Contact your current lender now, before you miss a payment. Tell it when your deal ends, what the new payment is expected to be, what your household budget can actually sustain and whether you have missed anything already. Ask for a same-lender deal and a tailored-support review, including a term extension, temporary interest-only payments or another short-term arrangement. Before accepting any option, obtain the payment now, the payment later, the total amount repayable, fees, term and credit-file treatment in writing.
If a payment is already at risk, contact the lender’s arrears or hardship team and obtain free debt advice promptly. The sooner you engage, the more options are normally available.
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What to do today
- Find the exact deal-end date. Check your mortgage offer, annual statement or lender portal. Ask when a replacement rate can be secured and when it would begin.
- Make a realistic budget. List take-home income, essential household costs, debts, insurance and any payments already missed. The affordable figure is what remains after essential spending, not what a lender’s calculator says you could theoretically borrow.
- Call the lender before the payment changes. Explain plainly that the proposed payment is unaffordable. Ask to speak to a mortgage-support, vulnerability or arrears specialist if the frontline team cannot assess your situation.
- Request illustrations for every option. Get the monthly payment, end date, payment after a temporary arrangement, total amount payable, fees, early-repayment charges and credit-reporting treatment.
- Get independent help if necessary. Free debt advice is appropriate as soon as a payment may be missed; you do not need to wait for several missed instalments.
What happens when a fixed or discounted deal ends
If you have not arranged another rate, the mortgage normally moves automatically to the lender’s reversion rate, often called a standard variable rate (SVR). This is typically higher than the introductory fixed or discounted rate, so the payment can rise sharply even when the loan balance has not changed.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says mortgage offers generally remain valid for three to six months, depending on the lender. That can allow you to secure a replacement deal before the existing one expires. Ask the lender exactly how long its offer lasts, whether the new rate can be reserved, and whether an early-repayment charge applies if the old deal has not yet ended.
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Rates, eligibility and fees are personal to the borrower. An advertised rate is not a guarantee that you qualify, and a payment estimate based on a different balance or term may be misleading.
Mortgage Charter protections and their limits
HM Treasury’s Mortgage Charter, published on 26 March 2026, covers participating lenders and regulated residential mortgages. It does not apply to buy-to-let mortgages. The charter’s commitments are not a universal entitlement: your lender, mortgage status, payment history and the support you request determine what is available.
At the 26 March 2026 meeting, participating lenders represented 75% of the mortgage market. HM Treasury later described the lenders reaffirming the charter as representing approximately 90% of the market. Lenders present also committed to proactively contact about 1.6 million customers whose fixed-rate deals were due to end between the announcement and the end of 2026. These are dated descriptions of market coverage and planned outreach, not a count of borrowers who cannot afford their new payments.
The charter’s core message is early contact. It states that seeking support and engaging with your lender will not affect your credit score, while earlier engagement gives the lender more opportunity to help. That protection concerns seeking support; the reporting of an arrangement that changes your contractual payment must still be confirmed for your specific case.
Compare the available routes
Take a new deal with your existing lender
An up-to-date borrower can generally switch to a new product with the same lender without a fresh affordability assessment, unless they want to borrow more. Exceptions can apply. Under the 2026 charter, participating lenders reaffirmed this route for eligible borrowers coming to the end of a fixed-rate deal.
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A same-lender transfer can be simpler and faster than moving your mortgage. Compare the actual rate, monthly payment, product fee, term, early-repayment charge and total cost over the period you are comparing. Ask whether the rate is fixed, discounted or variable and what happens when it ends.
Move to another lender
Switching lender usually involves an affordability assessment and may require evidence of income, spending, debts and property value. A different lender may offer a lower rate, but the application can take longer and may fail if your income, credit record, loan-to-value ratio or circumstances have changed.
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Extend the mortgage term
Spreading a repayment mortgage over more years normally lowers the monthly payment because less capital is repaid each month. The trade-off is a longer period of interest and a higher total amount repaid. Ask for an illustration using your current balance and for the effect of returning to the original term later.
The charter describes a one-off option for an up-to-date borrower to extend the term and reverse to the original term within six months by contacting the lender. Confirm that your lender participates, that you meet its conditions and how the reversal will alter the payment.
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Use temporary interest-only payments
With interest-only payments, you pay the interest but none of the mortgage capital. The balance therefore remains due, and the payment can rise when the temporary period ends because the remaining capital must be repaid over a shorter period.
For an eligible up-to-date borrower, the charter specifies a one-off six-month switch to interest-only. It says that this specified option can be used without a new affordability check or credit-score impact. Ask the lender to confirm the start and end dates, the payment during the period, the payment afterwards and how the balance will be cleared.
A permanent interest-only mortgage requires a credible repayment plan. The FCA says a possible inheritance, an unspecified bonus or hoping that house prices rise is not a credible plan. You would need a demonstrable source, such as an appropriate investment or a planned sale, accepted under the lender’s rules.
Consider part-interest, part-repayment or a payment deferral
A part-interest, part-repayment arrangement reduces the capital being repaid for a period while continuing some repayment. A temporary payment deferral can provide short-term breathing space but normally leaves more to pay later. Availability, duration and eligibility vary by lender; these arrangements are not automatically available simply because a deal is ending.
Ask for tailored support if you are already struggling
Lenders can consider individual arrangements such as a revised term, temporary interest-only payments, part-interest and part-repayment or another sustainable plan. Borrowers already in arrears should continue working with the lender rather than assuming that a standard charter option applies.
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Compare each option on the same measures
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What is the payment now? | Shows whether the arrangement fits after essential costs. |
| What is the payment when support ends? | Temporary relief can create a sharp later increase. |
| How much capital remains? | Interest-only or deferred payments leave more debt outstanding. |
| What is the total amount payable? | A lower monthly payment can cost more overall through extra interest. |
| How long does it last and can it be reversed? | Flexibility matters if income improves or the rate changes. |
| Is a new affordability check required? | Same-lender support may avoid one; a new lender usually will not. |
| Are there fees or early-repayment charges? | Charges can outweigh a lower interest rate. |
| How will payments be reported? | An agreed reduction may be recorded differently from a charter option for an eligible up-to-date borrower. |
Ask for figures based on your own balance, remaining term and rate. Generic examples cannot show the cost of your mortgage.
Credit-file treatment: what is and is not protected
Simply asking the lender for help does not affect your credit file. The treatment changes when you agree an arrangement. The FCA says an agreement to pay less than the contractual amount may be reflected on your credit file.
The 2026 charter says its specified six-month options for eligible up-to-date borrowers—such as the temporary interest-only switch or qualifying term extension—will not affect the credit score. That does not mean every payment reduction is covered. Before agreeing, ask the lender to state in writing whether it will report the arrangement, which months it covers and whether normal reporting resumes afterwards.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If a payment is at risk or has already been missed
Contact the lender immediately
Tell the lender the date and amount of any missed payment and what you can pay. Ask for the arrears or hardship team and keep a record of names, dates and agreed actions. Do not ignore letters, calls or secure messages.
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Get free debt advice
Free debt advisers can help you prepare an income-and-expenditure statement, deal with the lender and assess other debts or benefits. Advice is most useful before arrears escalate, and you do not have to wait until court papers arrive.
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Understand the repossession position
The FCA says a lender should not start repossession action unless all reasonable attempts to resolve the position have failed. If no sustainable repayment plan can be agreed, court action may still follow. Treat formal lender and court correspondence as urgent, attend any hearing and obtain advice immediately.
The charter says participating lenders will not force a borrower to leave without consent within less than a year from the first missed payment, except in exceptional circumstances. This is not permission to delay contact, nor a guarantee that you can remain indefinitely if the mortgage cannot be made sustainable.
Offers and schemes to avoid
The FCA warns against paying for promissory notes that claim to cancel a mortgage debt. Such documents do not remove the contractual debt.
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Be cautious with quick-sale proposals. Selling under pressure can leave you with substantially less equity than an ordinary sale. Sale-and-rent-back firms must be authorised by the FCA; check the firm using the FCA Firm Checker and obtain independent guidance before signing.
Do not pay an intermediary that promises to erase arrears, stop all payments or guarantee a lender will accept a proposal. Ask exactly what regulated service is being provided, what it costs and what happens if the lender rejects it.
Prepare a useful lender call
Have these details in front of you:
- deal end date and current rate;
- expected reversion rate or payment, if the lender has supplied it;
- outstanding balance and remaining term;
- monthly net income for everyone contributing to the mortgage;
- essential spending, other debts and any benefits or insurance claim;
- the maximum payment you can sustain after essentials; and
- dates and amounts of any missed or threatened payments.
You can say: “My mortgage deal ends on [date]. The expected payment is [amount], but after essential costs I can sustainably pay [amount]. I am up to date / I missed [payment] on [date]. Please review a same-lender deal and all tailored-support options. For each, tell me the payment now, payment later, total cost, fees, duration, reversal rules and credit-file treatment.” Keep the bracketed details as figures in your own notes; do not rely on a verbal estimate.
Check your plan after agreeing
- Read the formal offer or variation, including the new rate, term and payment dates.
- Set a reminder for the end of any temporary arrangement and for any right to reverse a term extension.
- Recheck your budget when the payment changes; contact the lender before another shortfall occurs.
- Keep copies of correspondence and evidence of payments.
- Review insurance, benefits and other household support if your circumstances changed.
The practical priority is unchanged: engage early, compare the full cost rather than only today’s payment, and obtain free advice as soon as the mortgage may become unsustainable.
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