THE UK Government has announced a "three-month mortgage break" to ease the financial difficulties of coronavirus.
Revealed by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the break means that households can be granted three months of "holiday" from their mortgage payments.
It has already been voluntarily announced by banks such as RBS/NatWest, which said last week that customers' situations will be looked at on a "case-by-case" basis, and various potential options will be matched to them.
Now, however, the Chancellor's rules mean that banks are legally obliged to allow it.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: RBS and Natwest customers may defer loan repayments
How does it happen?
The first step is to talk with your lender to explain the situation. Many banks also have dedicated pages on their apps with information to get started.
Remember to speak over the phone or online if you are in quarantine.
Let them know what financial trouble you are in, eg that your statutory sick pay is not enough to stay on top of payments, or that you are self-employed so have to apply for emergency benefits.
A NatWest spokesman said it will be available on a case-by-case basis.
They said: "We are monitoring the potential impact of coronavirus across all our customers to ensure we can support them appropriately through any period of disruption."
"We understand that there may be circumstances where a personal customer may fall into financial difficulty as a result of the impacts of coronavirus, for instance, loss of income.
"We will look to understand each customer’s situation on a case-by-case basis and can offer a number of options to help them manage their finances. We would encourage any customer experiencing financial difficulty to get in touch with us."
Will everyone get a three-month mortgage holiday?
Not necessarily. Due to the case by case decisions being made, banks and lenders may offer alternative measures to help people out.
How do they actually work?
It will work by deferring payments for three months so that for the duration of the holiday, your monthly payments are £0.
Interest will still accrue on the outstanding sum needing to be repaid and monthly interest will not stop during the "holiday".
It is important to note that banks will only consider you if you look likely to continue repaying in the future.
Anything in place for renters too?
Not yet. If you are struggling to make rent payments, you will need to speak to your landlord and your bank to come to an arrangement.
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