Green Homes Finance Accelerator: One-Stop-Shop Loan in collaboration with Credit Unions

As part of our work on the government funded Green Homes Finance Accelerator project, we’re pleased to announce that we are now piloting a collaboration with South Manchester Credit Union to offer loans for your retrofit project!

South Manchester Credit Union will provide loans of up to £15,000 with a rate of 6.2% APR subject to certain approvals for a range of retrofit measures.

Last year, we conducted research to help us design this product. Clients told us that one of the biggest barriers to borrowing money for their retrofit project was not knowing how much they needed, or for what retrofit measures. Understanding how finance might help you do all you want to and to the right standard was considered very important. - This is something that our Home Retrofit Planner services could support.

This pilot will trial the integration of a loan product into our retrofit advice services, offering a low-cost and ethical finance option. For clients who feel that borrowing might help their project, we can refer you on to South Manchester Credit Union, with a clear retrofit plan to discuss your financial needs.

Please note that in order to apply for this loan you will need to become a member of South Manchester Credit Union and will need to either live or work within their common bond area of South and Central Manchester.

A credit union is a financial cooperative which provides loans, savings and services to its members. The members own and control the union, and so aren’t subject to external investors or distant shareholders. The emphasis is therefore on offering good quality services that benefit the membership.

Membership of a credit union is based on a common bond. This common bond might be geographical, or through working in a specific industry or for the same employer, and credit unions come in all different shapes and sizes. There are around 1.2 million members of credit unions across 500 unions in the UK, and are growing steadily.

South Manchester Credit union is a community based Credit Union who have been serving the people of South and Central Manchester for 24 years.

This loan is specifically to fund retrofit measures, and may be used in the following (non exhaustive) ways:

• Loft insulation

• Electrification (e.g. solar PV)

• Heat pumps

• Internal, external or cavity wall insulation

• & more including enabling and repair works

This loan may be used to fully fund a measure, or as a top up to ensure you’re able to do more. It may also be used to fund a selection of measures so that you’re able to complete your project to the required standard.

The credit union may ask you for evidence of the installed retrofit measures so we can assess the success of the pilot.

You can borrow up to £15,000 for a range of retrofit measures.This retrofit loan offers a rate of 6.2% APR on a decreasing balance over a period of up to five years.

• Flexible repayments

• No fees, charges or penalties for early repayment

• Manage your loan balance through the app

As South Manchester Credit Union are administering this loan you will need to speak directly with their team to understand the full terms and conditions of the loan and to decide if it is the best option for you. All repayments will be managed directly by South Manchester Credit Union and are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the loan agreement by South Manchester Credit Union.

Please speak to our retrofit advisor Harriet Darling (clients@retrofit.coop), who will be able to refer you to the credit union. You will need to join the credit union as part of the loan, however there is no obligation to take out a loan after applying, nor is there any obligation for you to undertake the loan in order to take up any of our services.

The credit union will go through a credit check and loan suitability assessment with you and will be able to answer any questions you may have. As this is a pilot, the turnaround time for approval may take up to 10 working days, however, we do anticipate that this time frame will be reduced as the pilot continues.

We recommend applying for the loan following the Home Retrofit Planner Assessment, as this will ensure you have a good understanding of what measures are appropriate for your home, and support your decision making.

A reminder: that in order to apply for this loan you will need to become a member of South Manchester Credit Union and will need to either live or work within their common bond area of South and Central Manchester.

As we are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority - and we have no experience in finance! - we cannot help you in making any financial decisions. Your choice to take out a loan must be made independently. Our Credit Union partners will be able to assess whether or not a loan is the right option for you, and may be able to advise of alternatives if the loan is not suitable.

However, we can help you design a scope that fits a budget and can support you in prioritising your project. Our Home Retrofit Planner Assessment can help outline retrofit options for your home, including the benefits and approximate relative costs of different scenarios. We also offer additional Retrofit Specification support and Retrofit Design Reviews to provide additional support and guidance at later stages of your journey - please see our website for more information.

The Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA) competition provided grant funding to support UK finance providers and other organisations to design, develop and pilot a diverse range of innovative finance propositions which encourage domestic energy efficiency, low carbon heating and micro-generation retrofit.

Funding is supplied by the UK Government Department of Energy Security and Net Zero