The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has welcomed the Government-backed Warm Homes Loan Scheme, highlighting the importance of affordable finance, consumer confidence and straightforward customer journeys in helping households invest in cleaner, more energy-efficient homes.
The scheme is designed to support participating lenders in offering lower-cost finance for eligible home improvements, including heat pumps, solar panels and battery storage.
The FLA is a member of the Green Home Finance Strategic Partnership Steering Group, helping to shape the wider work supporting the Warm Homes Plan and bringing the practical experience of specialist consumer finance providers to discussions about its design and delivery.
A particular focus has been the customer journey, with the FLA co-leading this work with innovation foundation Nesta to help ensure that consumers can understand their financial options and navigate the process from considering an improvement through to financing and installation.
The FLA and Nesta are also developing an interactive consumer guide to help households understand the technologies and financing options available, the questions they should ask and the considerations involved in making informed decisions. It will distinguish installation costs, borrowing costs and estimated energy savings.
Shanika Amarasekara MBE, Chief Executive of the Finance & Leasing Association, said:
"Finance powers the real economy. It helps people make important investments in their lives, and it has a critical role to play in making the UK's transition to cleaner energy affordable and achievable.
"We welcome the Government's recognition that private finance can help deliver its Warm Homes ambitions. But making finance cheaper is only part of the answer. The real test of this scheme will be how easy it is for households to turn the ambition of a warmer, more energy-efficient home into reality.
"The FLA has been closely involved in helping to shape this work through the steering group. Together with Nesta, we have placed particular emphasis on the customer journey, because consumers need a clear, straightforward route from understanding the improvements available to arranging appropriate finance and having the work completed.
"We are also developing an interactive consumer guide to help people understand their options and make informed decisions.
"Our experience in motor finance offers an important perspective. The UK's transition to electric vehicles demonstrates how finance can help consumers adopt new technologies. In the first nine months of 2026, more than 450,000 new fully electric cars were registered in the UK. There is an opportunity to apply lessons from that transition to the electrification of our homes.
"But we also know that affordability alone will not guarantee success. Households need confidence in the technology, the installers, the potential benefits and the financing arrangements.
"Our members have identified practical issues that will need continued attention, including how finance is integrated with the installation process, how responsibilities are allocated between lenders and installers, and how the scheme can be delivered efficiently without unnecessary complexity. This includes managing the transition for customers who have already arranged finance and are awaiting installation, to avoid unnecessary cancellations or delays.
"A successful scheme must work for the household making the investment and for the lenders and installers expected to deliver it.
"The opportunity here is bigger than an individual loan scheme. If we get the design right, we can help create a sustainable market for financing household energy improvements, mobilising private investment alongside Government support and making the transition accessible to more people.
"The FLA looks forward to continuing its work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Nesta and industry partners to help deliver that ambition."
