If you’re struggling to meet your mortgage repayments there’s a range of government schemes that offer help. These include the Mortgage Rescue scheme, Support for Mortgage Interest, and other government benefits that might boost your income.
To find out how much you can afford to borrow use our Mortgage affordability calculator.
If you are having trouble paying for your mortgage, your first step should always be to contact your lender.
They want to help you to meet repayments.
Your lender is able to discuss your options with you and can offer suggestions, including:
If you’re anxious about being unable to meet repayments, there are plenty of advice services which provide guidance for free.
These include Shelter, National Debtline and StepChange Debt Charity.
If you’re struggling with money, you can talk to someone today, online, by phone or face to face. We have specially trained advisers who can help you start sorting out your financial problems.
Find free, confidential advice now using our free debt advice locator tool.
This scheme is no longer available.
Some local authorities and housing associations in Wales operate mortgage rescue schemes (MRS) to help homeowners avoid mortgage repossession if it is likely that otherwise the homeowner will be homeless.
The Scottish Government provides some support to homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage through its Home Owners’ Support Fund.
The fund operates two schemes which homeowners could apply for:
If you’re claiming a benefit such as income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support or Universal Credit you might be able to claim help with your mortgage interest payments. This is called Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) and is offered as a repayable loan.
If you’re getting Universal Credit and you’re struggling to pay your mortgage, you might be able to get help with your interest payments.
You will only qualify for this if you have no ‘earned income’, such as pay from part-time or full-time work, and you don’t get any benefits from your employer such as Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity Pay.
If you do qualify for help, the payments will usually be made direct to your mortgage lender and will be based on a set rate of interest applied to the amount you have outstanding on your mortgage (up to a maximum of £200,000).
You start to get this after a 3-month waiting period and the payments will stop as soon as you start work again, even if you’re only earning a small amount.
It’s worth checking if you’re entitled to benefits to help boost your income to meet mortgage payments.
Check your income and outgoings with our Budget planner to help you.
Follow the links below to work out your monthly income and outgoings and to see if there are any cost cutting tips you could use to help free up cash at the end of each month. Every little will help.
This article is provided by the Money Advice Service.