The Mortgage Charter
Ninety per cent of all UK mortgage lenders have signed up to the UK government’s ’Mortgage Charter’. This is a joint piece of work from the government, the FCA and mortgage lenders.
1In short, lenders have agreed the following.
•Anyone worried about their mortgage repayments can contact their lender for help and guidance, without any impact on their credit file, and we would encourage you to contact your bank, which is there to help.
•Lenders should provide support for customers who are up to date with payments to switch to a new mortgage deal at the end of their existing fixed rate deal without another affordability check.
•Lenders will provide well-timed information to help customers plan ahead should their current rate be due to end.
•Lenders will offer tailored support for anyone struggling and deploy highly trained staff to help customers. This could mean extending their term to reduce their payments, offering a switch to interest-only payments, but also a range of other options like a temporary payment deferral or part interest-part repayment. The right option will depend on the customer’s circumstances.
Taken together with the FCA guidance, there should be some room for negotiation with lenders for clients having difficulty paying their mortgages.