Buy-to-let landlords could add the cost of making properties more energy efficient onto their mortgage in an initiative to make more UK homes greener.
Ashman Bank will design and run the trial for PRS investors who would be able to borrow the money for improvements and include it in their monthly repayments. Under the new variant – Impact Buy to Let – it would assess a property’s energy efficiency, provide options on how it can be improved and incorporate the cost of carrying out the work onto the duration of the mortgage.
Loft insulation
It is one of 26 innovative green finance projects sharing £4.1 million worth of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Each aims to encourage homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient with measures such as loft insulation and double glazing and help them save more than £460 a year on their energy bills, according to the government.
Another trial initiative run by Energy Saving Trust Enterprises will explore a Pathways to Green Finance service aimed at those in the PRS looking to retrofit homes. After six months the firms can apply for more funding to run a pilot scheme.
Reduce bills
Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, says it has put in place long-term commitments to ensure homes across the country have greater energy efficiency to reduce bills, drive down energy use and lower emissions. He adds: “We are supporting these organisations to develop fresh and innovative ways of helping more people get better access to energy efficiency measures, such as loft insulation, double glazing and heat pumps.”
Landlords are still waiting for confirmation that the proposed date for meeting EPC band C has been delayed until 2028, with increasing numbers opting to sell up instead.
