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The Telegraph published an article yesterday which described how banks will not be allowing mortgages on “energy inefficient” homes.

The Telegraph also notes how this policy is despite Installed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying the public should  not be burdened with the cost of “net zero.”  The implication is that it is only the commercial lenders who are attempting to impose draconian “net zero” policies.

However, as we noted in a previous article, The UK Energy Bill, which is in its final stages before receiving Royal Assent, will be used by the Government of the day to take our homes away from us.

Do not be fooled by Sunak’s smooth talking or by any other Member of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, who voted in favour of the UK Energy Bill and is now claiming that they do not agree with the rollout of financial institutions’ “net zero” policies.

They may disagree with the power and control being in the hands of the large multi-national lenders rather than the Government, but they do not disagree with the principles of “net zero.”  As has become glaringly obvious, “net zero” policies, regardless of who is attempting to implement them, do not recognise and, in fact, are a blatant attempt to strip us of our human rights while ignoring our inalienable rights.

For the sake of public interest, we have reproduced The Telegraph’s article below.  The two rogue financial institutions named in the article are Natwest, the largest business and commercial bank in the UK, and Nationwide Building Society, the UK’s second-largest mortgage provider and the largest building society in the world with over 16 million members.

The UK government owns approximately 39% of the shares in Natwest.

The following is the article titled ‘Banks commit to onerous ‘green’ plans despite Sunak net zero rollback’ published by The Telegraph on 5 October 2023.

Banks are sticking to green pledges that require borrowers to spend thousands making their homes more energy efficient, despite Rishi Sunak saying the public should not be burdened with the cost of net zero. 

Last month Mr. Sunak removed targets for mortgage lenders that would have forced them to ensure the properties on their loan books have Energy Performance Certificate (“EPC”) ratings of C or better by 2030. He said he wanted to “ease the burden” of net zero on families and working people. 

EPC rating rules were brought into law in 2018 and required all privately rented properties in England to be above a certain standard of energy efficiency. 

On top of this, the Government proposed introducing voluntary targets for mortgage lenders to ensure properties on their loan books have ratings of C or better by the end of the decade.

But, despite Mr. Sunak scrapping or pushing back a string of net zero requirements, including the looming rules for landlords, large lenders including Nationwide Building Society and NatWest are still sticking to pledges to make 50pc of their mortgage customers’ homes EPC rating C or more by 2030.

It means mortgage customers whose homes do not meet the standard face spending thousands on upgrades such as insulation, double glazing and heat pumps. 

According to the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities English Housing Survey, published last year, 18pc of private rental properties would require more than £10,000 to bring up their homes to an EPC rating of C. Those who do not meet these standards, face being turned down for loans. 

It comes as major lenders and trade bodies warned earlier this year that homeowners who fail to increase the energy efficiency of their houses risk rendering their properties unmortgageable.

Lenders are also incentivising energy efficiency upgrades for borrowers. NatWest and others offer discounted fixed-rate mortgages to customers who are remortgaging their home with a valid EPC rating of A or B.

Conservative MP, Marco Longhi, said: “While I understand that banks may wish to offer products that align with their corporate values and market positioning, they should also make it clear that they will not apply this policy to existing customers.

“Otherwise, they would be forcing customers into actions that were not flagged as requirements when they first signed up to their products.

“Banks are free to offer products to new customers and to be clear about the conditioning they apply to those products. But applying EPC conditions retrospectively on existing products would be completely wrong.”

EPCs grade the energy efficiency of properties from A to G, with A being the best and G the worst.

On the NatWest website under “our approach to climate change”, the bank sets out its net zero policies, including making “50pc of our UK mortgage customers’ homes at or above EPC C rating by 2030”.

When asked if it was sticking to its EPC pledge, a NatWest Group spokesman said: “We are focussed on creating tools and products that make it as easy as possible for our customers to buy energy efficient properties and to retrofit their homes.”