Scottish Building Society today (Wednesday 3 June) announced an emergency support package for customers in financial difficulty due to Covid-19 – including a pledge that no-one will be at risk of losing their home over the next 12 months.
As well as banning repossessions, the Society are extending the current three-month mortgage break to six months to support hardest-hit customers.
They are also encouraging landlords to help those struggling to pay rent, by offering mortgage holidays if they pass on the benefit to tenants.
Paul Denton, Chief Executive of Scottish Building Society, said: Lockdown may be easing but financial uncertainty still remains for some. Understandably, people are concerned about their families, their health and their jobs.
We want to offer reassurance to customers worried about keeping a roof over their heads that we are here to support them.
Some are nearing the end of their three-month mortgage holiday, and while many will be able to return to making repayments, some members may wish to extend their mortgage holiday for another three months until October 31.
There will be cases where a payment break is not in their best interests so we are working with each customer to work out a solution that best suits their personal financial circumstances.
We are also making a commitment that no-one in mortgage arrears is at risk of losing their home over the next year, as long as they work with us to get their finances back on track. This will take us to at least June 2021.
For families in rental accommodation facing challenges, we are offering landlords a mortgage break on the property providing that the benefits are being passed on to those tenants.
The Scottish Building Society package goes further than The Financial Conduct Authority’s new rules for mortgage lenders due to come into force tomorrow (Thursday, June 4). The FCA say the ban on repossessions will continue until October 31.
Mr Denton added: As the world’s oldest building society with 33,000 members, our customers are at the heart of our business – in good times and in bad. We hope our measures will give those worst affected the platform to rebuild their finances and provide peace of mind.
