We’ve Expanded And Enhanced Our C-Change Mortgage Discounts

Ecology has been pioneering green finance for over forty years.  Our unique C-Change mortgage discounts are designed to incentivise and encourage our borrowers to build their home to the highest energy efficiency and environmental standards.

We’ve expanded our range of C-Change discounts including increasing the maximum discount to 1.50 per cent. The enhanced range builds on our longstanding support for sustainable and energy efficient projects.

We’ve made these changes to our range of green mortgages for self- and custom-build in a drive to encourage and accelerate the construction of the most energy efficient homes to help meet the UK’s net-zero ambitions.

The changes are being introduced against the backdrop of increasing mortgage rates and the wider cost of living crisis.

Our self-build mortgage starts with an initial rate of 4.99 per cent while the construction works are underway (4.65 per cent until 1 August). On completion of the works borrowers are eligible for a C-Change discount of up to 1.50 per cent based on the SAP rating in the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) or if the property is accredited to the AECB Building Standard or Passivhaus standard.

The changes also include the addition, for the first time, of dedicated discounts for homes built to either a SAP rating from 100 to 109 or more than 110, of 1.00 per cent and 1.25 per cent respectively, which Ecology is calling A+ and A++. This reflects the environmental performance of homes built to a standard that generates more energy than they consume.

We hope that the changes will lead to a long-term saving in both energy and borrowing costs for those that build to the highest standards.

The changes to the discounts ensure that we continue to lead the way in supporting construction of the most energy efficient buildings, which will be critical if we are to meet our Paris commitments and tackle the climate and ecological crisis.

Building Regulations require that a SAP calculation and a predicted ‘On construction’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is submitted for new dwellings prior to building work commencing.

We began this year with our strongest ever pipeline of lending for low impact homes. We continue to work with potential borrowers and signpost them to sources of help to improve their build quality to benefit from the enhanced discounts.

For example, if the finished build is accredited to the Passivhaus standard a discount of 1.50% applies giving a variable rate of 3.49% for the remaining term of the mortgage (3.15% until 1 August).  An application fee of £799 is payable.  Applicants can borrow up to 80% of the property’s value in stages to support the progress of the build.

Our decision to enhance the discounts comes at a time when the UK Government is recognising the urgent need to reduce the carbon impact of house building and has stated that new homes must produce 75% lower carbon emissions by 2025.

We offer flexible staged payments for self- and custom-build mortgages based on the needs of our members.  We consider a wide range of construction techniques including those using non-standard materials and modern methods of construction. `

All our mortgages are funded by our members who save with us in the confidence their money is being used to have a positive environmental impact.

Daniel Capstick, Ecology’s Mortgage manager explains,

“Now more than ever it’s important that lenders play an active role in incentivising green building and helping to reduce energy bills. We’ve been leading the way on sustainable mortgages for over 40 years, and we hope that the updates to the C-Change discounts will encourage our borrowers to build even more energy efficient homes, which is critical in the fight against climate change.” 

Jon Bootland, CEO of the Passivhaus Trust welcomes the changes,

“We’re delighted that Ecology Building Society has increased its C-Change mortgage discount for Passivhaus even further. Ecology has been leading the way in green mortgages for many years; they recognise Passivhaus as the leading standard for energy efficiency and occupant comfort by awarding it their maximum discount. Green financing can impactfully incentivise efficiency measures and higher quality buildings. We look forward to seeing more homeowners taking advantage of both Passivhaus benefits and Ecology’s mortgage discounts in the coming years.”

Andy Simmonds, CEO of the AECB (Association of Environmental Conscious Building) says,

 “The AECB is really pleased that Ecology is reinforcing the role of the AECB’s Building Standard by enhancing the discount to encourage wider and more affordable take up. The Building Standard aims to ensure that new buildings are built to higher performance standards to reduce CO₂ emissions and manage energy demand. Higher building performance standards, combined with low carbon heat are essential for householders and homeowners in managing the cost of living and energy crisis we all face. The AECB Building Standard can be adopted by individual self-builders, construction professionals and contractors working to robust new build standards and closing the performance gap.”

Mark Stevenson, Chair of the National Custom and Self Build Association says,

“NaCSBA knows that custom and self-builders lead the way in innovation and sustainability, as individuals invest more in a home that they have designed to suit their needs than a speculative builder would. This was evidenced in our 2022 report, where over half of all self-builders said they had used a sustainable heat source in their project. Ecology’s new discounts are a welcome incentive in the market, rewarding those who want to build a more sustainable future for themselves and their communities, and which set a challenge for the wider industry to raise its game and promote more sustainable construction practices.”

For more information about our mortgages for self and custom-build click here.

For more information about our C-Change mortgage discounts click here.

Representative example

A mortgage of £204,700 payable over 25 years on a variable rate of 4.65% would require 1 monthly payment of £1,470.27 and 298 monthly payments of £1,157.33. The total amount payable would be £347,778.61 made up of the loan amount plus interest (£141,654.61) and a mortgage application fee of £799 and a valuation fee of £625 (assuming a purchase price of £350,000).  The overall cost for comparison is 4.80% APRC representative.

APRC (Overall Percentage Rate of Change) shows you, as a percentage, the annual cost of a secured loan or mortgage. It brings together all charges (such as fees and other costs), calculated as if you kept your secured loan or mortgage for the full term without changing it.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.