What has been announced
On 8 October 2026 the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, launched the North East Warm Homes Loan, a £1 million scheme run by the community lender Lendology CIC. The authority's announcement says it is for "insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, energy-efficient windows and doors", for people who need affordable finance to meet some or all of the cost. Registrations of interest opened that day and full applications opened on 22 October.
That matters because most help with energy bills skips windows. The national Warm Homes Loan Scheme names windows and doors among the costs it will not cover, as we reported when councils started closing the Warm Homes Local Grant. Northumberland, one of the seven areas this loan covers, has already closed its grant for 2026/27. For a North East household that cannot get a grant, this loan is one of the few public schemes that names glazing outright.
The terms, from the scheme itself
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Amount | £2,000 to £25,000 |
| Interest | 2% fixed (2.2% APR) |
| Term | Up to 10 years |
| Early repayment | No charge |
| Example | £5,000 over 5 years: £87.64 a month |
| Security | Usually a Title Restriction |
The example repays £5,278.33 in total, including a £20 Land Registry fee. The amount you are offered depends on Lendology's affordability and credit checks.
To put the ceiling in window terms: the top of the range in our cost by house size guide is £16,500, for a detached house with 12 to 16 windows, so £25,000 covers a whole-house uPVC job with room to spare. The limit that will bind most people is not the ceiling but what Lendology judges you can afford to repay each month.
Who can apply
You can apply if you own and live in the home, or if you are a landlord, and the property has an eligible postcode in one of the seven council areas: County Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside or Sunderland. The authority says the scheme has a particular focus on households in or at risk of fuel poverty and on private rented homes, and that it is meant for people who cannot get grant funding or whose grant does not cover the full cost.
Being retired or on a low income does not rule you out. Lendology says it assesses income, essential spending and existing credit, using Open Banking to read your bank statements, plus a credit search. Landlords are also asked about other financial help they have received, to check the scheme's subsidy rules. If you let property, our guide to double glazing and the 2030 EPC C rules explains where windows fit in a landlord's upgrade plan.
How it works, step by step
- Apply online or by phone on 01823 461099.
- Share bank statements through Open Banking for the affordability check.
- Lendology runs a credit search and reviews the application.
- You get a conditional offer, valid for six months.
- You send quotes from your chosen installer. Two are recommended.
- The loan amount is finalised and you sign the agreement.
- Work starts. Deposits can be paid up front if the installer needs one.
- Lendology releases the money against the installer's invoice.
There is no approved installer list, so you choose your own. Lendology recommends checking the installer holds the right accreditation for the job, and for replacement windows in England that means a competent-person scheme such as FENSA, which our FENSA guide explains.
Is it better than installer finance?
It depends on the cash price, not the rate alone. Much of the finance offered at the kitchen table is arranged by the installer acting as a credit broker, and a 0% deal can cost more than paying cash if the price on credit is higher. Our guide to double glazing finance covers how that works and the Section 75 protection that comes with paying on credit. A 2% fixed loan from a community lender is a different product, and the point in its favour is that the price you are quoted is the cash price, because the installer is not arranging the money.
Check grants first, as Lendology itself advises. The Warm Homes: Local Grant pays rather than lends, and our grant eligibility checker takes about a minute.
This is one of the very few public loans that names windows outright. If you live in the area and a grant is off the table, price the job first, get two written quotes, and only then apply, so the offer is sized to a real number rather than a guess.
Double Glazing Cost Calculator Team
What to do next
Start with a price. Our uPVC window cost calculator gives a range for your house, and the Newcastle double glazing prices page shows how the North East compares with the national average. Lendology will want quotes before it confirms an offer, and you can request quotes from local installers here.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Lendology, which runs the scheme, lists double and triple glazed windows and doors among the eligible works, and the North East Mayor's announcement names energy-efficient windows and doors. New gas boilers and other fossil-fuel measures are the exclusion.
The seven councils of the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority: County Durham, Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. The property you want to improve has to have an eligible postcode in one of them.
From £2,000 to £25,000 at a 2% fixed interest rate, Representative 2.2% APR, over up to 10 years with no early repayment charge. Lendology's representative example is £5,000 over 60 months at £87.64 a month, £5,278.33 in total including a £20 Land Registry fee.
No. The national Warm Homes Loan Scheme names windows and doors among the costs it does not cover. This is a separate £1 million regional scheme from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority and Lendology CIC, and it does cover glazing.
Lendology says its loans are typically protected by one. It means you may not be able to sell your home without Lendology's permission unless the loan is fully repaid. It is not a mortgage, but it does tie the debt to the property, so read the agreement before you sign.
Not to register interest. Before Lendology confirms a formal offer it needs a quotation for the work, and it recommends two where practical, although one may be accepted. It also advises not paying a contractor until the loan agreement is signed.