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What Is the Equity Release Council?

The Equity Release Council (ERC) is the industry trade body for the equity release sector. It sets consumer protection standards that go beyond the minimum required by the FCA, and membership — for both lenders and advisers — signals a commitment to those higher standards. Understanding what the ERC is and what its membership means helps you make a more informed choice about the products and professionals you work with.

What the ERC is

The Equity Release Council was founded in 1991 — originally as SHIP (Safe Home Income Plans) — to establish minimum quality standards for equity release products at a time when the market was poorly regulated and consumer protections were weak. It has evolved considerably since then, but its core purpose remains the same: to raise standards in the equity release market above the regulatory floor set by the FCA.

The ERC is a voluntary membership organisation. Lenders, advisers, solicitors, and other professionals active in the equity release market can apply to become members. Membership is not automatic — firms must demonstrate that they meet the ERC's Standards before being admitted, and ongoing membership requires continued adherence.

The ERC publishes market data, conducts consumer research, engages with the FCA and government on policy matters, and runs events including the annual Leadership Symposium at which the regulator, industry leaders, and policymakers discuss the future of later-life lending.

The ERC Standards

The ERC Standards are the conditions that all member lenders must meet for their products to be described as ERC-approved. These standards sit above the FCA's regulatory minimum and provide additional consumer protections that are not legally required but that ERC members commit to as a condition of membership.

The core ERC product standards include:

No-negative-equity guarantee The total amount owed can never exceed the value of the property when it is sold. If the loan balance grows beyond the property's sale proceeds — for example, in a falling property market — the lender absorbs the shortfall. The estate is never liable for the difference.

Right to remain in the property Borrowers have a guaranteed right to remain in their property for life, or until they choose to move into long-term care. A lender cannot repossess the property for non-payment, because there are no monthly payments to miss.

Independent legal advice requirement Before any ERC-approved plan can complete, the borrower must receive independent legal advice from a solicitor acting solely in their interest — not the lender's. This ensures borrowers understand what they are signing before completion.

Portability ERC-approved plans must be portable — meaning the loan can transfer to a new property if the borrower moves, subject to the new property meeting the lender's criteria. Borrowers cannot be forced to repay simply because they wish to move.

Transparent product information Lenders must provide clear, standardised product information including a Key Facts Illustration (KFI) that shows the interest rate, projected loan balance, and costs in a consistent, comparable format.

The Consumer Charter

Alongside the product Standards, the ERC operates a Consumer Charter that sets out what borrowers can expect from ERC member advisers and lenders. The Charter covers the quality of the advice process, ongoing service standards, and how complaints should be handled.

For advisers, the Charter includes commitments around whole-of-market access, transparency on fees, thoroughness of fact-finding (including benefits checks), and the requirement to provide a written suitability report with any recommendation.

The Charter gives consumers a framework for what good practice looks like — and a basis for complaint if those standards are not met.

Why ERC membership matters to consumers

The practical significance of ERC membership is straightforward: products from ERC member lenders come with the Standards described above. Products from non-ERC-member lenders do not — and while they may still be FCA-regulated and perfectly legitimate, they do not carry the specific consumer protections the ERC Standards require.

For the no-negative-equity guarantee in particular, ERC approval is the key check. This guarantee is not a legal requirement under FCA rules — it is an ERC standard. Choosing an ERC-approved product means this protection is in place; choosing a non-ERC product means it may not be.

Similarly, working with an ERC member adviser means you can expect the higher standards of the Consumer Charter — not just the FCA's regulatory baseline. Given that the quality of advice has a direct impact on the product you end up with, this matters.

How to check ERC membership

The Equity Release Council maintains a public membership directory on its website (equityreleasecouncil.com). You can search for lenders, adviser firms, and solicitors to confirm their membership status.

It is also straightforward to ask directly: "Is this product ERC-approved?" and "Are you an ERC member adviser?" A clear yes or no is the appropriate answer. If an adviser or lender is uncomfortable with the question or gives a vague response, that is itself informative.

Note that ERC membership must be current — it is possible for a firm to have been a member in the past but to have lapsed. Checking the current directory is more reliable than taking a firm's word for it.

The ERC in 2026

The ERC's annual Leadership Symposium in June 2026 brought together the FCA, government representatives, and industry leaders to discuss the future of later-life lending. The FCA's formal Later Life Mortgages Market Study — a structured review of how the market functions and whether consumers are getting good outcomes — was a central topic.

The ERC's development of the "Retirement Compass: The Later Life Finance Index" (produced with Fairer Finance) represents a broader ambition to measure and improve later-life financial wellbeing — combining pension wealth and housing equity into a single picture of financial resilience for older UK homeowners.

The direction of travel in 2026 is towards higher standards, better-informed consumers, and closer alignment between the ERC's voluntary standards and the FCA's regulatory requirements. For consumers considering equity release, working with ERC-approved products and ERC member advisers now means accessing protections that are already ahead of where minimum requirements are heading.

For more on the regulatory landscape, see our news article on the Equity Release Council Leadership Symposium 2026.

ERC vs FCA: the key distinction

Aspect	FCA	Equity Release Council
Type of body	Statutory regulator (legal authority)	Industry trade body (voluntary membership)
Membership	Mandatory for all authorised firms	Voluntary — firms choose to join
No-negative-equity guarantee	Not required by FCA rules	Mandatory for all ERC-approved products
Right to remain in property	Not specifically required	Mandatory ERC standard
ILA requirement	Not mandated by FCA rules alone	Required for all ERC-approved completions
Consumer redress	Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)	ERC complaints process (in addition to FOS)
Scope	All regulated financial services	Equity release and later-life lending specifically

The FCA sets the legal floor; the ERC sets a higher bar above it. Both matter — but ERC membership is the additional assurance that the specific consumer protections most relevant to equity release are in place.

For more on FCA regulation of equity release, see our Q&A: is equity release regulated in the UK. For the full step-by-step process including the ILA requirement, see the equity release process step by step.

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