- Support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme extended to 200,000
additional Universal Credit claimants in efforts to support more
households with the cost of living
- They will be able to access help towards mortgage interest on
their home or certain home improvements worth up to £200,000
after three months on Universal Credit
- Support will be automatically offered to qualifying claimants
after three months on Universal Credit
Previously, claimants would need to have been unemployed for nine
months before they could access a Support for Mortgage Interest
loan, which helps them cover interest payments for a mortgage, or
a home repairs and improvements loan, whilst they seek work.
Today’s reforms, which were announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn
Statement, mean claimants will be able to receive the support
after just three months of being on Universal Credit, and in
another change they now do not have to be unemployed to do so.
They will also be able to re-claim the support if they leave
Universal Credit but return within six months.
, Minister for Social Mobility,
Youth and Progression, said:
The fear of losing your home when you have fallen on difficult
times is incredibly stressful and makes getting back on your feet
all the more difficult.
This increased support is an important lifeline to help provide
stability for those who are seeking to find work and move back
towards long-term prosperity.
Support for Mortgage Interest loans will now be automatically
offered to claimants by the Department for Work and Pensions
(DWP) if they qualify after three months on Universal Credit –
they do not need to do anything to receive this offer.
The loans are designed to help claimants with the interest on
mortgages or loans for certain home improvements, such as repairs
or improvements to keep their home habitable or to adapt them for
people with disabilities, whilst they are on Universal Credit.
Even if claimants reject the offer of a loan initially, as long
as they are still eligible, they can start claiming it at any
point.
The loan needs to be repaid when claimants sell their home,
though no one will be asked to sell their home in order to repay
it. If needed, claimants can contact the DWP about transferring
the loan to a new home.
More widely, the Government is projected to have spent £28.5
billion supporting renters in 2022/23, whilst the Affordable
Homes Programme, worth £11.5 billion, will deliver more
affordable homes across the country, including tens of thousands
for social rent.
The Government has also provided over £1.5 billion for
Discretionary Housing Payments since 2012, whilst Local Housing
Allowance rates were increased above inflation during the
pandemic and have been maintained since to provide housing
support to Universal Credit claimants.
Additional Information
- Support for Mortgage Interest loans are available for people
on the following qualifying benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Pension Credit
- For more information on Support for Mortgage Interest, please
visit www.gov.uk/support-for-mortgage-interest or
speak to your work coach.
- Support for Mortgage Interest payments are made directly to
the lender every month.
- Today’s changes come in addition to extensive support with
the Cost of Living, including a year-long extension to the
Household Support Fund. Worth over £2 billion in its lifetime,
the fund is designed to help the most vulnerable with the cost of
food and energy essentials.
- And the Government is directly paying £301 to over 8 million
people on means-tested benefits from 25 April to help with the
cost of living. Further payments worth £300 and £299 will be made
later in the financial year, whilst additional payments of £300
for pensioners and £150 for disabled people will also be made in
2023, meaning some people will receive up to £1,350 in direct
Government support.
