Mortgage payment holiday set to be extended

Homeowners who were struggling to pay their mortgage due to COVID-19 were originally given the option to apply to their bank for a three-month holiday on their mortgage payments. This was later expanded into a further three-month holiday, meaning that some homeowners were able to take advantage of six-months’ worth of holiday in total. The original deadline to apply for a holiday was 31st October 2020.

In response to the new coronavirus lockdown measures announced on 31st October, the Government has announced an extension to this measure.  This will be available to those who have not yet taken advantage of a full six-months’ worth of holiday.

Under the new proposals, the FCA state that:

• if you have not yet taken a payment holiday, you will be eligible for two payment holidays of up to six-months in total
• if you currently have an initial payment holiday, you will be eligible for another payment holiday of three-months
• if you have resumed repayments after an initial payment holiday, you will be eligible for another payment holiday of up to three months 

Homeowners will have until 31st January 2021 to request an initial payment holiday. 

You won’t be eligible for a payment holiday if:

• you’ve already had 2 payment holidays of up to six months in total, but you may ask for tailored support from your lender.

The FCA point out that the extension is still at the proposal stage, and homeowners should not contact their banks just yet.  

Once the proposals are confirmed, the FCA will provide further details on how to apply for this extended support.

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Date published 22 May 2020 | Last updated 3 Nov 2020