GREEN is in. And that doesn’t mean just recycling a few wine bottles, it means buying eco-friendly everything — including houses.

But if you fancy owning an eco home you may be out of luck. Housebuilders could stop offering prospective buyers freeholds on newly built, eco-friendly homes in an attempt to meet government targets, reports Building (Jan 26).

By offering only a lease to householders, developers can compel them to use specific, eco-friendly electricity suppliers, which will mean the homes meet government targets on reducing carbon emissions.

Under proposals announced by the Communities Secretary, Ruth Kelly, all new homes in England will have to be carbon neutral by 2016 — and as an extra incentive to buyers, Gordon Brown’s PreBudget Report announced that the homes will be exempt from stamp duty.

But Building says that two “top house builders” commissioned lawyers to investigate how buyers could be made to use green electricity — and both teams concluded that binding residents through leases was the only way. But if that sounds prescriptive, there is a possible loophole, says Brian Mark, the director of Fulcrum Consulting, an environmental engineer.

Developers will have to build and run their own networks to supply residents with electricity — but under EU energy rules, once the system is set up, the owner is obliged to offer its use to other suppliers. So theoretically, zero carbon development residents could be supplied with cheaper, nonrenewable energy.

But the news could still come as a blow to wannabe eco-home residents. Annette Stowe tells Inside Housing (Jan 26) that she loves her green home, which is owned by a southeast London housing association. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” she says.

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