Retrofit Boost Mortgage
Giving customers up to £7,000 cashback for energy efficient home improvements
Big money for energy savings
We’re giving customers up to £7,000 cashback to make their homes more energy efficient.
Retrofitting property with upgrades like solar panels can help reduce energy bills. And unlike additional borrowing, the mortgage balance won’t increase.
Mortgage rates are higher than our core range. Other financing options might also be cheaper and it’s important to consider the total amount to pay. So always check out the alternatives before recommending these products.
Find a Retrofit Boost MortgageClient benefits
- Money in their bank
- Customer get the cash to spend on energy efficient home improvements right after the mortgage completes.
- No increase to mortgage balance
- Cashback can help avoid additional borrowing, which could save on interest over the term.
- Installation offers also available
- We’ve teamed up with Hive, who can supply and fit the right kit, with packages matched to the cashback amounts. This might make life easier for customers, but there’s no obligation to use Hive. Your clients can choose whichever suppliers they like.
Eligible improvements
Here's what customers can spend their cashback on - it may not always cover the full costs
Insulation
- Loft and pitched roof insulation
- Cavity wall insulation
- Solid wall insulation
- Room in roof insulation
- Suspended floor insulation
- Solid floor insulation
Solar power
- Photovoltaic solar panels
- Solar battery storage
- Solar thermal hot water
Heating
- Temperature controls (timers/zone heating)
- Thermostatic radiator valves
- Fan coiled radiators
- Air source heat pump
- Ground source heat pump
- Biomass pellet boiler
Windows and doors
- A-rated double or triple glazed windows
- Secondary glazed windows
- Windows and doors draught-proofing
- Insulated external doors
The government has a handy tool to help people find ways to save energy in their current property. Your clients can also check the property's energy certificate to see what improvements might help.
These tools aren't designed by us, so we don’t know how much energy they might save. Any energy efficiency claims may be general rather than property or customer specific.
Important info
These improvements may not provide the energy efficiency expected. There’s also no guarantee that an installer will carry out the work satisfactorily.
If in doubt, it’s important to do further research because we won’t accept any responsibility if things go wrong.
Before the mortgage completes, the customer must check they can use the cashback for the improvements they want.
Special conditions
We charge a higher rate of interest on the Retrofit Boost Mortgage in return for providing cashback. The cashback must be spent on eligible improvements to the property being mortgaged.
They must check renovations are suitable and have any necessary consents. This includes planning permission, buildings regulations approval and landlord consent.
We may contact the customer to check the improvements and energy savings made.
Help from Hive
We’ve teamed up with Hive to offer installation packages to match the cashback options
With over 10 years’ experience, Hive are experts in taking the hassle out of home improvement. They have a dedicated team for Virgin Money customers who can chat through their needs. They can also check for grants that might boost spending power even more.
If your client would rather use another installer, that’s fine. It won’t affect their cashback. But whoever they choose, we’d recommend they’re MCS certified Link opens in a new window or Trustmark registered. Link opens in a new window
View Hive offers Link opens in a new windowVirgin Money isn’t responsible for the service and equipment supplied by Hive, or any other supplier. Customers should review their supplier’s terms and conditions before using them.
Got a question?
We expect all the cashback to be spent on eligible energy efficient improvements to the property being mortgaged. But if that’s not possible, customers can use the spare money to make mortgage overpayments (subject to the usual limits and terms set out in the illustration) and reduce their mortgage balance.
Customers can use the cashback to get started on making the energy efficiency improvements they want, and look at alternative ways to get all the funding they need. But you should consider their ability to do this, and whether the Retrofit Boost Mortgage is right for them.
Customers should contact their supplier directly. Virgin Money isn’t responsible for the service and equipment supplied by Hive, or any other supplier they choose.