The products, starting from 1.1% are fee free and include residential and buy-to-let fixed rates and discount deals, with the aim of helping borrowers improve their properties’ Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.
The society is introducing the products in a bid to support the government’s climate change target to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Hinckley & Rugby said consumers have realised their own responsibilities and understood how even small behavioural changes could bring about valuable improvements. It said an increasing number were looking to their homes as an obvious way to reduce their own carbon footprint.
And the society was 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.
It also cited research by the Environment Agency which found our homes accounted 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 and proposition manager at Hinckley & Rugby Building Society said: “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%.
