Mortgage portfolio standards
What does "Mortgage portfolio standards" mean under EPBD IV?
Mechanisms incentivising mortgage lenders to establish a path to increase the median energy performance of the portfolio of buildings covered by their mortgages towards 2030 and 2050, and to encourage potential clients to improve the energy performance of their property in line with the Union’s decarbonisation ambition and relevant energy targets in the area of energy consumption in buildings, relying on the criteria for determining environmentally sustainable economic activities set out in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852
Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852:
For the purposes of establishing the degree to which an investment is environmentally sustainable, an economic activity shall qualify as environmentally sustainable where that economic activity:
- (a) contributes substantially to one or more of the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 in accordance with Articles 10 to 16
- (b) does not significantly harm any of the environmental objectives set out in Article 9 in accordance with Article 17
- (c) is carried out in compliance with the minimum safeguards laid down in Article 18; and
- (d) complies with technical screening criteria that have been established by the Commission in accordance with Article 10(3), 11(3), 12(2), 13(2), 14(2) or 15(2).
Defined in / by
- EPBD IV (32024L1275), Article 2, point (39)
Last updated: 14 October 2026.
The term aimed at banks
This is the one definition in EPBD IV written about lenders rather than buildings. A mortgage portfolio standard is a mechanism that gives mortgage lenders an incentive to do two things: set a path to raise the median energy performance of the buildings their mortgages cover, towards 2030 and 2050, and encourage clients to improve their property. It relies on the EU Taxonomy criteria in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 for what counts as environmentally sustainable.
The definition describes a mechanism; it does not impose one. In the operative articles the term appears once, in Article 17(7), in a list of funding and financial tools that Member States must promote to mobilise investment, alongside energy efficiency loans and mortgages, energy performance contracting and pay-as-you-save schemes. Article 17(11) goes further on lending products: Member States must adopt measures that promote energy efficiency lending such as green mortgages and green loans, and make sure banks and other financial institutions receive information on financing opportunities.
So a bank is not, under EPBD IV itself, required to adopt a portfolio path. Whether a lender faces one depends on what its Member State builds on Article 17(7), and on separate rules on prudential and sustainability disclosure that this entry does not cover.
The median, not the average, is what the definition targets, which keeps a few very efficient buildings from masking the rest of the book.
Questions and answers
Do mortgage portfolio standards oblige banks to improve their portfolio?
Not under EPBD IV alone. The Directive defines the mechanism and, in Article 17(7), requires Member States to promote it among other financial tools. A duty on a lender would come from national measures.
Why does the definition refer to the EU Taxonomy?
It relies on Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 for the criteria that make an economic activity environmentally sustainable: substantial contribution, no significant harm, minimum safeguards and technical screening criteria.
Sources
Regulations
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD IV)
EPBD IV is Directive (EU) 2024/1275, the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The Netherlands put its first tranche into force on 29 May 2026 (Stb. 2026, 103), with duties staged to 2033: recharging points in existing car parks from 1 January 2027, solar and lighting control from 1 January 2028. Energy label D by 2030 is still a proposal.
NextSolar installations on new public and non-residential buildings above 250 m² (Article 10(3)(a))