by Helen Reddington, Director of Home Ownership

We are all impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.

Whether it’s spending more on the weekly food shop, energy bills or, of course, housing, it’s been having an impact for some time now.

This increase in costs is driven by high inflation and this is also driving up interest rates.

In turn, that increases mortgage payments as anyone on a variable rate or coming to the end of a fixed rate mortgage will know all too well.

For many, these increased payments will have come as a shock after a long period of very low interest rates.

Although rates are starting to come down, we are unlikely to see a return to the rates we were seeing just a year ago any time soon.

At Riverside, we understand that our shared owners are also impacted by rising rents.

These are linked to inflation and so this year we took the decision to cap our increases at 7%, which was significantly lower than the inflation rate.

We have also taken the important step of signing up to the Government’s Mortgage Charter.

So what does that mean for you?

Well, the Mortgage Charter is designed to provide tailored support to people with mortgages, including shared owners. Launched in the summer, it will:

• enable most borrowers to stay in their home for the first twelve months after a missed mortgage or rent payment. Neither the lender nor Riverside will repossess the property until twelve months have passed
• support borrowers on a fixed rate mortgage. They will be able to lock in a new mortgage rate up to six months before their current rate ends, including a better or like for like rate if available
• allows borrower to switch to interest-only payments for six months
• provides borrower with the option of extending their mortgage term to reduce monthly payments

If you find yourself in difficulty, we hope Riverside joining the charter will make a difference to you.

If that’s you – at any time – you can speak directly to your lender, read more information about the charter or contact us here.