The DETR this week confirmed that it was updating structural stability regulations to ensure that buildings remain safe in extreme weather conditions.
The news came as the UK was swamped by further floods, which left huge tracts of the country under water, and as the BRE unveiled a report warning that the cost of futureproofing buildings against climate change could reach £5bn.
A DETR spokesperson confirmed that next January's review of Part A of the Building Regulations, which covers structure, would take account of stronger winds and more frequent flooding.
The changes to Part A follow proposals to shake-up Part L, the energy regulations, to limit the built environment's contribution to climate change.
BRE scientist Mark Phillipson, co-author of the new report, said increasing data on climate change confirmed the need for design changes to new buildings to react to environmental changes.
He said: "Now we have an increasingly accurate picture of what climate change is going to be like in 20 to 50 years' time, we can see that this safety factor will need to be increased."
He stressed that buildings constructed to existing standards were not in any immediate danger because they include a safety margin.
The DETR is currently consulting the BRE on potential changes to the Building Regulations.
The BRE report, Potential Implications of Climate Change in the Built Environment, predicts that the Building Regulations will need to be changed to cope with problems, including subsidence caused by increased soil movement, damage to roofs caused by gales and the weakening of foundations by underground water.
The BRE has based its research on data provided by the Oxford-based UK Climate Impact Programme, which models the impact of climate change on different UK regions.
The data includes a predicted 37 cm increase in sea levels in East Anglia by 2050, a 2.4°C increase in average temperature in London, a 24% increase in winter rainfall in London by 2080 and a 20% decrease in summer rainfall in the south and south-east of England by 2080.
The Environment Agency estimates that there are already 2 million homes at risk of flooding in the UK. The number of homes damaged in the recent floods was 4792, according to the agency.
More floods are threatened next month.
Deputy prime minister John Prescott made an impromptu visit to one area hit by the floods this week.
Prescott visited flood plains in Ashford, Kent, and discussed council leaders' concerns about new homes planned for the area.
The council leaders have already pressed the DETR to reduce the number of new houses laid down in the draft regional planning guidance for south-east England. This stated that Ashford's housing stock would increase from 50 000 to 150 000 by 2016.
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