Lloyds Banking group, which is comprised on Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Birmingham Midshires, and Scottish Widows, have revealed their plans moving forward to tackle and reduce carbon emissions through their lending. Both Halifax Bank and buy-to-let lender Birmingham Midshires (BM Solutions) have sent communications out to mortgage brokers today, highlighting their commitment to supporting more sustainable properties. One of these initiatives announced is the collection of energy performance certificate ratings.
An Energy Performance Certificate or EPC is a certificate that details how energy efficient the property is and therefore how eco friendly the property is. Most new built properties are fitted with green home products and constructed with sustainable materials, so you often find new build properties with high EPC ratings or they will be completely sustainable and will be classed a green home. For older properties, these sustainable features weren’t considered necessary when they were constructed, so the EPC rating of these properties is often lower. In order to boost the rating, people tend to do things to the property to improve the energy efficiency like replacing windows with double glazing, changing insulation material, adding solar panels etc..
BM Solutions And Energy Performance Certificate Ratings
In a statement to brokers, BM Solutions (Birmingham Midshires) said:
‘We are committed to reduce carbon emissions we finance by 50% by 2030, and we are also supporting the government ambition for all homes to have an EPC rating of C or above by 2035. From Monday 20th February 2023, we will be introducing the capture of EPC ratings on new business applications.
We will use the EPC details captured to automatically check eligibility (Properties rated A-C) for any Green product chosen, or to flag that a Green product has not been selected when the EPC indicates eligible. We will also stop applications at full application that have a rating of F or G.
When property details are completed on the application, we will display the latest EPC record from our database. If the latest EPC details are not showing you will need to key details of the EPC and upload proof for us to check. Properties that have a registered exemption from having to meet Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) will need to be keyed as ‘Exempt’. The valuer will check the register and we will only contact you for a copy of the exemption if not on the register.’
Halifax Bank And EPC Certificate Ratings
As they are part of the same group as BM solutions, Halifax has released a very similar statement, with some extra additions:
From today, we will be introducing the collection of a property’s EPC rating on purchase and remortgage applications. We have also extended the availability of our Green Home cashback products for properties with an EPC rating of A or B, which were previously available on purchase applications, to remortgage applications.
We’re on a journey to help make the nation’s homes greener. As the UK’s largest mortgage lender, we are committed to supporting customers to better understand home energy efficiency, as well as providing products that help customers to consider energy efficiency when purchasing their homes.
By collecting EPC details, we can better understand the energy efficiency of the properties we finance and create opportunities to promote conversations with homeowners regarding the energy efficiency of their homes. Collecting this information will also streamline the process for product selection and clearly flag those properties eligible for our Green Home products.
Green Home cashback products were launched on 13th February 2023 for remortgage properties with an EPC rating of A or B and up to 85% loan to value. These products are available for the remortgage of a main residence only, second home loans are not eligible. If an EPC certificate has expired or an EPC is not available for a particular property, then these products cannot be selected.’
Contact A Mortgage Advisor
If you or anyone you know needs to discuss an Energy Performance Certificate, home improvements, or a green mortgage with a professional mortgage advisor, please give our team a call or send us a message today. We are here to help.
