Mortgage payment options

Newcastle Building Society already offers a wide range of options to anyone struggling with their mortgage payments. On top of this, the Society has now agreed to additional measures to support customers as part of the Mortgage Charter. Details of the commitment can be seen on the Government’s website.

Support under the Charter is available for customers with residential mortgages and to borrowers who are up to date with their payments. However, there is support available for all mortgage customers of the Society outside of the Mortgage Charter measures. 

To qualify for the measures of support within the Mortgage Charter you must be up to date with your mortgage payments, have a UK residential mortgage and have more than 12 months remaining on your mortgage term.

Customer currently in arrears (this means you’ve missed mortgage payments and have payments overdue), Buy-to-let, bridging loans, second charge loans, Gibraltar & Jersey accounts, customers with less than 12 months remaining on term and equity release are excluded from the Charter. Customers in arrears or in financial difficulty, please speak to our specialist team with Mortgage Support. Please call us on 0345 702 3083, with lines open 9am - 6pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9am - 5pm on Friday. Alternatively if you are already in financial difficulty please refer to our mortgage payment difficulties page.

Temporary Interest Only, term extension and/or arranging a new deal 6 months* before your current deal ends.

*We implemented our Mortgage Charter changes on 1 August 2023. From this point, we began contacting customers up to 6 months before the maturity of their mortgage deal. Prior to this, customers were contacted 3 months before maturity.

As part of the Mortgage Charter commitments, temporary Interest Only means that you'll only pay the monthly interest for 6 months and there won’t be a reduction in your mortgage balance during the agreed period. After the period ends we will increase your monthly mortgage repayments. This means you’ll end up paying more interest by the end of your full term than you would have under your original mortgage.

Following 5 months of temporary Interest Only, we will send a letter confirming that the mortgage account(s) will revert to repayment. This letter will also have the new monthly repayment. You can only take this option once whilst the Mortgage Charter options are available.

Yes, however, customers can only take the options once. For example, if temporary Interest Only is cancelled after 3 months, a customer can’t come back and request another 3 months for either option.

Term extension means extending the term of your mortgage so you pay less each month, but over a longer period of time. Because it’ll take longer to pay off your mortgage, you'll pay more interest, meaning the total cost will be more.

You can only request a maximum term of either the oldest borrower’s expected retirement age (max 70 years old) or a maximum of 40 years from when you originally took out your mortgage; whichever is earliest. You can also reverse the extension as long as you ask for it within 6 months of it being actioned, without the need for an affordability assessment. Any request to reduce the term outside of the 6 months will require an appointment with our Mortgage Advice Team and an affordability assessment.

Yes, if you are a holder of a UK based residential mortgage and are up to date on your payments.

We’re committed to helping our customers and if the Mortgage Charter options aren’t right for you, there may be different options depending on your situation. Please call us on 0345 702 3083, with lines open 9am - 6pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9am - 5pm on Friday. 

Alternatively if you are already in financial difficulty please refer to our mortgage payment difficulties page.

Helping Hand, our partnership with Citizens Advice Gateshead can also help you access confidential and expert support if you are facing financial difficulties.

The Society never wants to repossess someone’s home, and repossession is only done as either a last resort or when it is in the financial interests of the borrower. For this reason the Society has an extensive range of measures that we use for customers facing difficulties.

In addition, from 26 June 2023, you will not be forced to leave your home without your consent unless in exceptional circumstances, in less than 12 months from your first missed payment.

Exceptional circumstances may include:

• When the property is vacant, the customer is deceased or the customer voluntarily seeks to proceed with repossession.
• Where there is detriment to the borrower in remaining in the property.
• Vulnerabilities such as domestic or financial abuse, threat to life, or severe health. Severe health is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Repossession will always be a last resort when all other tailored support options have been exhausted.

We are able to issue a formal demand, to make you aware of the money you owe and inform you that the case will go to repossession proceedings. It is important that you get in touch with us to discuss your options. We will seek to resolve the case through alternative means, including informing you about voluntary means and rehousing options.

We can proceed with repossession, including for empty properties or where you want the repossession to go ahead if it has been 12 months since your first missed payment. We can begin court action, including obtaining a repossession order from the courts. However, from 26 June 2023, will not seek to enforce this, in less than a year from your first missed payment.