The three-month payment holiday for mortgage borrowers has now been extended to tenants and buy-to-let landlords.

This means that if tenants in either social or private accommodation are struggling to pay their rent due to coronavirus they can speak to their landlord about a payment holiday for up to three months.

Likewise, landlords with buy-to-let mortgages can arrange a payment holiday with their lender if their tenants are unable to pay the rent.

In addition, no one can be evicted from their home or repossessed during the next three months.

At the end of this period, landlords and tenants will be expected to work together to establish an affordable repayment plan, taking into account tenants’ individual circumstances.

Mortgage lenders have to abide by a ‘pre-action protocol’ on repossession proceedings for homeowners and this is to be extended to include private renters.

The government says this will support the necessary engagement between landlords and tenants to resolve disputes. Landlords will be expected to contact tenants to understand the financial position they are in.

In order to help landlords, the government will issue guidance on how landlords can help tenants who are affected by this to remain in their homes wherever possible.

The National Housing Federation and Local Government Association have welcomed the new support for social renters and made clear that no one should be evicted because of the coronavirus.

Home buyers who have used the government backed Help to Buy equity loan scheme will be offered interest payment holidays if they are struggling to pay due to coronavirus.

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP said: “The government is clear – no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home, nor will any landlord face unmanageable debts.

“These are extraordinary times and renters and landlords alike are of course worried about paying their rent and mortgage. Which is why we are urgently introducing emergency legislation to protect tenants in social and private accommodation from an eviction process being started.”

The Residential Landlords Association and the National Landlords Association both welcomed the news: “Our priority is to ensure that tenants are secure in their homes during this crisis.

“The three-month buy-to-let mortgage payment holiday will take a lot of pressure off landlords enabling them to be as flexible as possible with tenants facing difficulties with their rent payments.

“No responsible landlord will be considering evicting tenants because of difficulties arising from the current situation.

“There does need to be some flexibility though such as with dealing with a tenant engaging in anti-social behaviour. This could cause misery for fellow tenants or neighbours especially when they are going to be spending a lot of time together.

Nationwide, via its buy-to-let arm The Mortgage Works is the UK’s second largest buy-to-let mortgage provider.

Henry Jordan, director of mortgages at Nationwide, commented: “We feel it is important to extend protection to landlords and their tenants during this uncertain period.

“We have extended mortgage payment holidays to include rental properties so that landlords with tenants who are unable to meet rental payments because of coronavirus are protected as much as possible.

“We would encourage tenants to speak to their landlords if they are impacted or worried about coronavirus to ensure that steps can be taken to support them at this time.”

Bank of Ireland has a range of supports in place including mortgage payment breaks of up to three months, not just for mortgage borrowers but also for those with personal loans and car finance.

This support is also available to mortgages provided by Bank of Ireland UK through its partnership with the Post Office.

The payment breaks will not affect customers’ credit files held by credit reference agencies.

Ian McLaughlin, chief executive at Bank of Ireland UK, said: “We know that the services we provide are critical during this very challenging time and we have a range of dedicated supports in place for customers.

“Customers should contact us directly if they feel they will be impacted financially by Covid-19. The safety and welfare of our colleagues and customers and the continuity of our services remains our priority.

“We will continue to play our part by working with Government and the wider industry in response to the threat posed by coronavirus.

Article sourced from What Mortgage website in an article on 19th March 2020 . Original full article can be viewed by clicking link below

(Link above opens in seperate window)

Mc Daid Mortgages do not accept responsibility for any advice provided or opinions expressed with this article. This is for information purposes only

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage