Landlords - Can I Take A Mortgage Break

Like homeowners, landlords must contact their lender if they wish to arrange a payment break. Alongside the government-backed mortgage payment holiday scheme, lenders can offer a range of options depending on the individual’s situation.Prior to the current scheme, anyone could apply to their lender for a payment break, but they normally had to provide supporting evidence. For most borrowers now, it is just a case of self-certifying that their income has been affected by coronavirus.However, according to Which?, landlords must self-certify that their tenant’s income has been affected by the pandemic. Some buy-to-let landlords may also be in a situation where a house sale has fallen through as a result of the outbreak, and this has led to cashflow issues. Similarly, they should be able to inform their lender of this and still qualify for a payment breakA mortgage payment holiday may be the best solution for some borrowers. However, there are other options available which may be more suitable.While major credit reference agencies have made assurances that no one’s credit score will suffer, there are downsides to pausing your mortgage payments. The main one is that you will owe more money in the long run. Missed payments are added onto your total mortgage, so it will take longer and cost more to clear this.There is also a risk that it could affect future credit applications. It is possible that lenders could look at mortgage payment history when assessing any further borrowing requests in the future.