Renovation mortgage
If you’re inspired to bring a derelict property back to life or to improve your home’s energy efficiency our renovation mortgages have been designed with you in mind.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage
Trusted since 1981
Pioneers in providing energy-efficient renovation mortgages
Experts in specialist mortgages
We’ve lent to over 4,500 unique properties and projects
Flexible decision making
We take a case-by-case approach to every project
Discounts for energy-efficiency
Our C-Change discounts reward you for creating an energy-efficient home
Support for extensive works
We welcome projects that require substantial renovations
Open to the unusual
We’ll consider a wide range of non-standard construction types
We are experts in providing mortgages for unique renovation projects and we don’t have a ‘tick box’ approach to assessing projects – in many instances, we’ll welcome projects that standard lenders may not accept.
If you’re planning to bring a derelict property back to life, we’re here to help.
You may have found that some high street lenders can only offer a mortgage on habitable properties. This approach makes it hard to find the necessary funding to complete extensive renovation projects.
At Ecology, we’re not put off by the condition of the property; your project may be a shell without a roof or a historic building that has fallen into disrepair over the years. So, as long as the works required improve the energy efficiency of your building, we’ll consider lending.
We’ll look at:
- Buildings in a derelict condition
- Historic or listed buildings
- Fire damaged buildings
- Non-standard construction types, such as timber framed or thatched roofs
Our mortgages are available in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).
We’ll lend money to help you buy and renovate the property.
Normally, we’ll release up to 90% of the purchase price or value of the property and subsequently, the money required for the renovation costs. As you continue with your renovation, staged payments of up to 90% of your increased property value will be released – this will help you keep tabs on your budget and planning.
This type of mortgage may be suitable if you are able to make a cash deposit on your property and fund the early stages of the build. We normally recommend 15% to 20% of your total budget as a good starting point to begin your renovation.
Once your renovation is complete and the energy efficiency of your property is improved, we can lower your interest rate through our C-Change discounts.
We’re committed to always giving you the best service that we can, with over 94% of Ecology borrowers rating us as very good or excellent.
You can speak directly to our dedicated team of specialist mortgage advisers who are experts in renovations and retrofits. We consider every project on a case-by-case basis and have extensive experience in non-standard properties, energy efficiency improvements and ecologically sound building practices.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has laid down detailed rules about the service we must offer on regulated residential mortgages. Under these rules, we will provide you with advice and a recommendation on which of the Society’s products is most suitable for you, based on your needs, preferences, and affordability.
Renovation Mortgage
- Energy efficient renovations rewarded through our C-Change discounts from 0.25% to 1.50%.
- Ability to overpay by up to 10% per annum over the first three years. Any amount above 10% will incur an early repayment charge.
- Borrow up to 90% of the property’s value on a repayment basis, or up to 75% interest-only (or part repayment and part interest-only).
Representative example
This is an illustration of a typical mortgage and its total cost. It looks at a mortgage of £224,500, paid over 25 years on a variable rate of 5.79%. This mortgage would need 1 monthly payment of £2,381.43 and 298 monthly payments of £1,419.89 to pay off. The total amount paid would be £426,733.65. This includes the loan amount (£224,500), interest (£201,008.65), a mortgage application fee (£600) and a valuation fee (£625). This illustration assumes the cost of the property is £350,000.
The overall cost for comparison is 6.0% APRC representative.
APRC (Overall Percentage Rate of Change) shows you, as a percentage, the annual cost of a secured loan or mortgage. It brings together all charges (such as fees and other costs), calculated as if you kept your secured loan or mortgage for the full term without changing it.
Eligibility
- We’ll lend based on a full affordability assessment.
- Borrowers must be aged 18 or over. This mortgage is only available to UK residents.
- A maximum mortgage term of 30 years is available (subject to eligibility).
- Mortgages are available on a repayment, interest-only or part (repayment) and part (interest-only) basis, subject to eligibility.
- If your project requires planning permission or listed building consent, this will need to be in place before we lend any mortgage funds.
Fees and charges
- An early repayment charge may be payable if you repay all or part of your mortgage within the first three years.
- A non-refundable mortgage application fee of £600 is payable in addition to a mortgage valuation fee.
- Read our full list of fees and charges for more information.
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Heat Pump Cashback
Thinking about undertaking an energy-efficient significant renovation project where you are upgrading the heating system to the property? If you are planning to install an air or ground source heat pump, you can claim for a £500 or £1000 cashback when you apply for a new mortgage at Ecology.
We offer a cashback for eligible residential mortgage applications for projects that include the installation of a heat pump. If you qualify, you can claim:
- £500 cashback for when you install an air source heat pump.
- £1,000 cashback for when you install a ground source heat pump.
To be eligible:
- Make sure that your installer is MCS accredited
- This offer applies to our self-build, renovation, conversion and shared ownership mortgages
- Your property must have existing loft and cavity wall insulation.
How to obtain the cashback
The process is simple and part of the mortgage process.
- When speaking to your appointed mortgage broker or one of our mortgage advisors, they will check your eligibility for the cashback.
- The cashback value and installers accreditation requirements and how to claim will be shown in your personalised illustration and any Offer of Loan.
- The cashback is payable within 18 months of completing your mortgage (i.e. when you receive your first stage release/advance) and with the production of an MCS installer certificate.
- The cashback will be paid when we receive a completion certificate confirming that the heat pump has been installed by an approved installer. If you qualify, your cashback will be paid into the bank account you use to make your monthly mortgage payments.
Other important information
Ecology is not responsible for ensuring the quality of the work carried out and the costs provided. You should carry out your own checks to ensure the costs and the supplier is suitable. If you find that you are not happy with the work carried out, you should speak to your supplier in the first instance. If the work carried out is covered under a scheme provider you should also contact the appropriate provider.
An example of a scheme provider is the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS) that are the standards and quality assurance organisation for renewable heat technologies such as solar thermal, air/ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers.
Our awards
Good With Money Good Egg award - 2021/22
NaCSBA Gold Partner - 2022
Best Buy Mortgages & Savings - 2021/22
Benefit from our energy-efficiency discounts
94% of our residential mortgage customers are eligible for one of our C-Change discounts, which are designed to reward you for improving your home’s energy efficiency. So, not only can you enjoy reduced energy bills while shrinking your carbon footprint, you can get a lower rate on your mortgage, too.
1 Take out your mortgage with Ecology
2 Build your new home or transform an existing property
3 Confirm your revised energy rating and we'll calculate your discounted rate
Mortgage calculator
Work out how much you could borrow and compare monthly payments for our Renovation mortgage. You’ll also be able to see how much you could save if you’re eligible for our C-Change discount.
Our mortgage calculator is for illustrative purposes only and is designed to give an indication of the amount that we may be able to lend. The actual amount that we may be able to lend will depend on a full assessment of affordability, the property value and the size of your deposit.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage
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C-Change FAQs
As a building society with a unique mission to build a greener society, we lend on projects and properties that support our aims through their reduced impact on our environment. Making your home energy efficient is a major way you can support tackling climate change – while saving on your energy bills.
We reward borrowers whose properties are energy efficient (therefore have lower carbon emissions) with our C-Change discounts off our Variable Rate which helps them save money on their mortgage. We call our discounts ‘C-Change discounts’ simply because we’re aiming to make a ‘sea-change’ of difference to our climate with each property or project we fund.
The level of our C-Change sustainable homes or C-Change retrofit discount that applies is based on the Energy Standard rating achieved on the self-build, off-site build, renovation or conversion when the work is completed. Our C-Change energy improvements discount is based on the qualifying energy measures being installed. The discount is applied from the date we receive evidence that the work has been completed and if applicable the Energy Standard rating required has been achieved.
The C-Change retrofit scheme offers a discount of 0.25% from our Variable Rate (VR) for each rating improvement in your home’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This could be either its Energy Efficiency or Environmental Impact rating – whichever is the highest.
For example, if either EPC rating improves from E to C after the works to the property are completed, a discount of 0.50% will be available on the whole of the mortgage, for the duration of the loan. The discounts are deducted from our Variable Rate (currently 5.79% – the overall cost for comparison is 6.0% APRC).
To apply the discount, we need to receive an EPC before you undertake works to your home and another EPC once works are completed. We will compare the revised EPC with the original rating, and apply the discount based on the grade improvement achieved. Until we have received your revised EPC, we will charge interest at our Variable Rate. You can find out more by downloading Our C-Change discount brochure.
| Energy Standard | Energy Efficiency or Environmental Impact Rating | VR (Variable Rate) | Discount % | Variable Mortgage Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) | EPC rating improvement | 5.79% | 0.25% for each grade improvement in the EPC rating | 5.54%-4.29%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.80% APRC |
| Passivhaus | EnerPHit or EnerPHit+1 | 5.79% | 1.25% | 4.54%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.70% APRC |
| Passivhaus | EnerPHit (PHPP Modelled) | 5.79% | 0.75% | 5.04%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.20% APRC |
| Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) | Standard Retrofit | 5.79% | 0.75% | 5.04%. The overall cost for comparison is 5.20% APRC |
Mortgage FAQs
Do I need to provide planning permission for my renovation?
Planning permission is required from your Local Authority if you are extending or altering the property and this requires formal planning permission.
What information do I need to progress my renovation mortgage application?
You’ll need to have a specific property renovation in mind and provide details of material and labour costs, the current Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of the property and the projected EPC rating when you complete your renovation. The property should be improved by a minimum of two EPC bandings to qualify for this mortgage product.
What deposit do I need for my renovation?
You need a 10% minimum deposit to purchase the property and a further 15% – 20% of total build costs to start your renovation.
Do I still need a deposit for my renovation if I already own the property?
No, you don’t always need a deposit; we can lend based on the value of your property to start the renovation, providing you already own the property and it’s mortgage-free. Also, we can help you repay any outstanding finance on the property if you need it.
Do borrowers who are planning to renovate need to show how they plan to improve the property’s energy efficiency?
Any project we support needs to show details of the proposed renovation with an indication of the Energy Standards you are renovating to, and how the renovation costs are expected to be funded with savings and mortgage finance. We don’t just lend on the property purchase.
How long do I have to complete the renovation?
We allow a maximum of 2 years for you to complete the renovation, although we encourage you to complete earlier to benefit from our C-Change retrofit discount which is applied to our Variable Rate from the date we receive evidence that both the work has been completed and the Energy Standard rating required has been achieved.
Do you offer stage payments for a renovation?
Yes, we release funds as and when the renovation progresses and release up to a percentage of the increased value of the property.
Can I have interest-only mortgage during the renovation phase?
We offer an interest-only mortgage only when you have a qualifying repayment vehicle to support this for example an established ISA, endowment policies or Pension Plan.
Does the renovation property have to be my main residence?
Yes, although we do offer a buy-to-let mortgage. Please bear in mind that we don’t offer mortgages for second homes, holiday homes or homes classed as mobile planning.