What is a mortgage prisoner?
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In short: A borrower stuck on their lender's standard variable rate who cannot switch to a cheaper deal — often because their lender no longer offers new mortgages, or because affordability rules block a remortgage elsewhere.
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Reviewed by Kaiser Khan
Mortgage prisoners are homeowners who want to move to a better rate but find themselves unable to remortgage. This often affects people whose loan was sold to an inactive lender — one that no longer writes new business — or whose circumstances (income, property type, or loan size) no longer meet current lending criteria.
Being trapped on a standard variable rate (SVR) can mean paying significantly more each month than someone on a fixed or tracker deal. The problem grew after the financial crisis when many lenders exited the market and sold loan books to firms that could not offer new products to existing customers.
Regulators and the government have pressed inactive lenders to offer fairer terms and to consider switching customers internally where possible. The FCA also introduced modified affordability assessments for some prisoners switching with their current lender on a like-for-like basis, though not everyone qualifies.
If you think you are a mortgage prisoner, contact your lender to ask what internal deals exist, check whether an active lender would accept you under standard or modified rules, and get free housing or debt advice if repayments are unaffordable.
Primary source: gov.uk/mortgage-prisoners
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