Wera Hobhouse has been writing for The House Magazine under the headline “A green mortgage drive could upgrade our leaky homes and slash household bills“.
She writes:
With household bills soaring, those hit the hardest are families living in the leakiest homes. Green mortgages could combat the UK’s leaky homes and bring down household bills in the long-run.
Research shows that households living in homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or worse will be paying an average of £470 per year more than homes rated EPC C or better. That’s more than the average annual UK water bill.
It seems many banks now offer various incentives, including lower mortgage rates, to homeowners who either buy energy efficient homes or who borrow to fund upgrades. However they are still only a small proportion of mortgages.
Wera says:
The government can drive this nascent green mortgage market in two ways. First, by financially incentivising energy saving improvements. The Liberal Democrats have long called for stamp duty to be graduated by the energy efficiency rating. The UK Green Building Society has similarly called for a land duty rebate to reward homeowners who make upgrades within the first two years.
Second, the government can drive demand for green mortgages through improving consumer awareness. Here, the government can streamline the process from loan to retrofit by providing consumers – via mortgage lenders – with lists of accredited retrofit professionals by region, as well as a breakdown of the different energy efficiency measures available to households by average installation cost and projected energy bill savings. This would help empower consumers to make the best decision for their home.
You can read the full article here.
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3 Comments
A useful initiative from Ms Hobhouse, but…. full credit and awareness should also be given to the Ecology Building Society. The EBS is an organisation that Liberal Democrats ought to be aware of and enthusiastic about.
The Ecology is a mutual building society in the United Kingdom and has been well established and successful since 1981. It is based near Keighley in West Yorkshire, has over 10,000 open accounts, and has a very informative website. Here’s the link :
Ecology Building Society – Building a Greener Society
Ad· http://www.ecology.co.uk/ 01535 650770
Supporting & promoting ecological building practices and sustainable communities. Renovation Mortgages. Eco Mortgages. Energy Efficiency. Sustainable Development. Eco Renovations. Shared Ownership. Self-Build Mortgages.
About Us : Our History Find Out How We Got Started?
Savings
Ecology Put People & Planet Before Profits
We Are Open 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday
Ethics & Sustainability. Putting Principles Into Practice Managing Environmental Impact
Interesting, however there is the small matter of the green and energy efficiency surcharges that have been adding circa £200 pa to the typical household energy bill for many years now. Where are these monies going to?
By now there really shouldn’t be a council or society house that does not have solar panels et al.
And as for all those new houses, perhaps we need to remind the Conservatives as to who are the luddites with respect to building regulations …
Green mortgages could be an incentive for future owners to prefer your property. Adding green mortgages available to your listing would improve your chances of selling your property quickly. Asking people to do something within two years seems less inviting.