Wales will be the first country to adopt pioneering mortgage research into legislation, with first-time buyers of new homes expected to reap the benefits.

From next month, all Welsh Help-To-Buy loans will be adjusted according to the energy rating of the home being purchased.

This will mean that those purchasing the most energy-efficient homes may be offered a larger loan as a consequence of their smaller anticipated energy bills.

The change has been implemented based on research published last July 2017 which showed that lower household energy costs could improve mortgage affordability assessments and potentially allow mortgage borrowers to access a larger home loan.

The research successfully demonstrated and modelled the link between energy efficiency and household fuel bills, and created a new consumer calculator (www.epcmortgage.org.uk)

Loans will be administered by the Development Bank of Wales.

 The ‘LENDERS’ project included the analysis of 40,000 sets of property data, and was undertaken by a consortium of partners: Arup, BRE, Constructing Excellence Wales, the Energy Saving Trust, Nationwide Building Society, Principality Building Society, UCL Energy Institute and the UK Green Building Council. The new mortgage calculations will come into effect in Wales from next month.