Supporting our customers
Learn about the support measures available to you.
In recent months, high inflation has worsened the cost of living crisis.
As a result, the Bank of England has put up the base rate, which means mortgage lenders have had to increase their mortgage rates. This has meant many households have found themselves worried about or struggling to afford their mortgage payments.
To combat the high mortgage rates, the government announced the creation of their “mortgage charter”, which was designed to support homeowners experiencing financial difficulty.
We have implemented the key support measures set out by the mortgage charter in addition to our own short- and long-term solutions for customers struggling to afford their mortgage. You’ll find more information about these supports below.
If you’re worried, reach out to us
If you’re concerned about making your payments, we recommend you reach out to us right away to learn how we can support you. It’s always best to review your circumstances early, so you’re best placed to make use of the options available to you.
Reaching out won't have an impact on your credit file. We can be reached at mymortgage@generationhome.com or on 02039369685.
Gen H’s support measures
Our support measures are tailored to each individual homeowner.
We have implemented the key principles of the mortgage charter and updated them to provide you greater support and flexibility. These include:
- A borrower will not be forced to leave their home without their consent, unless in exceptional circumstances, in less than a year from their first missed payment.
- Homeowners who are approaching the end of their fixed rate deal will have the opportunity to lock in a new rate 180 days in advance. Customers who have locked in a new rate will be able to switch to a different rate as many times as they like, or cancel their rate switch altogether, up until 5 working days before their product switch completes without paying any early repayment charges.
Homeowners who are up-to-date with payments will have the right to switch to a new mortgage deal at the end of their existing fixed rate deal without another affordability check.
Changes to your mortgage term and repayments
You can now choose to:
- switch to interest-only repayments for up to 6 months, or
- extend your mortgage term to reduce your monthly payments.
If you extend your mortgage term, you'll be able to revert to your original term within 6 months by contacting us.
Many homeowners are considering these measures as a means to reduce their monthly payments, but they aren't right for everyone.
The use of these measures will cause you to pay more interest over the life of your loan, and could impact your ability to get other finance in the future because lenders will be able to see that you used these measures.
For this reason, if you can pay your mortgage, we recommend that you continue to do so.
If you'd like a personalised illustration or to chat through these options with us, please reach out.
Interest-only repayments
The following illustration shows the impact of temporarily paying interest-only for 6 months on an outstanding balance of £200,000 paying interest of 6% with 25 years remaining on the contract.
Monthly payments
Across the whole mortgage
In this case, the APRC increases from 8.68% to 8.69% and the homeowner would pay an extra £2,522.12 in interest over the course of the loan.
Please contact us if you’d like to see a personalised illustration for your mortgage with us. Everyone on the mortgage will need to agree to this change.
We’re happy to discuss this option if you’re struggling to make your payments, but it may not be right for you.
Extending your mortgage term
The following illustration shows the impact of extending a mortgage term from 25 years to 35 years on an outstanding mortgage balance of £200,000 paying interest of 6%.
In this case, the APRC increases from 8.68% to 8.78% and the homeowner would pay an extra £154,522.00 in interest over the lifetime of their loan.
Homeowners will have 6 months from the date they extend their term to revert to their original term – but their monthly mortgage payments will increase when this happens.
Please contact us if you’d like to see a personalised illustration for your mortgage with us. Everyone on the mortgage will need to agree to this change.
We’re happy to discuss this option if you’re struggling to make your payments, but it may not be right for you.
Finding the right support for you
Many homeowners will encounter financial difficulties over the course of their mortgage, and we realise how stressful this can be.
We’re committed to supporting our homeowners in any way that we can, and we have a range of solutions other than the ones illustrated above that might be better for your individual circumstances.
Because some of the mortgage charter measures allow some customers to make changes to their mortgages without an affordability check, we can’t always be certain they’re right for you.
That’s why it’s important to consider your options carefully, and if you can afford your mortgage, we recommend you don’t use these measures.
If you’d like to discuss your circumstances, here are your next steps.
- Reach out to our servicing team at mymortgage@generationhome.com
- Our servicing team will arrange a call with you to discuss your options
- If you’d like to implement any support measures, we will follow up by email with a personalised illustration and confirm your next steps
- If you’re extending your term, we will issue a new mortgage offer and everyone on the mortgage will need to agree.
- If you’re switching to interest-only repayments, everyone on the mortgage will need to agree.
We hope this information has been helpful, but if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to reach out. For general guidance on debt management and support, you can also visit our money worries page.