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Buy-to-let lenders must prop up Green Deal – Ecology BS
Ecology Building Society has urged other mortgage lenders to promote the Green Deal after only one household’s plan was recorded as ‘live’.
The call comes as government figures revealed only 419 households or businesses had signed up to the scheme, in which any energy efficient property improvements like cavity wall or roof insulation or are paid for in instalments.
Of these, 286 had signed up to Green Deal Plans, 132 had moved to the ‘pending’ stage where measures were being carried out and one was ‘live’.
Ecology communications and research manager Anna Laycock said buy-to-let lenders could encourage landlords to introduce the deal to their tenants: “With the Green Deal the payments stay with the property rather than the person. That gives an opportunity for buy-to-let landlords.
“Buy-to-let lenders should be doing more to think about whether the landlord is likely to bring in efficient energy Green Deal proposals.”
Owner-occupier borrowers could be encouraged by incentives such as interest rate discounts, she added.
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The Green Deal launched in January in England and Wales followed by Scotland in February.
By the end of July, a total of 58,124 property dwellers had undergone an assessment, the first step of the scheme.
Under the Green Deal, the customer then signs up to a plan and the improvements begin. A plan becomes ‘live’ after the home improvements have been made and the household has started to pay back the cost of improvements through their electricity bill.