Mortgage Charter

The Mortgage Charter has been set up by the UK’s largest lenders, the FCA, and the UK government to give mortgage customers more help and support with their mortgage repayments. All lenders that are a part of this charter have agreed on a set of standards to take when helping borrowers who are worried about higher interest rates on their mortgages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Whistletree part of the Mortgage Charter?

Yes, we have signed the mortgage charter to help mortgage customers, who are struggling with rising interest rates, get back on track and feel more confident about their money.

Who can benefit from the Mortgage Charter?

The Mortgage Charter has been created to help anyone who is struggling with the increased cost of their mortgage over the short term. If you can meet your mortgage payments, then you should continue to do so, as you’ll pay less interest overall. The support offered through the Mortgage Charter is not a long-term solution to financial difficulty.

If you’re looking for more help, visit our Money Worries page to see what support could be available to you.

What support is available under the Mortgage Charter?
  • Switching your mortgage product - You can switch to a new mortgage deal up to 3 months before your current deal ends, without an affordability check, if you’re up to date on your mortgage payments. Find out more about switching your rate.
  • Interest-only – If you're up to date with your mortgage payments, you can apply to temporarily switch to an interest-only basis for 6 months. This means you'll pay more interest overall. Find out more about switching to interest-only below.
  • Term Extension - If you’re up to date with your mortgage payments you can apply to extend your mortgage term, which would reduce your monthly repayment amounts. This will mean you will pay more interest overall. Find out more about extending your term below.
  • Repossession - No one will have their home repossessed if it’s been less than 12 months since their first missed payment. No lender wants to repossess someone’s home, and it’s only done as a last resort or if it’s in the financial interests of the borrower.
What support does Whistletree already offer?

As a mortgage provider, we already offer a wide range of support for our customers:

  • Help and guidance - Our colleagues can offer you support, without affecting your credit file. If you’re worried about your mortgage repayments, please talk to us. We also work with hand-picked third parties that provide services and information to anyone who needs a little more help with their finances.
  • Switching your mortgage product – If your mortgage deal is ending, we’ll let you know what your options are. You can then use this information to decide what’s best for you. You can switch to a new mortgage deal up to 3 months before your current deal ends with no credit or affordability checks. Find out more about switching your rate.
  • Apply for a fixed rate - If you’re currently on a variable rate, you can apply to switch to a fixed rate product at any time.
  • Flexible features - If your mortgage has Flexible Features you could apply for a break from your payments if you need to. You can find out more by contacting us.
Temporary interest-only for 6 months

You can request a temporary transfer to interest-only for six months to reduce your mortgage payments. All parties to the mortgage will need to sign a declaration to approve the request.

When your mortgage moves back to a repayment basis, your monthly payments will be higher as you’ll be paying both the interest and the loan amount of your mortgage. Please make sure you have plans in place for the higher monthly payments when this comes to an end. Switching temporarily to interest-only means you'll pay more interest overall. During this period we will not report this as a payment arrangement on your credit file.

If you can meet your mortgage payments, then you should continue to do so. This is a variation to your mortgage contract and will be completed on an execution-only basis. This means you are telling us the change you'd like to make and therefore won’t receive advice or a recommendation from us.

The size of your mortgage balance will determine how much your monthly payments will be on interest only. We have some helpful tools that could help you see what your payments might be.

Term Extension

If you'd like to extend your mortgage term, which would reduce your monthly repayment amounts, you can call us to discuss.

If you know what term you'd like this can be completed on an execution-only basis. This means we’ll extend your term for the length of time you tell us.

Alternatively, if you're not sure what term you would like to extend your mortgage by, we can talk through your personal/individual needs and provide advice.

We have some helpful tools that could help you see what your payments might be. Extending your mortgage means you’ll pay more interest overall.

If you can meet your current mortgage payments, then you should continue to do so.

You can reverse the term extension within 6 months without having to complete affordability checks. After this time, any application to reduce your term will be subject to a full application and affordability checks.

How will using one of the options from the Mortgage Charter affect my mortgage?

We’ve put together some examples to show how using the term extension or temporary interest-only mortgage options available through the Mortgage Charter will affect your mortgage repayments.

These examples show a customer with an outstanding balance of £150,000, paying interest of 6% and with 15 years remaining on their mortgage contract.

Term Extension

Extending your mortgage lowers your monthly payments as you’re paying it back over a longer time. Because of this, you’ll pay more interest over the mortgage term.

Here’s what extending the term could do to your payments:

If you increase the term by 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Monthly payments before £1,266 £1,266 £1,266
Monthly payment after £1,137 £1,075 £966

How much more interest you would pay due to the mortgage extension:

If you increase the term by 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Extra interest to pay £17,712 £30,120 £61,920

What your payments would be if you chose to go back to the original mortgage term after 6 months:

If you increase the term by 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
Monthly payments going back to your original term
(having had a longer term for 6 months)		 £1,301 £1,304 £1,310
Extra interest to pay over the life of the mortgage £5,316 £5,466 £5,856

You can switch back to your original term within the first 6 months of the term extension without needing an affordability assessment. By doing this, you’ll pay less interest than if you continued with the extended term.

If you apply to reduce your term after 6 months, we will need to carry out full application and affordability checks. Reducing your term by any amount will mean you pay less interest over the life of the mortgage.

Temporary interest-only mortgage

You can choose to temporarily move your mortgage to interest-only payments. Doing this will reduce your monthly payments, but you will not be repaying the debt.

Monthly cost of a repayment mortgage £1,266
Monthly cost of a temporary interest-only mortgage £750
Monthly cost moving back to a repayment mortgage £1,293
Extra interest to pay over the life of the mortgage £1,602

If the interest rate stays at 6% for the remainder of the mortgage term, you’ll pay £1,602 more than if you’d not temporarily had interest-only repayments.

If you’re struggling financially, our Money Worries page can help you find free guidance and support. There are many charities and organisations who can help, your credit score won’t be impacted by talking to them for support or guidance.