Mortgage lenders need to warm up to energy-efficient homes

Government's net zero plan wants to link energy upgrades to home financing, but policy details will be critical

If you want to live in an energy inefficient home, expect to pay more for your mortgage. Or perhaps the implied message in the government's net zero documents was starker: you won't even get a mortgage unless you bring the property up to scratch.

As nudges to homeowners and homebuyers go, it's strong stuff. Quite right too, one might say: UK homes, on average, are shockingly leaky. And, since most home improvements happen soon after a purchase, one can see the logic in linking an energy upgrade to the mortgage process.