What is Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)?
We know that the current cost-of-living crisis is impacting lots of people, with many struggling to pay their mortgages.
If you’re on certain benefits and are struggling you may be eligible to Government support to help pay the interest on your mortgage (and certain other loans).
This is called Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).
If you qualify for SMI, you’ll usually get help paying the interest on up to £200,000 of your loan or mortgage (£100,000 if you’re getting pension credit or another qualifying benefit)
To be eligible for a SMI, you usually need to be getting one of the following qualifying benefits:
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment & Support Allowance
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
IMPORTANT – SMI is a loan!
You’ll need to repay the money you get with interest when you sell your home (unless you’re moving the loan to another property).
The interest added to the loan can go up or down!
SMI is normally paid direct to your lender.
Payments can start either:
- from the date you start getting Pension Credit
- after you’ve received Universal Credit for 9 months in a row, as long as you’re not getting certain income
- after you’ve claimed any other qualifying benefit for 39 weeks in a row
It’s worth checking the gov.uk site for more info