One in two mortgage borrowers fear losing their homes as rates soar

Liberal Democrats call for emergency Mortgage Protection Fund to help families hit by rising mortgage bills

South Lanarkshire Liberal Democrats have called for support of up to £300 a month for families hardest hit by the mortgage crisis, as a shocking new poll shows that almost one in two families are worried about losing their home as a result of rising interest rates.

It comes as the average two-year fixed mortgage rate reaches a new 15-year high of 6.66 per cent with fears that the bank rate could rise even further.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency ‘Mortgage Protection Fund’, paid for by reversing Conservative tax cuts for banks, to protect families falling into arrears or facing repossession as a result of soaring interest rates.

The fund would be targeted towards homeowners on the lowest incomes and those seeing the sharpest rises in mortgage rates. Those whose mortgage payments rise by more than 10% of their household income would be eligible for grants to help cover the cost of that rise, paid monthly. These payments would be capped at £300 a month.

The Conservatives have cut taxes for the big banks by more than £3 billion a year since 2016, through cuts to both the Bank Levy and Bank Surcharge. The Liberal Democrats would reverse these cuts so that big banks pay their fair share.

Rutherglen Councillor Robert Brown who leads the Liberal Democrat Group on South Lanarkshire Council, said this week that there was a ticking mortgage time bomb about to go off which could not be ignored any longer.

Robert Brown said:

“Thousands of families in Rutherglen, Cambuslang, East Kilbride, Hamilton and other areas of South Lanarkshire are worried sick about the steady rise in interest rates and mortgage charges. Many more will be increasingly concerned as their fixed rate mortgages come to end.

Families are facing rises in mortgage payments of £300, £500, £600 a month on top of the damage caused by energy crisis and the cost of living crisis.

Prime Minister Rishi and the Conservative Government have really sat on their hands whilst the mortgage crisis has ballooned – unlike Governments in other countries who have stepped in to help.

Polling from Savanta, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, shows 46% of adults with a mortgage said they were worried about losing their home because of unpaid bills in June.

A staggering six in ten mortgage borrowers are worried about having to cut down on food bills because of higher housing costs. 45% were worried about having to borrow from a friend or family to cover a bill, while 48% were worried about having to cancel a holiday.

This is quite simply intolerable – urgent action must be taken.”