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Major lenders offer three-month payment holiday for those affected by Coronavirus

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
17/03/2020

Chancellor announces range of financial measures, including new support for mortgage borrowers

Mortgage lenders will offer borrowers a three-month holiday on repayments if they are facing difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) made the announcement during the government’s second daily update on the coronavirus.

Sunak said: “People will not have to pay a penny towards their mortgage cost while they get back on their feet”.

He added he would announce further measures in the coming days to help support people’s financial security.

This news comes as a number of lenders confirmed they will relax on rules to help borrowers who are unable to make mortgage repayments due to the pandemic.

Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest were the latest banks to announce support for mortgage customers, with both saying borrowers would not have a black mark on their credit history if they missed payments due to the virus.

The support for landlords and tenants through this measure is not yet clear.

Sam Harhat, head of financial services at Andrews Property Group, said: “The Government’s backing of mortgage holidays of up to three months for struggling households is clearly welcome but, as ever, the devil is in the detail.

“If this is a smooth and seamless process that will enable homeowners to self-isolate without having to worry about their mortgage payments then clearly it is a significant move in the right direction.

“Exactly how much lenders are onside remains to be seen, as are the logistics of such a major initiative, but on the surface this is exactly the kind of bold action homeowners wanted to see.

“It remains to be seen if the mortgage holiday will extend to landlords who may be struggling if their tenants are in financial difficulty.

“The elephant in the room, of course, is how the Government will be helping the huge numbers of tenants who may also struggle with their rental payments.”