Mortgage Rescue

Help with mortgage arrears

Due to the economic downturn, unemployment, changes in circumstances and an inability to re-mortgage the number of households in mortgage arrears continues to rise.

To assist homeowners in mortgage difficulty, central and local government have introduced various initiatives. If you are:

• struggling to meet your mortgage repayments 
• had an income shock, such as redundancy, reduction in hours of employment, or illness 
• worried about not being able to make future mortgage repayments 
• worried about losing your home

the Housing Options Service can offer you advice and assistance.

Practical actions you can take

Speak to your lender

Tell them about your circumstances. They may be able to help you by:

• changing the length and term of your mortgage 
• accepting reduced payments from you in the short-term, this could be making interest only payments or agreeing to pay less than the contractual monthly payments for a short while 
• adding any mortgage arrears to the amount you have already borrowed

You must speak to them as soon as you know you will not be able to make payments.

Are you claiming all the benefits you are entitled to?

• Find out if you are entitled to any benefits 
• If you have mortgage protection are you able to make a claim? 
• You may be entitled to get Support for Mortgage Interest 
• If your income has reduced notify the Tax Credits Office immediately as you may be entitled to increased Child and/or Working Tax Credit 
• Find out if you can claim Council Tax Reduction.

Look at your expenditure. Can you make cutbacks?

• Complete a budgeting sheet, detailing everything that you need to pay out each month 
• Prioritise! Mortgage payments, loans secured on the mortgage, council tax and utility bills should be paid before any other debts 
• If you owe money to credit cards, store cards and for unsecured loans (this list is not exhaustive) you can seek the help of a debt advisor. They may be able to renegotiate your payments 
• You can get help with managing your money and debt

What to do if your lender has taken re-possession

If the lender has already taken re-possession, it’s not too late to negotiate. You can get further help and advice from:

• Housing Options Service 
• Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)