on the 2027 step, so we won't guess one here. Our sister site has the detail in its guide to the 2027 HFC quota step.

What it means for R404A and R410A kit

The phasedown works by limiting how much HFC can be placed on the market in Great Britain, which is a quota system rather than a ban on any one gas. Defra's own description is that HFCs are "commonly used in refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps". The consequence for an operator is indirect. You are not told to stop using R404A or R410A on a given date, but the supply of the gas that feeds your system is on a shrinking allowance, and that shows up in what your supplier can offer and when.

We are not going to forecast refrigerant prices, because nothing in this announcement allows anyone to do that honestly. What we can say as engineers is that the old plan has not changed. Plant that leaks and needs regular top-ups is the plant most exposed to a tighter supply, and plant that is already close to the end of its life is where a refrigerant decision is easiest to make. Reform on hold removes the surprise of a sudden rule change in January. It does not remove the direction of travel.

Reform delayed is not reform cancelled

The press release said the proposed changes would still leave enough HFC quota "to support the rollout of heat pumps", with manufacturers and importers getting allocation early to move to alternatives. That tells you where the pressure is meant to land: on new equipment choices first. For existing systems, the practical lever is how much gas you lose.

Leak checking is already a legal duty, not a nice-to-have. The Environment Agency's leak check guidance says that if you find a leak, "you must repair it as soon as possible and repeat the test within a month to check the repair worked". Fewer leaks means fewer top-ups, whatever happens to the schedule. For the wider picture, see our refrigerant news.

What to do now

  • List every refrigeration and AC system you operate with its refrigerant type and charge.
  • Pull your leak check and top-up records for the last two years. Repeat top-ups on one system are the signal to act on first.
  • Ask your engineer which of your R404A and R410A systems are due for repair, retrofit or replacement in the next few years, and put dates against them. Our guide to R404A replacements explains the usual options.
  • Do not pay for early panic work. The 2027 step is the one already scheduled, and Defra says a further report is due later this year. Revisit your plan when it lands.