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New Round of Green Deal Loans for Landlords Launches
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Landlords struggling to improve the energy efficiency of their properties ahead of forthcoming Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rule changes will be pleased to learn that a new round of Green Deal loans is launching.
New Round of Green Deal Loans for Landlords Launches
The original Green Deal loans ended in July 2015 after finance was pulled.
This meant that landlords faced funding their own improvements ahead of the April 2018 deadline, by which all rental properties must have a minimum EPC rating of E or face being banned from the sector.
However, the Green Deal loans will be offered again this quarter, after the Government sold its loan book and assets of the Green Deal Finance Company to Greenstone Finance, a renewable energy investor.
A spokesperson for Greenstone Finance explains: “The new ownership will continue to service the existing Green Deal loans and will commence financing of new Green Deal loans in the first quarter of 2017.
“Green Deal financing has the potential to help landlords requested by tenants to install energy efficiency improvements including, as of April 2018, landlords who own properties that fall below the new minimum EPC rating of E.”
The company is yet to release details on how the loan schemes would work and how they can be made available so quickly.
A statement from Greenstone Finance says: “Green Deal loans not only offer competitive interest rates, but are more easily managed, as loans are repaid as part of a customer’s energy bill, which will normally be reduced by the energy savings generated from the measure the loan has financed – a pay-as-you-save scheme.
“Furthermore, the loan remains with the property and is paid by the energy bill payer from time-to-time, ensuring the payments are made by the person who benefits from the energy saving.”
Kilian Pender, the Chief Executive of Greenstone Finance, also claims that the firm will be aiming to boost the number of approved installation companies capable of offering a Green deal plan, and that spot checks, a ratings system and other measures will be useful to expose cowboy operators.
We advise all landlords with properties with EPC ratings below E to take advantage of the new Green Deal loans.
