Full list of banks changing mortgage rules in days – and hundreds of thousands of homeowners could benefit
HUNDREDS of thousands will see a change to their mortgage rules depending on the bank in the coming days.
According to UK Finance, at least five major banks have backed a new mortgage change that will hit on January 9.
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The change affects homeowners who are living in buildings with cladding.
It will see the mortgage providers ditch lending bans.
From January 9, Lloyds Banking, NatWest, Santander, Nationwide and HSBC will be adjusting the rules to allow mortgage applications on properties in buildings in England over 11m tall.
Barclays has not yet confirmed to The Sun what changes it will be making.
It said: “We are changing our policies to support the Building Safety Act, following the recent Government announcement, and we will launch these changes in early 2023.”
Some of the banks will be scrapping EWS1 certificates for those who are living in blocks of flats in England that are five floors or taller.
An EWS1 certificate grants a certain rating after high-rise properties have had an External Wall Fire Review – without this certificate, most banks won’t offer the homeowner a mortgage.
The change has been made since new guidance was published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) on how to assess properties for fire safety.
Jas Singh, chief executive of consumer lending at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We have worked closely with housebuilders and RICS to find a solution for homeowners, so we warmly welcome the updated guidance for valuers on homes with external cladding.”
Santander said it also won’t be requiring EWS1 forms in this new change.
And while HSBC said it will enable lending on properties with cladding, it confirmed an EWS1 form may still be needed in the application.
The Sun also Nationwide for a comment, and we’ll update this story when we know more.
It comes as revised fire safety rules after the Grenfell Tower disaster left people in properties with cladding unable to sell.
According to MoveWise, safety tests can take between 12 and 18 months and can cost as much as £45,000.
After Grenfell Tower, residents could take out loans capped at £50 a month, or £600 a year to fix issues, but you’ll need to check with your local council if you can get something similar.
The news comes as the Bank of England hiked interest rates to their highest level in 14 years last month.
The rate has gone up by 50 basis points from 3% to 3.5%, as expected.
It’s the ninth time in a row that the BoE has raised interest rates to try and tackle soaring prices.
It follows the biggest single hike from 2.25% to 3% in November.
The move will make the cost of borrowing, including loans, credit cards and mortgage repayments more expensive.
But the hike is good news for savers as they may get better rates on their nest egg.
