If you’ve not taken a mortgage payment holiday yet, you have until 31 October 2020 to apply for one.
A payment holiday, or payment deferral as they are also called, is a period of time agreed with your lender, when you don’t have to make mortgage payments. A partial payment holiday is when your lender lets you make reduced payments.
Payment holidays are designed to help you if you’re finding it hard to make payments – in this case because of coronavirus.
If you’ve already taken a payment holiday, but are still struggling with your payments, you also have until 31 October 2020 to apply for another payment holiday or partial payment holiday.
Both a payment holiday and a partial payment holiday are temporary, and you’ll still have to pay back the outstanding amount at a later date. Interest will also continue to build during this time – unless your lender has told you otherwise – and your repayments may be higher after the payment holiday. You are likely to end up paying more in the long term.
If you find you’re in a better financial position than you had expected at the start of your payment holiday, then you can avoid extra costs by paying what you can.
Remember:
- if you can afford to repay your mortgage, it’s in your best interests to do so
- it’s only a payment holiday if it has been agreed with your lender
- you should not cancel your direct debit without speaking to your lender first
- cancelling your direct debit is not a payment holiday and will be counted as a missed payment. This could show up in your credit file and affect your credit score, which may impact your ability to remortgage
Source: FCA: Financial Conduct Authority
