"Mortgage providers work against sustainability at home"

Buyers who want to make their new home more sustainable are facing all kinds of obstacles for mortgage lenders. Those who want to borrow the 106 percent legal right for insulation or solar panels will hear "no" from a quarter of the lenders. In the case of another quarter of mortgage providers, buyers must pay an additional interest surcharge that exceeds 0.5%.

Vereniging Eigen Huis, the group of interest to homeowners, studied the situation of 31 mortgage lenders. Banks and other lenders frustrate energy savings

More loans for solar panels are allowed, but this is not possible

Mortgage lenders are not allowed to lend buyers more than the value of a home. But for people who want to make their new home more energy efficient, an exception applies. They can borrow 106 percent, provided they spend the extra money on double glazing, heat pumps or other adjustments that make the home more sustainable. But not all banks offer this.

Homebuyers for such a high mortgage can not go to eight of the 31 studied lenders, including ING and Aegon. "That's right, we are funding 100% of the home, including energy saving measures," says an ING spokesperson against the NOS. This means that only increasing the value of the home – and not all costs incurred for renovation – can be financed by the mortgage. Homeowners can also borrow money at a lower rate if they want to use it to make their home more sustainable.

Nine other people charge their customers for the durability mortgage an additional price sometimes substantial. At SNS, the extra costs are the highest. Anyone who buys a house worth 300,000 euros can borrow up to 318,000 euros for energy saving measures. For this, the bank imposes a surtax of 0.55% on the normal interest rate, which increases the gross annual expenditure of 1750 euros.

"I understand that this can be a penalty for sustainability," says a spokesman. van de Volksbank, parent company of SNS Bank. According to him, this is not the intention. "100% higher loans are always more expensive with us." The bank believes that the sustainability of housing is, in its own words, important. "That's why we are looking to lower the tariff."

Climate Agreement

Half of mortgage lenders do not offer a higher mortgage to people who want to make their homes more sustainable, unlike the noise of the sector. climate agreement

It's striking that ING and Aegon do not participate. Personalities from both banks went to Spitzbergen organized by climate journalist Bernice Notenboom. During the polar expedition, participants offered to help individuals pay up to 10,000 euros, which would make their home more sustainable.

According to the Dutch Banking Association, mortgage ownership and residential sustainability are first and foremost a major challenge for homeowners. "On average, homeowners now have enough space to lift the mortgage in order to take sustainability measures," says a spokesman. This concerns homeowners whose mortgage debt is less than the value of the home. "What banks are talking about in the climate agreement, is how to convince these people."

Not all banks offer a 106% mortgage legally permitted to people who want to make their homes more sustainable. According to the Association of Dutch Banks, this is not immediately a big problem. "If you really want to use it, it's possible because there are also a lot of banks that offer this possibility."