Nationwide Building Society is offering a new type of mortgage product aimed at encouraging people to make their homes more environmentally friendly by offering cheaper rates for green home improvements.
At least half of the Green Additional Borrowing product, which will be available from tomorrow (10 March), must be used to fund a range of sustainable enhancements, from solar panels and boiler upgrades to traditional insulation and electric vehicle charging stations1.
Nationwide’s decision to offer green home loans forms part of the Society’s £1 billion pledge to reduce the carbon footprint of Britain’s homes. The Society, which has more than 1.5 million homes on its mortgage balance sheet, recently called on the government to think big about reform to property taxation and housebuilding to provide a clear incentive to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the country as UK homes, and the energy they use, account for 15 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions.
The loans are exclusively available to the Society’s mortgage members and offer significant rate reductions of up to 0.69% from Nationwide’s existing no fee, two and five-year fixed further advance rates. As a result, rates will start from just 1.0%, with no product fee.
Green Additional Borrowing is available via Nationwide’s mortgage consultants in branch or on the phone. Members can borrow between £5,000 and £25,000, up to a maximum of 90 per cent LTV. At least 50 per cent of the loan must be used to fund non-structural, energy-efficient home improvements. There are also no restrictions on suppliers - members are able to select any national or local firm when making the improvements.
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Director of Mortgages, comments: “It’s becoming ever clearer there is an urgent need to reduce the carbon emissions from our homes. We believe meaningful incentives are the only realistic way to help people make their homes more sustainable, which is why we today launched our new Green Additional Borrowing product.
“This new loan is the first product we are launching as part of our wider commitment to make £1 billion available to kickstart green home improvements. In this case, existing Nationwide members can borrow up to £25,000 at highly competitive rates – this is up to 0.69% lower than our standard two and five-year fixed further advance rates.
“With more than 1.5 million homes on our mortgage balance sheet, we believe offering this new loan can make a real difference as we play our part in helping to tackle the climate crisis and help members to do the same.”
Changes to Nationwide fixed rates
In a further boost to homeowners, from Tuesday 10 March, Nationwide is also reducing rates on selected two, three and five-year fixed rate mortgages available at up to 60 per cent LTV by up to 0.15%.
- Rates for three and five-year products available up to 60 per cent LTV are reducing by 0.10% to 1.44% with £999 fee, while those with a £0 fee will be reduced 0.05% to 1.69%. Available for remortgages.
- For switchers and further advances, rates for three and five-year products available up to 60 per cent LTV are reducing by 0.15% to 1.39% with £999 fee, while those with a £0 fee will be reduced 0.05% to 1.69%.
- Two-year fixed rates for switchers and further advances available at up to 60 per cent LTV are reducing to 1.14% with a £999 fee.
Nationwide is also changing the rates on its two-year fixed rates at 95 per cent LTV to 3.19% with £0 fee (from 3.14%) and 3.09% with a £999 fee (from 2.94%). These are available for house purchase and first-time buyers.
Full details of the changes can be found here (This link will open in a new window).
Henry Jordan continued: “These changes ensure the Society remains competitive in the market, whilst maintaining Nationwide’s position as the go-to place for first-time buyers and existing homeowners.”
