Archives: FAQ - Mortgages

A 0.25% discount will be awarded for each grade improvement made to your property. We will then reduce your mortgage interest rate by the appropriate discount and this discount is payable for the duration of the mortgage term held with Ecology.

Example

If your property was given an EPC ‘E’ rating but, following your renovation works, it achieved a ‘B’ rating, you would have improved the EPC by three grades and so would be awarded a 0.75% discount from your mortgage (0.25% for each grade improvement).

You will need to provide a final EPC for your property once all your renovation works are completed.

We will then compare the original energy performance rating of the property when you first took out the mortgage to the new one supplied following the completion of all the renovation works.

Most properties in the UK are issued with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which measures the building’s current energy efficiency and its potential efficiency. We have developed our Retrofit discounts to reward renovators who improve the energy efficiency of their property. On the completion of your renovation, a discount of 0.25% off your interest rate is awarded for every EPC grade improvement you make to the property.

We recognise that some renovation projects go beyond the EPC criteria, so we also include the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard and the AECB Standard Retrofit in our renovation discount group.

Energy Standard	Ratings	VR (Variable Rate)	Discount %	Variable Mortgage Rate
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	Rating improvement	6.29%	0.25% for each grade	6.04%-4.79%. The overall cost for comparison is 6.3% APRC.
Passivhaus	EnerPHit or EnerPHit+i	6.29%	1.25%	5.04%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.2% APRC
Passivhaus	EnerPHit (PHPP Modelled)	6.29%	0.75%	5.54%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.8% APRC
Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)	AECB CarbonLite Building Standard	6.29%	0.75%	5.54%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.8% APRC

Example answer.

Our Sustainable Homes discounts support new builds, existing homes and retrofits that achieve particular energy standards (see table). There are four tiers of discount available, which are linked to the energy standard of your property:

Energy Standard	Ratings	SVR (Standard Variable Rate)	Discount %	Variable Mortgage Rate
Passivhaus	Passivhaus	6.29%	1.50%	4.79%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.0% APRC
Passivhaus	PHPP Modelled	6.29%	0.75%	5.54%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.8% APRC
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A (SAP rating 110+) (++)	6.29%	1.25%	5.04%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.2% APRC
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A (SAP rating 100-109) (+)	6.29%	1.00%	5.29%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.5% APRC
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	A (SAP rating 92-99)	6.29%	0.75%	5.54%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.8% APRC
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)	B (SAP rating 88-91)	6.29%	0.50%	5.79%. The overall cost for comparison is 6.0% APRC
Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB)	AECB CarbonLite Building Standard	6.29%	1.00%	5.29%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.5% APRC

Our lending approach is to support energy efficient housing that protects our future environment. We do recognise that unusual projects do not always conform to the recognised standards in the table above but are still really energy efficient and sustainable buildings. Common examples of these are where the property is built from natural materials; straw bale, hempcrete, rammed earth and earth shelter buildings are just a few examples.

If you feel you property falls into this category, please contact our Mortgage Team.

The energy performance certificate has two scales, one for energy efficiency and the second for environmental impact.

Your mortgage can qualify for one of the discounts based on whichever rating is higher of the two.

• Energy efficiency is a measure of a home’s overall efficiency.
• Environmental impact is a measure of a home’s impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Once it has been applied, the discount will be payable for the duration of the mortgage term held with Ecology. An illustrative example of the cost saving is below.

This shows a £150,000 mortgage over a 25-year term, payable at our standard variable rate (currently 4.65%). The graph compares the total amount repayable without a discount with the total cost repayable if your project achieved an energy performance certificate rating of A after 12 months within the 25-year mortgage term.

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