"Landlords are increasingly targeting properties with higher energy efficiency with one eye on the new EPC rules expected to come into force in October 2030"
- Louisa Sedgwick - Paragon Bank.
Green buy-to-let lending increased strongly at Paragon Bank during the first half of its financial year, as landlords continued to target more energy-efficient properties ahead of expected EPC changes in 2030.
The lender reported £435.7m of new lending on properties with EPC ratings of A to C during the six months to 31 March 2026. That represented a 7.7% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
As a result, energy-efficient properties made up a larger share of new business. EPC A-C homes accounted for 56.4% of Paragon's buy-to-let lending in the period, compared with 49.9% during the first half of the 2025 financial year.
The figures were published as part of Paragon's half-year results, which also showed growth across its wider mortgage business.
The bank increased its mortgage loan book by 2.9% to £14.1bn during the six-month period, supported by £773.7m of new buy-to-let lending. Its pipeline of new buy-to-let mortgages stood at £718.9m at the end of March, 8.6% higher than a year earlier.
At the same time, annualised redemptions remained low at 8.0%.
"Landlords are increasingly targeting properties with higher energy efficiency with one eye on the new EPC rules expected to come into force in October 2030," said Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank.
"We launched our green mortgages six years ago, offering preferential pricing for EPC A-C properties, and have recently relaunched our new build proposition to cater for landlords acquiring new homes."
Paragon also reported continued strong performance across its existing buy-to-let portfolio.
Three-month arrears stood at 0.50% at the end of March, below the wider buy-to-let market. Industry data from UKF showed arrears across the sector at 0.65% as of 31 March 2026.
The results suggest landlords are continuing to prioritise energy-efficient investments, while maintaining strong repayment performance despite ongoing regulatory and economic pressures facing the private rented sector.
