More homeowners on Universal Credit will be able to claim help with their mortgage interest thanks to an expansion to the DWP’s Support for Mortgage Interest scheme. Claimants will be offered help towards mortgage interest, home improvements or repairs.
The DWP has announced that it will be extending the scheme to a further 200,000 people on Universal Credit in an attempt to help more households deal with the rising cost of living. Those who meet the eligibility criteria could get help paying the interest on up to £200,000 of their loan or mortgage.
The Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme is paid to eligible households as a loan that will need to be repaid when the house is sold or ownership is transferred. The current interest rate is 3.03%.
Mims Davies, Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression, said: “The fear of losing your home when you have fallen on difficult times is incredibly stressful and makes getting back on your feet all the more difficult.
“This increased support is an important lifeline to help provide stability for those who are seeking to find work and move back towards long-term prosperity.”
Who is eligible for the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme?
To be eligible for an SMI loan, you need to be getting one of the following qualifying benefits:
Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
Universal Credit
Pension Credit
You can start getting the loan:
from the date, you start getting Pension Credit
after you’ve claimed Income Support, income-based JSA or income-based ESA for 39 weeks in a row
after you’ve received Universal Credit for 3 months in a row
Claimants who stop getting SMI because they stopped getting qualifying benefits will also be able to start accessing it again straight away if:
you stopped getting Universal Credit but you started getting it again within 6 months
you stopped getting Pension Credit and you were moved to Universal Credit
you stopped getting Income Support, income-based JSA or income-based ESA, and you applied for Universal Credit within a month
How to apply for a Support for Mortgage Interest loan?
When you apply for a qualifying benefit, you’ll be asked extra questions about your housing costs to find out if you’re eligible for the SMI loan. If you qualify, you’ll automatically be offered a loan.
If you turn down the offer at first, you can still accept it at a later time as long as you’re still eligible for it. The payments to your lender will be backdated to when you were first entitled to the loan.
If you already get a qualifying benefit and haven’t been offered an SMI but think you may be entitled to it, contact the office that pays your benefit, such as the DWP, or contact Jobcentre Plus.
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