We’ve signed up to the government’s Mortgage Charter

This means we’ve agreed to work closely with the government to give mortgage customers the right support.

Mortgage Charter help and support

These options are available as part of the Mortgage Charter. They won’t impact your credit score.

Making interest only payments or extending your mortgage term will mean paying more interest overall. You should continue with your current monthly payments if you can manage them comfortably.

Please read through all the information provided about each option before applying for any of them.

Can't make your mortgage payments?

Switch to a new mortgage deal

Get peace of mind by securing a new fixed deal and switch as soon as possible or, start when your current deal comes to an end.

This might be suitable if you:

  • live in the mortgaged property and are up to date with your payments
  • have five months or less left on a fixed or tracker deal
  • are currently on a variable interest rate mortgage
  • haven’t got an application to make changes to your mortgage in progress.
Switching your deal

Make interest only payments

Make interest only payments for six months to reduce your monthly payment amount and help get your budget back on track.

This might be suitable if you:

  • are up to date with your payments and don’t have a Buy to Let mortgage
  • don’t already make interest only payments on all of your mortgage
  • aren’t currently taking a mortgage payment holiday
  • haven’t got an application to borrow more on your mortgage in progress.
Interest only payments

Extend your mortgage term

Extend your mortgage term to reduce your monthly payment amount and help you budget better for the long-term.

This might be suitable if you:

  • are up to date with your payments
  • are looking to reduce your monthly payments for a longer period of time
  • understand you’ll be paying your mortgage back later in life.
Extending your term

Should I make interest only payments or extend my mortgage term?

You can temporarily make interest only payments for a maximum of six months, to give you some time to get back on track with your budget. With a term extension, you could make reduced payments for longer. Both options mean you’ll pay back more overall, but a term extension could mean you’ll be paying your mortgage later on in life.

If you extend your mortgage term past your planned retirement age, we’ll need to ask you some questions about your income. You can choose to go back to your original term within the first six months without an affordability check.


  • Can I consider all three options?

    This will depend on your individual circumstances. Not every option might be suitable for you, and each option will have a different impact on your mortgage, so make sure you understand how they work.
     

    Which option should I select first?

    Again, this will depend on your individual circumstances. Before choosing any option, it’s important to think about the impact it will have on your mortgage by selecting it first. For example, if you’re on a variable interest rate mortgage, or your current fixed or tracker deal is coming to an end, you might want to think about switching to a new deal first. Any term extension or interest only payments made after that will be based on your new mortgage deal.
     

    If I take interest only fixed payments, can I still switch to a new mortgage deal and extend my term?

    Yes. Your interest only payments will be fixed for six months. If you choose to switch to a new mortgage deal or extend your term within these six months, your new deal will start as planned, although your payments won’t change until after your interest only payments have ended.

    Any changes in interest rate will apply to your mortgage, but not your payments. Once your reduced payment period comes to an end, we’ll write to confirm your new increased monthly payment amount and total mortgage cost, including any interest added because of interest rate changes.
     

    Can I extend my mortgage term while making interest only payments?

    Yes, although you might prefer to wait until the end of the interest only period, so you can figure things out properly once you’ve returned to full monthly payments on your new mortgage balance.


  • Mortgage details:

    Remaining balance: £200,000
    Remaining term: 25 years
    Interest rate: 5%
    Current monthly payment: £1169.18

    Interest only payments
    (for six months)

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    Extend term by five years

    Interest only payments (for six months)

    New monthly payment

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    £833.33 (for six months
    £1181.21 (after six months)

    Extend term by five years

    £1146.69

    £1073.64

    Interest only payments (for six months)

    Impact on monthly payment

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    £335.85 reduction (for six months)
    £12.03 increase (after six months)

    Extend term by five years

    £22.49 reduction

    £95.34 reduction

    Interest only payments (for six months)

    New mortgage term

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    25 years (remains the same)

    Extend term by five years

    26 years

    30 years

    Interest only payments (for six months)

    New total mortgage cost

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    £352,274

    Extend term by five years

    £357,766

    £386,512

    Interest only payments (for six months)

    Increase in total mortgage cost

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)

    £1520.50

    Extend term by five years

    £7012

    £35,758

    Interest only payments (for six months)


    New monthly payment

    £833.33 (for six months)
    £1181.21 (after six months)


    Impact on monthly payment

    £335.85 reduction (for six months)
    £12.03 increase (after six months)


    New mortgage term

    25 years (remains the same)


    New total mortgage cost

    £352,274


    Increase in total mortgage cost

    £1520.50

    Extend term by one year (minimum term extension)


    New monthly payment

    £1146.69


    Impact on monthly payment

    £22.49 reduction


    New mortgage term

    26 years


    New total mortgage cost

    £357,766


    Increase in total mortgage cost

    £7012

    Extend term by five years


    New monthly payment

    £1073.64


    Impact on monthly payment

    £95.34 reduction


    New mortgage term

    30 years


    New total mortgage cost

    £386,512


    Increase in total mortgage cost

    £35,758

    These examples are for illustrative purposes only and assume there are no other changes to the mortgage over the remaining term.

Cancelling an interest only payment arrangement

If you decide to cancel the payment arrangement before the six months comes to an end, you can let us know by completing our cancellation form.

Please remember, you can only apply once.

Cancelling a term extension in the first six months

You’ll be able to cancel your term extension in the first six months without us needing to do an affordability check by completing our cancellation form.

Can't make your mortgage payments?

We're here to help you figure this out. The sooner you get in touch to let us know, the more options you’ll have.

Get in touch

Dealing with financial difficulty

We've put together some guides to help you manage your money and understand the support available to you.

Help with money worries

You could lose your home if you don’t keep up your mortgage repayments