EMBARGO: 22.30 31st January 2023
4,000 households a day to see their mortgage hiked between now and November
Typical mortgage holder with a deal expiring set to pay £240 more per month
Lib Dems slam Rishi Sunak for leaving “families to pick up the tab for Liz Truss crashing the economy”
1.1 million households will face a mortgage hike before the General Election if it is held in November, research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
It comes ahead of the Bank of England’s decision on whether to cut interest rates from 5.25% today.
The House of Commons Library research, based on data from the Financial Conduct Authority, shows that 1.1 million fixed term mortgage deals are due to come to an end between February and October. Of these, around 700,000 fixed rate mortgages are due to expire between May and the end of October 2024.
It means Rishi Sunak will face the wrath of even more voters who are being stung with sky-high mortgage costs if he delays the election until November, as is currently expected.
The research also shows that a typical homeowner seeing their deal come to an end will see their monthly mortgage interest payments increase by £240, or a staggering 39% rise. An estimated 120,000 will see their mortgage deals come to an end each month, or over 4,000 a day.
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to introduce an emergency Mortgage Protection Fund to support struggling families at risk of losing their home, paid for through reversing Conservative tax cuts to the banks.
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said:
“Every day thousands more homeowners are being hit with an astronomical rise to their monthly mortgage bills. This is a devastating blow to family finances in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“It is scandalous that families are being left to pick up the tab for Liz Truss crashing the economy. Rishi Sunak needs to help out those at risk of losing their homes over the Conservative Party’s economic vandalism.
“We need a General Election now to end this Conservative chaos. The sooner we put this Conservative government out of its misery the better for the economy, the country and the money in people’s pockets.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Full analysis from the House of Commons Library below:
How many households will come off a fixed rate mortgage by May and then by November 2024?
About 400,000 fixed rate mortgages are due to expire between February and April 2024 (inclusive), so before May – an average of around 130,000 a month over the period.
About 1.1 million fixed rate mortgages are due to expire between February and October 2024 (inclusive), so before November – an average of around 120,000 a month over the period.
About 700,000 fixed rate mortgages are due to expire between May and October 2024 (inclusive) – an average of around 120,000 a month over the period.
Source: Financial Conduct Authority data on mortgage type and fixed rate end date by region, as at end 2022, published by the GLA - FCA Product Sales Data (PSD007), fixed rate mortgages: incentivised rate end dates (as at H2 2022), based on all outstanding regulated fixed rate UK mortgages.
Monthly mortgage repayments are projected to increase by an average of around £240 for people coming off fixed rate deals.
This is a projected increase for “the typical owner-occupier mortgagor rolling off a fixed rate between 2023 Q2 and the end of 2026”.
Source: Bank of England Financial Stability Report - December 2023.