Will the mortgage last as long as the house?. The Modern Masonry Alliance welcomes the move by Abbey to lengthen the terms of mortgage loan periods to as long as 60 years. It hopes that it will bring new buyers into the market for new properties and thereby help to stimulate the market.

The move also raises a question about the design life of new homes.

By convention, mortgage lenders look for a design life that is at least twice as long as the length of the mortgage loan period i.e 50 to 60 years.

That convention is already threatened by the shorter lives of some developments built with Modern Methods of Construction such as Murray Grove where a 30 year design life was used.

The convention is there for a reason - it ensures that there is a valuable asset is in place well beyond the period when the loan is paid off.

The MMA now believes it is reasonable to introduce a 120 year design life for new homes.

Not only does this tie in with the trend to longer mortgage periods such as those brought in by Abbey but it also supports the calls for a more sustainable approach to house design.

In its submissions to the consultation on the Code for Sustainable Homes the MMA has consistently called for the design life to be doubled from 60 to 120 years for all materials and systems as part of the move to setting performance standards.

Now the Abbey has set the lending community onto a new path it is time for the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the drafters of the Code for Sustainable Homes to support them and insist on a longer design life of a minimum 120 years.