Struggling With Mortgage Arrears? What to Do Before It Gets Worse
Falling behind on mortgage payments is one of the most frightening financial situations to be in — but it’s also one where acting early makes the biggest difference to what happens next. Lenders in the UK are required to treat customers in arrears fairly, and repossession is a formal legal last resort, not an automatic next step after a missed payment. What you do in the early weeks matters far more than most people realise.
Talk to Your Lender First — Today, Not Later
It feels counterintuitive, but contacting your lender as soon as you know you’ll struggle is the single most effective thing you can do. Lenders have formal processes for arrears support, and they are required by FCA rules to consider your individual circumstances and explore options with you — but they can only do that once they know there’s a problem. Going quiet is the worst option: it removes your lender’s ability to work with you and accelerates the formal process.
What Your Lender May Be Able to Offer
Depending on your circumstances, options a lender might discuss with you include:
- A temporary payment arrangement — reduced payments for a set period while you get back on track.
- A mortgage payment holiday or reduced payments — a formal pause or reduction, agreed in advance (this affects your credit file, but far less severely than missed payments without agreement).
- Extending your mortgage term — reducing monthly payments by spreading the balance over a longer period.
- Switching to interest-only temporarily — lowering payments for a defined period, with a plan to return to full repayment.
Know Where You Stand Before It Escalates
If arrears have already built up, understanding your realistic options matters — including whether remortgaging to a more affordable deal is possible before the situation reaches repossession. This is genuinely time-sensitive: the window to remortgage narrows as arrears grow, and it closes once formal repossession proceedings begin. If you’re in this position, see our guide to getting a mortgage after repossession to understand the timeline, and get in touch as early as possible — a specialist assessment costs nothing and doesn’t affect your credit file.
If It’s Bigger Than Just Your Mortgage
If you’re dealing with multiple debts and the mortgage is one part of a wider financial squeeze, that’s genuinely outside what a mortgage broker is best placed to help with — and the responsible thing to do is point you toward the people who specialise in it. Free, independent debt advice is available from:
- StepChange — the UK’s largest debt charity, free debt advice and management plans.
- National Debtline — free, independent debt advice.
- MoneyHelper — government-backed money and pensions guidance.
Getting free debt advice alongside a specialist mortgage assessment isn’t a contradiction — sorting out the wider picture and finding the right mortgage path often need to happen together.
We Can Help With the Mortgage Side
If mortgage arrears (past or present) are affecting your ability to get approved, remortgage, or avoid repossession, that’s exactly what we specialise in. Get a free, confidential assessment and we’ll give you an honest read on your realistic options — whatever stage you’re at.