The lender said the new product feature was designed to encourage energy efficiency improvement in rental properties, and to assist landlords attain a likely requisite of minimum EPC levels in the future
Fleet Mortgages has launched a new, limited edition product feature which will reward landlord borrowers with a £1,000 cashback payment if they enhance the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) level of the property to a C or above during the initial fixed-rate period.
The cashback is available on Fleet’s five and seven-year fixed-rate products, except for Green options, which complete from 1 July 2023.
Fleet believes it is the first in the specialist BTL mortgage market to offer such a feature and is expecting it will incentivise landlords to carry out the works needed in order to improve their property’s Energy Performance Certificate if it is presently below C.
To be eligible for the cashback, advisers or the landlord borrower must inform Fleet if the EPC level of the property has been improved, and this must be documented on the property’s Energy Performance Certificate.
The lender stated the new product feature was designed to encourage energy efficiency improvement in rental properties, and to assist landlords attain a likely requisite of minimum EPC levels in the future. Fleet also stated the initiative was part of its own efforts to aid the Government’s goals on attaining net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Currently, the industry expects the Government may launch measures that could mean all private rental sector property must have an EPC level of C or above by 2028.
The lender will also continue to provide Green five-year fixes and tracker mortgage products to those landlord borrowers who already have properties rated EPC Level C and above. These come with rates 10 bps below the core offering.
Steve Cox, chief commercial officer at Fleet Mortgages, commented: We have been very forthright in the past that having a Green product range, rewarding those who have properties already at EPC level C and above, was totally correct. But this seemed to be just the first step for us.
He said that it is thus very pleasing to be able to announce this next step, which you might say centres on the real matter at hand, assisting landlord borrowers as they look to improve the Energy Performance Certificate of those properties not yet at this level.
