Green Homes Incentive

Up to 2% reduction in loan fees for residential developers who meet green standards

The Bank's encouragement and attractive lending terms means we’ve now got the headroom and confidence to scale-up and deliver more sustainable homes.

Hadleigh Hobbs, MD, Wellspring Homes

Green Homes Incentive

The Development Bank of Wales is committed to sustainable business and the transition to net zero and wants to support developers making the change to greener development practices.

We're offering a reduction of up to 2% on residential development loan fees if all of the following green criteria is incorporated into new builds, or a smaller reduction when meeting one or more:

EPC A Rating / Passivhaus status
Non-concrete structures
Non-fossil fuel heating system

Green incentive criteria

EPC ratings reflect the energy-efficiency of a property; the latest RICS data (2020) shows 77% of all new builds in Wales achieved a B rating, with only 5% achieving an A rating.

There are several factors that improve current EPC ratings including:

Insulation (extent and quality)
Double/triple glazing
Solar panels

Passivhaus status is generally viewed as a gold standard of energy-efficient homes given the very low energy required to achieve a comfortable temperature year-round, making conventional heating and air conditioning systems obsolete.

At Development Bank of Wales, we want to reward developers who achieve either an EPC A rating or Passivhaus status by offering a fee reduction of 0.5%.

It's widely accepted that alternative structures such as timber frames, hempcrete or limecrete blocks, and mycelium bricks have a lower carbon impact than concrete.

While timber frame homes have become more commonplace over the last decade, the use of less common alternatives is growing but still a long way from becoming mainstream. To support developers looking at using a greener building material, the property team will consider all such options on a case-by-case basis, with the potential to offer a fee reduction of 0.5%.

Ground and air source heat pumps significantly reduce operational energy demand during the life of a property but tend to carry slightly higher upfront costs.

To help mitigate this, the Development Bank of Wales is incentivising their use with a reduction in loan fees of 0.75% for the use of air source heat pumps and 1% for ground source heat pumps.

Read more about the Welsh Government's clean energy ambitions for new homes.

Through the Wales Property Fund we can provide loans for residential and mixed-use developments in Wales.

Loans up to 65% of Gross Development Value (GDV), including up to 100% of build costs
Loan sizes from £150,000 to £6 million
Loan terms of up to two years
Up to 2% green incentive reduction in fees (residential developments only)

Through the Stalled Sites Fund we can provide loans for residential developments in Wales that are unable to be progressed with traditional development funding.

Loans up to 75% of Gross Development Value (GDV), including up to 100% of build costs.
Loan sizes from £150,000 to £6 million.
Loan terms of up to four years.

We only support projects based in Wales. To apply for a loan, you’ll need:

Copy of the planning permission confirming approval for what you’re planning to develop
Summary of your development plans and projected costs
Breakdown of the expected Gross Development Value (i.e. the end values once completed)
Summary of previous development experience for you and the key individuals involved