What is the government ‘Mortgage Charter’?
If you’re worried about paying your mortgage, we’re here to help. We’re proud to support the government Mortgage Charter.
How the Mortgage Charter can help you
The Charter is a set of standards agreed by the government, mortgage lenders and regulators to help customers who are struggling to pay their mortgage.
- Get in touch with us for help and guidance. Talking to us about your concerns doesn’t affect your credit file. Visit our cost of living support page to get the help you need.
- Lock in a new mortgage deal with us 4 months before your current fixed rate deal ends without an affordability check. We’ll write to you before your deal ends to remind you of your options.
- Once you’ve accepted your new deal, you can change to a different deal or cancel the one you have already booked. You must do this at least 14 days before your new deal starts.
- Reduce your monthly payments if you’re up to date with them by:
- switching to interest only for 6 months, or
- increasing your mortgage term.
You can only choose one of these.
- From Monday 26 June 2023, if you miss a mortgage payment for the first time, we'll support you for at least 1 year before starting to repossess your home. And even then, it would be in exceptional circumstances.
If possible, we encourage you to keep making your mortgage payments. If you miss your payments (known as arrears), you'd still owe us the money. It would also affect your credit file.
I want to switch from a repayment mortgage to interest only for 6 months
Yes. In line with the Mortgage Charter, you can do this if you:
- are up to date with your monthly payments,
- currently live in your property, and
- have at least 12 months left on your mortgage term.
Other criteria may apply.
You can apply in Mobile or Online Banking, or by phone. We’ll let you know the impact on your mortgage and future monthly payments.
Things you need to know
- There’s no fee for doing this.
- Your monthly payment will go down for 6 months.
- After 6 months, your mortgage loan or loans will automatically go back to repayment (capital and interest).
- You’ll pay more interest over the term of your mortgage.
- We won't advise if it’s suitable for you or check if you can afford it.
- We won’t do a credit search, so it won’t show on your credit file. However, if you miss a payment or we agree a payment arrangement during the 6 months, we may share that information with the credit reference agencies.
- You cannot increase your mortgage term under the Charter if you choose to switch to interest only for 6 months.
- You may see updates in Mobile and Online Banking, your annual mortgage statement or other letters about paying back the capital at the end of the mortgage term. Please ignore this as it doesn’t apply to your temporary switch to interest only.
- You can request a new mortgage deal while your Charter switch to interest only is active. To do this, you need to call us on 0800 092 3881.
- You can also make overpayments while your Charter switch to interest only is active.
- You won't be able to make any other changes to your mortgage such as borrow more money while your Charter switch to interest only is active.
With a repayment mortgage, you pay back the money you borrowed (capital) and the interest by the end of the mortgage term.
With an interest only mortgage you only pay the interest, so the monthly payments are lower. You need to pay back the capital at the end of the mortgage term.
If you switch to interest only, your monthly payment will go down for 6 months. When you go back to repayment, it will be higher than it was before, as you won’t have paid back any capital for 6 months. You’ll pay more interest over the term of your mortgage.
Here’s an example based on a £150,000 mortgage at a 6.00% interest rate with 15 years until the mortgage ends.
Current monthly payment on repayment (capital and interest) | £1,266 |
Monthly payment on interest only | £750 |
Monthly payment after going back to repayment | £1,293 |
Extra interest to pay over the rest of the mortgage term | £1,605 |
Work out how this could affect your mortgage with our changes to my mortgage calculator
You can choose to apply in a way that suits you.
- Online – the easiest way to apply is on the mobile app or Online Banking. Log on, choose your mortgage account, then click ‘Manage my mortgage’. You can sign up for Online Banking if you haven’t already.
- By phone – call us on 0800 917 5630. We won't advise if it’s suitable for you or check if you can afford it. Please be aware it may take us longer than usual to answer your call.
If you apply online, we’ll email you to say we’ve received your request.
Whether you apply online or by phone, we’ll email you to confirm if we can switch your mortgage to interest only.
If we can do this, we’ll send you a letter with all the details including your new monthly payments. You’ll get this before your monthly payment reduces, so you can understand the impact on your mortgage.
The letter we send you confirms when the switch to interest only starts. If the date you applied is too close to your next payment date, your monthly payment will reduce from the following month. You’ll still get the 6-month interest only period you asked for.
Yes. You have a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel your request from the date on the letter confirming the switch to interest only and your new monthly payments. As long as your contractual monthly payment stays the same as before you switched to interest only, we’ll put your mortgage back to how it was. You won't pay extra interest.
If your next payment is lower than your contractual monthly payment, and you decide not to pay the extra amount, you’ll pay more interest over the rest of the mortgage term.
You can ask for one more Mortgage Charter change in the future if you cancel during the cooling-off period.
We’ll send you a letter confirming your request has been cancelled. This will arrive within 7 to 10 days.
After the cooling-off period, you can still cancel and go back to repayment during the 6-month period without an affordability check or credit search.
To cancel your request, please call us on 0800 783 9738.
After you’ve made your 5th monthly payment on interest only, we’ll send you:
an email (if we have your email address) the next day reminding you that your Mortgage Charter change is ending soon, and
a letter confirming when you’ll make your final 6th interest only payment and the date your payment will switch back to repayment.
After you’ve made your final 6th interest only payment, you’ll get another letter before your payment increases with your new monthly payments.
If you’re worried about your monthly payment going up when your Mortgage Charter change ends, visit our cost of living support page for more help.
Change my mortgage
Before you go ahead you may want to use our change my mortgage calculator. Estimate how much your mortgage payments might be if you changed your mortgage term, repayment method or interest rate.
Apply to switch to interest only for 6 months
Log on to Mobile or Online Banking, choose your mortgage account and then ‘Manage my mortgage’.
Get online
You can get instant access to Mobile and Online Banking using your account details. You’ll need to have the mobile phone number that's currently registered for One Time Passcodes (OTPs) with you.
Mobile and Online Banking log on details are the same.
You can also apply by calling us on 0800 917 5630. Lines are open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm Saturday.
I want to increase my mortgage term
Yes. In line with the Mortgage Charter, you can increase your mortgage term if:
- you’re up to date with your monthly payments,
- you currently live in your property,
- it will reduce your monthly payments, and
- the maximum term is 40 years.
Other criteria may apply.
You can apply in Mobile or Online Banking, or by phone. We’ll let you know the impact on your mortgage and future monthly payments.
Things you need to know
- There’s no fee for doing this.
- Your monthly payment will go down.
- After 6 months, your mortgage loan(s) won’t automatically go back to the original term.
- You’ll pay more interest over the term of your mortgage.
- We won't advise if it’s suitable for you or check if you can afford it.
- We won’t do a credit search, so it won’t show on your credit file. However, if you miss a payment or we agree a payment arrangement during the first 6 months, we may share that information with the credit reference agencies.
- You cannot switch to interest only for 6 months under the Charter if you choose to increase your mortgage term.
- You can request a new mortgage deal after your Charter term increase has started as long as you don't want to go back to your original term within the first 6 months. To do this, you need to call us on 0800 092 3881.
- You can also make overpayments while your Charter term increase is active.
- You won’t be able to make other changes to your mortgage such as borrow more money during the first 6 months. This is because you may decide to cancel your term increase and go back to your original term.
- During the first 6 months, if you decide to go back to your original mortgage term, there’s no affordability check or credit search, so it won’t show on your credit file. Please call us on 0800 783 9738 if you decide to do this.
Your monthly payment would go down as you’d be paying your mortgage back over a longer term. You’d pay more interest over the term of your mortgage.
Here’s an example based on a £150,000 repayment mortgage at a 6.00% interest rate with 15 years until the mortgage ends. This assumes you don’t go back to your original term.
Increase the term by... | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
Current monthly payment before the term increase | £1,266 | £1,266 | £1,266 |
New monthly payment | £1,137 | £1,075 | £966 |
Extra interest to pay over the longer term | £17,803 | £30,074 | £62,095 |
During the first 6 months, you can go back to your original mortgage term without an affordability check or credit search, so it won’t show on your credit file. Your monthly payment would be higher than it was before you increased the term. Please call us on 0800 783 9738 if you decide to do this.
If you decide to go back to your original term after 6 months, we’ll do an affordability check and credit search, so it’ll show on your credit file. If we agree your request, your monthly payment would be higher than it was before you increased the term
Work out how this could affect your mortgage with our changes to my existing mortgage calculator
You can choose to apply in a way that suits you.
- Online – the easiest way to apply is on the mobile app or Online Banking. Log on, choose your mortgage account, then click ‘Manage my mortgage’. You can sign up for Online Banking if you haven’t already.
- By phone – call us on 0800 917 5630. We won't advise if it’s suitable for you or check if you can afford it. Please be aware it may take us longer than usual to answer your call.
If you apply online, we’ll email you to say we’ve received your request.
Whether you apply online or by phone, we’ll email you to confirm if we can increase your mortgage term.
If we can do this, we’ll send you a letter with all the details including your new monthly payments. You’ll get this before your monthly payment reduces, so you can understand the impact on your mortgage.
The letter we send you confirms when the term increase starts. If the date you applied is too close to your next payment date, your monthly payment will reduce from the following month.
Yes. You have a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel your request from the date on the letter confirming the mortgage term increase and your new monthly payments. As long as your contractual monthly payment stays the same as before you increased your mortgage term, we’ll put your mortgage back to how it was. You won't pay extra interest.
If your next payment is lower than your contractual monthly payment, and you decide not to pay the extra amount, you’ll pay more interest over the rest of the mortgage term.
You can ask for one more Mortgage Charter change in the future if you cancel during the cooling-off period.
We’ll send you a letter confirming your request has been cancelled. This will arrive within 7 to 10 days.
After the cooling-off period, you can still cancel and go back to your original term during the 6-month period without an affordability check or credit search.
To cancel your request, please call us on 0800 783 9738.
If you want to keep your increased mortgage term, you don’t need to do anything.
After the 6th monthly payment, we’ll send you a letter reminding you that you can go back to your original term without an affordability check or credit search, so it won’t show on your credit file. Your monthly payment would be higher than it was before you increased the term. If you want to do this, please call us on 0800 783 9738 before your 7th payment date.
You can still ask to go back to your original term after this. As it would no longer be a Mortgage Charter request, we’d check if you could afford the monthly payments and do a credit search, which would show on your credit file. We may not be able to agree your request.
If you’re worried about making your monthly payment, visit our cost of living support page for more help.
Change my mortgage
Before you go ahead you may want to use our change my mortgage calculator. Estimate how much your mortgage payments might be if you changed your mortgage term, repayment method or interest rate.
Apply to increase my mortgage term
Log on to Mobile or Online Banking, choose your mortgage account and then ‘Manage my mortgage’.
Get online
You can get instant access to Mobile and Online Banking using your account details. You’ll need to have the mobile phone number that's currently registered for One Time Passcodes (OTPs) with you.
Mobile and Online Banking log on details are the same.
You can also apply by calling us on 0800 917 5630. Lines are open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm Saturday.
I’m coming to the end of my current mortgage deal and I’m worried that mortgage rates keep going up.
No. If you have a fixed rate deal you can lock in a new deal 4 months before your current deal ends. There’s no early repayment charge (ERC) to pay.
If your fixed rate deal ends in more than 4 months, you’ll need to pay the ERC to leave your current deal early.
If you’re on our Standard Variable Rate, Follow-on Rate or a tracker rate, you can get a new deal at any time without paying an ERC.
Things you need to know
- No affordability or income checks.
- No legal or valuation fees to pay.
- No new Direct Debit to set up.
- While you’re waiting for your new deal to start you cannot switch to interest only for 6 months or increase your mortgage term under the Charter.
- You also cannot make other changes to your mortgage such as making an overpayment, borrowing more money or starting the process of moving home with us.
You can choose to apply in a way that suits you.
- Mobile or Online Banking:- choose your mortgage account and click on ‘Manage my mortgage’. You can sign up for Online Banking if you haven’t already.
- If you don’t have Mobile or Online Banking, use our online mortgage transfer service
- Call us. Please be aware that our wait times may be longer than usual.
- Or talk to your Independent Financial Adviser or mortgage broker.
Once you’ve applied, we’ll send you updates by email on the progress of your application.
Yes, as long as the deal you’ve already booked hasn’t started yet. Remember current rates may not be lower than when you booked your deal.
You can check the current deals available to you as often as you like. If you want to change to a different deal or cancel the one you’ve already booked, you must do this at least 14 days before your new deal starts. Get in touch in the same way you applied initially.
- Mobile or Online Banking:- choose your mortgage account and click on ‘Manage my mortgage’. You can sign up for Online Banking if you haven’t already.
- If you don’t have Mobile or Online Banking, use our online mortgage transfer service
- Call us on 0800 068 6462. Please be aware that our wait times may be longer than usual.
- Or talk to your Independent Financial Adviser or mortgage broker.
Changing deals
Find out how to check what deal you're on, when you can change your deal and ways to apply.
Already have Online or Mobile Banking?
In the mobile app, choose your mortgage account
Or, in Online Banking, log on, then choose your mortgage account then 'Manage My Mortgage'.
Don't have Online or Mobile Banking?
Use our online mortgage transfer service.
You can also apply by calling us on 0800 092 3881. Lines are open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm Saturday.
I’m behind with my mortgage payments (in arrears)
If your mortgage is in arrears by any amount, we’re here to help. We'll work with you to discuss and agree the best solution for your situation. This might include an arrangement to pay over a number of months.
If you haven’t talked to us yet, please call us on 0800 085 1226 so we can help you get back on track.
Or you might prefer to speak to one of our partners who can offer free debt advice. Find out how to contact them on our independent help and support page.
If you've missed a payment on your mortgage, you cannot switch to interest only for 6 months or increase your mortgage term under the Mortgage Charter.
From Monday 26 June 2023, if you miss a mortgage payment for the first time, we'll support you for at least 1 year before starting to repossess your home. And even then, it would be in exceptional circumstances.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE
Applications are subject to status and lending criteria.