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Do green mortgages offer better rates?

With more green mortgage products to choose from, we investigate whether the deals are any good
Sam Wilson

Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.

The number of green mortgage products has increased significantly over the past six years, according to new research from the Green Finance Institute (GFI). 

There were just four products available to borrowers in 2019, but the GFI says there are now 90 to pick from. These are available from 48 lenders.

Here, Which? takes a look at what makes a mortgage green, how green mortgage rates compare with standard products, the best green mortgage rates and whether any top-rated lenders offer these deals.

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What is a green mortgage?

A green mortgage can cover a surprisingly wide range of products. Broadly, these deals fall into two categories: 

  • mortgages that reward you for owning an energy-efficient home
  • products that offer favourable terms for borrowing additional funds to carry out green home improvements, such as installing solar panels, a heat pump or extra insulation.

The rewards available on green mortgages are typically either a discounted interest rate, cashback, or higher income-to-loan ratios that let you borrow more. 

To qualify for a green mortgage, you usually need a home with an EPC rating of A or B, although there may be more specific lender requirements on top of this.

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Do green mortgages offer market-leading rates?

Green mortgages can be very competitive, according to our analysis.

When we checked the market on 2 December, we found that across all mortgage products, the second-best rate available was a green mortgage. This Nationwide deal offered a 3.6% rate plus cashback for homes meeting the required EPC criteria. For the most energy-efficient properties, borrowers could receive £500. 

A similar pattern emerged when we searched specifically for remortgage customers: the second-best rate also came with cashback for energy-efficient homes, this time from Lloyds Bank.

Among first-time buyer products, we found that Danske Bank’s green mortgage was joint-market-leading with Lloyds Bank, both offering a 3.64% two-year fix.

And this isn’t a one-off. When we looked at Moneyfacts data every Monday in November, we found the proportion of green mortgages was at least a quarter of the top 25 deals.

Date
Number of green mortgages in the top 25 mortgage products
Proportion of green mortgages in the top 25 mortgage products
3 November
6 24%
10 November
13
52%
17 November
8
32%
24 November
9
36%

Source: Moneyfacts 

So, if you already own an energy-efficient home and are preparing to remortgage, or you’re buying a property with a good EPC rating, it’s worth exploring whether a green mortgage could give you the best overall deal.

Do good lenders offer green mortgages?

Every year, we ask thousands of mortgage customers to rate their lender. This year, three building societies topped the table: Nationwide, Principality and Skipton.

However, only one lender in our analysis combined excellent customer satisfaction with consistently market-leading rates: Nationwide, making it our only Which? Recommended Provider. 

But do these top-rated lenders also offer green options?  We've set out what's on offer in the table.

LenderOffers lower rates for energy-efficient homes?Offers cashback for energy-efficient homes?Offers additional borrowing for energy-efficient homes?
Nationwide Building Society (WRP)NoYesYes
Principality Building SocietyNoNoNo
Skipton Building SocietyNoNoYes
  • Find out more: see our guide on green mortgages for the full list of lenders with green mortgages

The best green mortgages

To give you an idea of the best rates you can get with a green mortgage, we searched Moneyfacts data for the 10 lowest-rate deals.

Danske Bank
n/a3.64%£999Rate discount and enhanced lending for homes with an EPC rating of A-C60%First-time buyers, home movers6.4%
Lloyds Bank
74%3.64%£999£250 cashback for EPC A-B homes. Cashback for green home improvements60%First-time buyers, home movers7.49%
RECOMMENDED PROVIDER
Nationwide Building Society
80%3.65%£999Green reward for properties with an EPC score of 86 to 91 £250 or Green reward for properties with an EPC score of 92+ £500.60%Home movers6.74%
HSBC
73%3.66%£999Home movers get £350 cashback and first-time buyers get £1,500. Homes with EPC A-B qualify60%First-time buyers, home movers6.49%
Danske Bank
n/a3.67%£999Rate discount and enhanced lending for homes with an EPC rating of A-C70%First-time buyers, home movers6.4%
Danske Bank
n/a3.67%£999Rate discount and enhanced lending for homes with an EPC rating of A-C75%First-time buyers, home movers6.4%
Lloyds Bank
74%3.69%£999£250 cashback for EPC A-B homes. Cashback for green home improvements75%First-time buyers, home movers7.49%
HSBC
73%3.71%£999£350 cashback for EPC A-B homes60%Remortgage borrowers6.49%
NatWest
73%3.71%£999Discounted rate for EPC A-B homes60%First-time buyers, home movers6.99%
Royal Bank of Scotland
68%3.71%£999Discounted rate for EPC A-B homes60%First-time buyers, home movers6.99%

Data collected from Moneyfacts on 4 December. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.  Which? Customer Scores are based on an online survey of 5,016 members of the public conducted in August/September 2025, and are representative of the GB/UK population (aged 18+). The Which? Customer Score is based on a combination of overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the provider. The average score is 74%. For more information on our research, see our full methodology.

  • Find out more: see how green mortgage rates compare to the rest of the market in our guide to the best mortgage rates – it's updated twice a day

Can landlords get a green mortgage?

Yes, along with mapping residential green mortgages, the Green Finance Institute has also found green mortgage products available for landlords. It found 31 green buy-to-let mortgage products (out of the overall 90) offered by 28 providers.

Lenders that offer these include: Bank of Ireland, Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Paragon Bank, Skipton Building Society and Virgin Money. 

Similar to the residential mortgage market, buy-to-let green mortgage products offer benefits such as a lower rate, cashback and additional borrowing.  

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