Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Business
Elly Rewcastle

More homeowners on universal credit offered access to DWP mortgage help

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%.

Read more: DWP cost of living payment eligibility for those on universal credit, pension credit, tax credit and JSA

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.

Read next:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.