Help millions retrofit their properties  

According to the Climate Change Committee, the twenty-nine million homes in the UK are not fit for the future and urgently require retrofitting with low-carbon heating, solar panels and battery technologies, and improved energy efficiency standards.

We also know that during an energy and cost of living crisis people want to reduce their fuel bills and make their homes more energy efficient, but may not have access to low-cost finance to fund the changes.

The MCS Foundation and the Green Finance Institute are asking the Government to back a new financial product called ‘Property Linked Finance’ (PLF), which would mean that upfront costs for renewables would be covered in full and paid back via a service charge applied to the property. The service charge remains with the property, so if you move you do not have the burden of a personal loan to repay. We think this product will help the able-to-pay sector transition away from old heating systems to renewables. The service charge will be levied through high street lenders and in most the savings on gas and electricity bills will be greater than the charge. The advantage is that you will have future-proofed your house, meaning that you do not need to save for years to make changes ready for net zero, and can enjoy the benefits that renewables like heat pumps and solar bring to homes.

According to research by both Solar Energy UK and WWF-Scotland, by installing solar panels and heat pumps you will also add value to your home, so it is a win-win situation. 

Property Linked Finance has the potential to not only support the installation of renewables like heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage, but could also help you replace windows, insulate your walls and loft.

The MCS Foundation is asking the Government to adopt Property Linked Finance as soon as possible. While new to the UK, we have seen examples of similar PLF finance schemes being successfully operated in Australia, the USA, and across Europe. PLF could transform how we retrofit our homes, create thousands of local jobs across the domestic renewable and energy efficiency sector, and most importantly make our homes more energy efficient and less expensive to run.