We’re here to help you make an impact. That’s why we’ve partnered with Retrogreen – to give you free access to personalised plans, expert advice, and practical steps to help you on your retrofit renovation journey.

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You can explore options and next steps with no commitment, then talk to us about financing your renovation.

Our Renovation Mortgage is designed for people who wish to transform existing buildings into more sustainable, energy-efficient spaces. Whether you’re restoring a rural cottage, retrofitting a Victorian terrace, or breathing new life into an old residential building, your project could qualify.

We consider a wide range of property types, including:

• Traditional homes – including stone cottages, brick terraces, and timber-framed houses in need of modernisation, and an upgrade to their energy efficiency
• Properties built with non-standard construction – unconventional builds that are often hard to finance elsewhere
• Derelict or ‘unmortgageable’ properties – we’ll consider projects others may not, provided there’s a clear plan for improvement and renovation.

To qualify, your renovation should aim to improve the property’s environmental performance. We’ll look for:

• Works you plan to do to improve the energy efficiency of your property
• Consideration of renewable energy systems e.g. solar panels, heat pumps
• An improvement of at least one grade on your property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.

Our mortgages are available in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and available for purchases or remortgages.

We’ll lend money to help you buy and renovate the property.

We’ll release up to 80% or 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 either 80% or 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, you can lower your interest rate through our C-Change discounts.

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.

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 one EPC banding to qualify for this mortgage product.

What deposit do I need for my renovation?

You will need a minimum 10% deposit on the purchase price along with some funds to start the project – your mortgage advisor will be able to discuss the cashflow required for each project, if you are aware of how much the renovation costs will be.

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.