Mortgage payment support

If we notice that you may be having difficulty keeping up with your mortgage payments and haven’t reached out to us, we’ll get in touch to offer support.

Repossession is always a last resort. Our priority is to explore all available options to help you get back on track.

Understanding your situation

We’ll take the time to listen to you so we can see what support would be most suitable. It’s likely we will request further information or documents from you, such as bank statements, so we can fully understand your finances. We will then explain what we can do to help, which could include:

• Change your payment date or how you make your payments to us.
• Agree to an underpayment or suspend your payments for a brief period of time.
• Allow a payment holiday, if you have previously made overpayments.
• Extend the mortgage term (length) for a brief period of time.
• Pay the interest only, if you have a repayment (capital and interest) mortgage for a brief period of time.
• Refer you to one of our mortgage advisers, if we think you could be on a better interest rate.
• Recommend 3rd party support to help you with your specific circumstances.  If we do we will explain why.

There may be other options we can consider that aren’t shown in the list above.

Ensuring fair treatment

If applicable, we will ensure we will:

• Talk to a debt-advice agency, if you want us to, about your payment arrangements if you have sought their advice.
• Give you reasonable time to repay your debt.
• Use a solution that is suitable to your situation and best for all those involved.
• Keep you up to date on what's happening with your morgage account.
• Give you time to consider your options and any arrangements we offer.
• Only start proceedings to repossess your home if we have exhausted all other options. 
• As part of any arrangement we make, we need a little more information from you about your current budget. This will allow us to get a better understanding of your financial situation and ensure that what we can offer you is affordable.

Being proactive, open, and honest about your situation helps us tailor an arrangement that better suits your needs. Here are some practical steps you can take:

1. Maximise your income - check if you're receiving all the benefits you're entitled to. If you're working part-time, consider whether increasing your hours is an option.

2. Reduce your spending - review your expenses and see where you can cut back. Even small changes—like dining out less often or cancelling unused subscriptions—can make a difference.

3. Prioritise your debts - if you're struggling with other payments, it's important to seek debt advice and focus on your priority debts first. For free, independent debt advice, contact the Money Adviser Network. If you're self-employed or a business owner, reach out to Business Debtline at 0800 197 6026.

4. Keep us informed  - let us know as soon as you anticipate any difficulty making payments. Keep us updated on your situation and any support you're receiving. Also, please inform us if your contact details change.

5. Share the information we request - we may ask for details about your financial situation. You can securely share this using Open Banking through consents.online, which gives us a snapshot of your current account—just like logging into your online banking. Click here to share your information using consents.online
If you have questions, please visit our FAQ section or get in touch with us directly.

Taking the first step by contacting us means we can start helping you today.

Just talking to us about payment difficulties does not affect your credit rating in any way. 

How we report mortgage arrears to credit reference agencies

At the end of each calendar month, we report mortgage accounts with arrears (missed or overdue payments) to credit reference agencies. If the arrears are equal to or greater than your usual monthly payment, we’ll report how many months the account is behind.

Example: If your monthly mortgage payment is £500 and you owe £1,500, we’ll report your account as being 3 months in arrears.

If you have a payment arrangement

If we’ve agreed on a financial arrangement with you, your account will be reported as “in an arrangement” for the duration of that agreement. Once it ends, your account will be reported as either up to date or in arrears, depending on your payment status at that time.

How this affects your credit report

These updates stay on your credit file for six years. They may impact your credit rating (credit score), especially in the short term. Over time, the impact lessens, as lenders tend to focus more on your recent credit history.

Improving your credit rating

If you repay the arrears and keep up with future payments, your credit rating should gradually improve. For more guidance, visit StepChange, a free and independent debt advice charity.

If you have a leasehold or shared ownership property, you will have to pay other charges related to your property, which take the same priority as your mortgage payments. These include:

• Service charges – paid to your housing association/management company for the services they provide, including cleaning communal areas, general maintenance, or repairs to the building.
• Ground rent – this is the payment you make to the freeholder of the land on which your property is built.
• Rent – if you are a shared ownership owner, you pay your housing association rent for the part of the property they own.

If you think you will struggle to make these payments, or if you have failed to pay them previously, you should contact your housing association as soon as possible. You may be able to work out an arrangement to become up to date with your payments. 

If you fail to contact your housing association, freeholder or management company, they will contact us as your mortgage provider to pay the shortfall. To prevent forfeiting your lease and safeguard our security on the property, we will pay the amount needed to keep your account up to date. This incurs extra costs for you. We will add the rent payment to your mortgage account, along with administrative fees. Because the rent arrears payment is added to your mortgage account, it will incur daily interest on top of your mortgage, making it more expensive overall.

We will contact you and try to organise an arrangement (alongside your mortgage payments) to bring your account up to date, but it is always better to see if you can agree on a payment plan directly with your housing association. It is important to talk to them to see what they can do to help, rather than rely on your mortgage provider to make the payments for you.

If we cannot agree on a solution or if you fail to maintain your arrangement with us, we may have no other option but to start legal action. Repossession is always a last resort, and we will always try to come to an arrangement with you to get your mortgage back on track. However, if all options have been exhausted, we will:

• We will inform you in good time that we intend to proceed with legal action and give you the opportunity to bring your account up to date.

• We encourage you to attend court and take independent debt advice.

• Repossession may not necessarily happen. We will continue to find a solution with you, and repossession is always the last resort.

• If repossession does happen, we encourage you to contact your local authority to see if they can help you find a new place to live.

If we do repossess your home:

• We will sell it for the best price we can reasonably get and try to sell it as quickly as possible.
• We will give you time to take your possessions from your home.
• Any money left over from the sale will be passed on to you.

It may be possible that the sale of your home does not cover the amount needed to pay off your mortgage - this is called a shortfall. If this happens:

• We will let you know as soon as possible so that we can organise a way for you to pay it back.
• Every borrower is liable for the shortfall – even if you only paid part of the mortgage.
• We will consider your income and expenditure to organise a payment plan.
• Details of any unpaid shortfall will be passed on to credit reference agencies which may affect your borrowing in the future.

The Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS) is a government-funded scheme providing free early legal advice on housing and debt to those at risk of repossession proceedings and/or losing their home. You can find your nearest HLPAS provider on the government's 'find a legal aid adviser' webpage.

Other things to consider

Some companies may offer you loans or invite you to sell your property to them and lease it back to you to solve your financial problems. Some companies also offer to create a budget and organise your finances for a fee. Please be careful, as these may not be in your best interests. You can always seek free, independent advice before entering into any arrangement that is proposed to you.

You may also consider handing over your keys to us. Please consider this option thoroughly, as you will still have to pay your monthly mortgage payments until the property is sold and it may affect your ability to secure local authority housing. If the property is sold for less than you owe, you will still have to pay the shortfall. 

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) launched a 'help with cost-of-living guidance' section on their website to help people manage their money in uncertain times. These resources and tools are aimed at people who: 

• Are struggling to keep on top of their bills and payments.
• Have experienced a reduction in income or squeezed budgets.
• Are self-employed.
• Have been or are worried about being made redundant or losing their job.

We’ve partnered with Money Adviser Network (MAN) to support those who are struggling with their other debts or have already fallen behind. If you have personal debts and you're not self-employed, the MAN can link you to an available debt adviser from one of their partner services to provide you with independent, free, debt advice. 

Debt and money management support oragnisations 

• Money Helper which helps provide advice on personal debt and will link you with an available debt adviser from one of their partner organisations. 

• StepChange (0800 138 111 and online webchat) provides free, confidential and expert advice on personal debts.

• Business Debtline (0800 197 6026 and online webchat) – if you’re self-employed this charity provides free, independent, and expert advice.

• StopLoanSharks - If you have borrowed from a loan shark or are worried about someone else, contact StopLoanSharks can provide emotional and practical support.

Maximise your benefits

• Turn2Us – a free service to help you check you’re receiving all the benefits you can.

• Entitledto – a free service aiming to make benefits easier to understand with a calculator and budgeting tools.

Mental health support organisations 

• Mind (0300 123 3393) – a charity providing support and information for those living with mental health problems.

• Mental Health & Money Advice – an online advice service designed to help people understand, manage, and improve mental health and finances.

Other support organisations 

• Citizens Advice Bureau – a nationwide charity with local centres providing help on money, debt, housing, work, and more.

• GamCare (with online webchat) – the leading provider of information, advice, and support for anyone affected by gambling.

• Gingerbread - a national charity supporting single-parent families.

• Refuge (with online webchat at certain times) – a charity providing confidential support for women who are victims of domestic abuse.

• Respect (with online webchat at certain times) – a charity providing confidential support for men who are victims of domestic abuse.

If you believe that we have not treated you fairly, you have the right to complain. You can visit our complaints policy page for more information.

If you believe your complaint has not been dealt with adequately, you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman, who can be contacted at: 

The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR Tel: 0800 0234567

Please remember it is always better to contact us as soon as you realise you may be having trouble paying your mortgage. We are here to help and arrange a plan of action to help you stay on track with your mortgage.