Our lending decisions are made with people, for people, based on your situation, not just your credit score. You’ll always speak to a real person who’s here to help, not judge.
Lending Done Differently
Lending Done Differently
Looking to fund home improvements such as insulation, solar panels or a heat pump? If you own and live in your home, or are a landlord with a property in the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, and are considering energy-saving improvements, the loan scheme is available now.
Eligibility will depend on your individual circumstances and the requirements of the scheme.
Click each section to see what’s included, who can apply, and how it works.
A home energy loan to help you fund the energy-saving improvements your property needs, with monthly repayments tailored to your circumstances.
Your loan amount and repayment term will depend on your circumstances and our assessment of what you can afford.
You may be eligible if you own and live in your home, or are a landlord, and the property you want to improve has an eligible postcode within the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority area.
Before borrowing, you should consider any grants or other assistance that may be available. The North East Warm Homes One Stop Shop can help you explore your options.
Landlords: We’ll also ask for information about relevant financial assistance you have received, to check the scheme’s subsidy requirements.
This area covers the following local authorities:
Not sure which improvements would suit your property? The North East Warm Homes One Stop Shop can help you understand your options before you commit.
Necessary work to enable an eligible improvement may also be included. This could cover roof repairs needed before installing solar panels, or redecoration following internal wall insulation.
New gas boilers and other measures powered by fossil fuels are not eligible.
We understand that talking about money and applying for finance can be tricky, and we will work with you every step of the way.
We are happy to work with family members/supporting agencies if you would like help along the application process, however we will need your consent to doing so before we can speak to someone other than yourself. For customers identified as needing more support, we can arrange a face-to-face visit if needed. Your Case Manager is here to help and are fully trained to understand a wide range of financial circumstances.
Fill out our Application Form here or call us on 01823 461099 to complete an application over the phone. Want to find out more first? Complete our Contact Us Form to request a call back. A member of our team will get in touch within 2 working days.
Check your email for instructions to securely upload bank statements via Open Banking for an affordability check.
We’ll assess your application, run an affordability check, and conduct a credit search to confirm loan affordability. If we can’t provide a loan, we’ll do our best to signpost you for other support.
After our assessment, you’ll receive a personalised, conditional offer valid for six months—giving you plenty of time to make decisions that work best for you.
Once you’ve selected a contractor, share your quotes with us to move forward with the loan.
We’ll finalise the loan amount based on your quotes and send a Loan Agreement for you to review and sign.
With everything in place, you’re ready to begin your project! We can arrange deposits up front if required.
Once the work is completed, simply send us a copy of your contractor’s invoice, and we’ll release your funds to your nominated account.
Use this loan calculator to estimate your repayments — you’ll see final figures during application.
Representative example. 2% interest fixed (Representative 2.2% APR)
Borrow £5,000 over 60 months, £87.64 monthly repayments. Total amount repayable = £5,278.33, including a £20 Land Registry fee. Loans are subject to status and are typically protected by a Title Restriction. A Title Restriction means that you may not be able to sell your home without our permission unless the loan is fully repaid. This is not a mortgage. Missing payments could affect your credit rating.
We recommend that you conduct an independent retrofit assessment to determine which works may be suitable for your property, circumstances, and budget.
Loans are subject to status and are typically protected by a Title Restriction.
Discover local organisations and services offering practical advice, financial guidance, and community support to help you stay safe, warm and independent at home.
Not sure what work you need? These organisations can help you plan safely and confidently. If you’d rather talk to someone, our team is happy to help.
We recommend that you conduct an independent retrofit assessment to determine which works may be suitable for your property, circumstances, and budget.
We’re pleased to confirm that applications are open from 22 October 2026.
Solar panels and battery storage are both eligible measures under the North East Warm Homes Loan scheme.
There is no specific list of approved contractors or products under the scheme, so you’re welcome to choose your own installer and discuss the most suitable products for your home.
However, we recommend checking that your chosen contractor holds the relevant qualifications and accreditations for the work being carried out, such as MCS, TrustMark or FENSA, where applicable.
As part of the application process, we’ll review your quotation and proposed works to ensure they’re suitable for funding under the scheme.
If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The North East Warm Homes Loan is designed to help homeowners and landlords make energy efficiency improvements to their properties.
Eligible works include:
Certain associated works may also be considered where they are necessary to complete an eligible installation.
New fossil fuel heating systems, such as gas boilers, are not eligible.
All proposed works will be reviewed as part of the application process.
The North East Warm Homes Loan offers borrowing between £2,000 and £25,000, with an interest rate of 2% and repayment terms of up to 10 years.
The amount you may be able to borrow and your monthly repayments will depend on your individual circumstances, the cost of the works and the outcome of our affordability and creditworthiness assessments.
We’ll explain the full loan terms and repayment options before you decide whether to proceed.
You can also repay your loan early without an early repayment charge.
The scheme is available to eligible homeowners and landlords with properties in:
As part of the application process, we’ll review your financial circumstances, including your income, expenditure and existing credit commitments, to assess whether borrowing is affordable.
We’ll also check that the improvements you’re planning are eligible under the scheme.
You don’t need to have quotations ready to register your interest.
When you progress through the full application process, we’ll need to review a quotation for your proposed works before we can confirm a formal loan offer.
We recommend obtaining two quotations where practical, although one quotation may be accepted.
All quotations will be reviewed to ensure the proposed works and costs are suitable for lending.
We recommend waiting until your loan has been formally approved and your loan agreement has been signed before committing to any works or making payments to contractors. Until this point, funding is not guaranteed, and any costs or commitments you make will be at your own risk.
There may be grants or other financial assistance available depending on your circumstances and the improvements you’re considering.
Before proceeding with a loan, it’s important to explore whether you’re eligible for any available grant funding.
The North East Warm Homes One Stop Shop can provide energy efficiency advice and information about potential grant support.
Where appropriate, we can help direct you towards this service.
Being retired or receiving a pension does not automatically prevent you from applying.
We consider applications based on individual circumstances and will complete an assessment of your income, essential expenditure and existing financial commitments.
This helps us understand whether the proposed loan repayments would be affordable and sustainable for you.
We recognise that everyone’s circumstances are different and will be happy to discuss the application process and any additional support you may need.
Monthly loan repayments begin one month after the first loan payment has been released.
This means that if your contractor requires a deposit or an initial payment before starting the works, your loan repayments may begin before the installation is completed.
We can consider releasing funds in stages, for example to cover an agreed deposit and further payments as the work progresses, subject to our usual checks and approval requirements.
We’ll explain how the loan payments and repayments work before you enter into an agreement.
Our lending decisions are made with people, for people, based on your situation, not just your credit score. You’ll always speak to a real person who’s here to help, not judge.
Our loans are tailored to your circumstances, with affordable repayment plans and the freedom to settle or overpay at any time — helping you save money and reduce interest.
Know exactly what you’ll repay. Your monthly repayment amounts are fixed for the lifetime of the loan, giving you stability and peace of mind.
If you repay your loan early, you will not be charged an early repayment fee.