Branches & agencies
Hinckley & Rugby Building Society has launched a suite of competitively-priced green mortgages, targeting existing customers who wish to carry out energy-efficiency improvements to their property. The products, starting from 1.1% are fee free and include residential and Buy to Let (BTL) fixed rates and discount deals, with the aim of helping borrowers improve their properties’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.
The UK Government is leading on the issue of climate change and has set an ambitious target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Consumers have realised their own responsibilities and understand how even small behavioural changes can bring about valuable improvements, with an increasing number looking to their homes as an obvious way to reduce their own carbon footprint. The Society is supporting this through the introduction of its new products, with criteria for the green products stating that EPC must improve by at least one band.
Furthermore, research by the Environment Agency found that our homes account for 30% of the UK’s total energy use. This is why, to help reach the net zero target, the government is looking to introduce legislation that will require properties subject to new tenancy agreements to have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of C by April 2025. The expectation is that this will apply to all properties by the end of the decade.
Chris Holmes, Product & Proposition Manager at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society says:
“As a lender, we believe we have a responsibility to help reduce the energy consumed by property, which is why we have launched a suite of green products at highly-competitive rates. The new products will allow our existing members to access additional funding to carry out green retrofitting improvements to improve their EPC rating.”
Members can take advantage of these rates by pledging to use at least 50% of the additional funds borrowed for energy-efficiency improvements, including heating modifications, the installation of renewable energy generation tools or resilience measures against flooding.
Research by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) found that making energy-saving improvements to a home could increase its value by around 14%.
