Minister for Climate Change Julie James will today (7 November 2023) announce the Help to Stay Wales mortgage support scheme, a new funding package for Welsh homeowners having difficulty paying their mortgage.
With rising interest rates, energy costs and cost-of-living expenses, not being able to meet mortgage repayments is a reality many homeowners are facing.
As part of the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru, a commitment was made to explore Local Authority Mortgages.
The Help to Stay Wales Scheme has been considered as part of discussions about the mortgage market and how we can provide targeted support.
During 2022-23 and 2023-24, the Welsh Government provided more than £3.3 billion of support to help people struggling with the cost of living through targeted programmes which put money back into people’s pockets.
As part of the budget agreement with Plaid Cymru for 2023-24, £40 million repayable capital funding has been made available over this year and next year to bring forward schemes to provide flexible financial support.
Help to Stay Wales will work alongside support offered by mortgage providers through the UK Mortgage Charter for customers who are struggling to afford their mortgage payments.
The Scheme will provide an option for homeowners who are at serious risk of losing their home by offering a partial repayment of an existing mortgage balance via a low-cost equity loan, secured by a second charge (behind first charge lender), reducing revised mortgage repayments to a level the applicant can afford.
The Scheme will be operated by the Development Bank of Wales and will be interest free for the first five years.
The purpose of the Scheme is to reduce the number of homeowners at risk of repossession and homelessness by offering them time to resolve their underlying financial issues.
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