Vulnerable People Allowed To Transfer Support For Mortgage Interest When Moving Home

Disabled people and others receiving support for mortgage interest (SMI) will be able to request the loan balance be transferred to their new property when moving home, the government has confirmed. SMI is the help offered by government to owner-occupiers in times of need. It is paid as a loan and contributes towards the interest on people’s mortgages if they are in receipt of certain benefits, to protect them against repossession and keep them in their own homes. This change will benefit those moving into a new property due to a disability or health condition, as they will continue to receive uninterrupted support towards their mortgage payments. Read more on the Mortgage Solutions website.

https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2019/06/12/vulnerable-people-allowed-to-transfer-support-for-mortgage-interest-when-moving-home/

Tory Axe Of Mortgage Interest Benefit Has Put Thousands At Risk Of Homelessness

Ministers have been accused of putting thousands of home-owners at risk of homelessness after new figures suggested cuts to mortgage interest help were hitting the working poor and pensioners. Amid fears of an interest rate hike this year, Labour hit out as official Government statistics showed a very low take-up of a new loan system that replaces benefits. Fewer than 10% of those who used to get so-called Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) payments have taken up the new loan offered in its place, the figures reveal. Support with mortgage interest has been in place for home-owners since 1948. Read more on the Huffington Post website.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tory-axe-of-mortgage-interest-benefit-has-plunged-thousands-into-risk-of-homelessness-labour-claims-support-for-mortgage-interest_uk_5ae04a14e4b07560f3971055

Government Cuts Mortgage Support

The amount of money struggling homeowners can claim to help them meet monthly mortgage repayments is to fall in July, after the government cut the interest rate used to make the calculations. Currently homeowners entitled to support for mortgage interest (SMI) can get help with monthly payments on a mortgage worth up to £200,000 based on an interest rate of 3.63%. But following a sharp fall in high-street mortgage rates, the rate will be reduced to 3.12%. SMI is a means-tested benefit that can be claimed by people receiving income-based jobseekers allowance, employment and support allowance and pension credit. It is designed to cover a borrower’s interest payments to their bank or building society, but not the original capital they borrowed. It is currently claimed by 161,000 people. Read more on the This is Money website.