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If you鈥檙e a homeowner or have bought a shared ownership property, you might be able to get help towards interest payments on:

• your mortgage
• loans you鈥檝e taken out for certain repairs and improvements to your home

This help is called Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).

It鈥檚 paid as a loan, which you鈥檒l need to repay with interest when you sell or transfer ownership of your home. You may be able to transfer the loan if you鈥檙e buying a new home.

You need to be getting a qualifying benefit to get SMI.

There鈥檚 no guarantee that you鈥檒l get SMI for a mortgage or loan you take out.

What you cannot use SMI for

SMI cannot help you pay:

• anything towards insurance policies you have
• missed mortgage payments (arrears)

Speak to your lender

You could speak to your mortgage lender before you apply for SMI.

Some lenders can offer other ways to help, such as temporary payment holidays, interest-only payments or extending your mortgage term to reduce monthly payments.聽

Help and support

Check if you can get cost of living support.

You can get free information about housing support from:

You鈥檒l get help paying the interest on your mortgage or loan.

Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) usually helps pay the interest on up to 拢200,000 of your loan or mortgage. However, you can only get up to 拢100,000 if either:

• you鈥檙e getting Pension Credit
• you started claiming another qualifying benefit before January 2009 and you were below State Pension age at that time

If you鈥檙e already getting SMI and move to Pension Credit within 12 weeks of stopping your other benefits, you鈥檒l still get help with interest on up to 拢200,000.

The interest rate used to calculate the amount of SMI you鈥檒l get is currently 3.66%.

What you鈥檒l pay back

SMI is paid as a loan. You鈥檒l need to repay the money you get with interest when you sell or transfer ownership of your home (unless you鈥檙e moving the loan to another property).

If you want to pay the loan back more quickly, you can also make voluntary repayments.

Find out more about how you repay your SMI loan.

How SMI is paid

SMI is normally paid direct to your lender.

You can ask to stop getting SMI at any time by .

When payments can start depends on what benefit you鈥檙e claiming.

If you get Pension Credit

Payments can start from the date you start getting Pension Credit.

If you get Universal Credit

Payments can start if you鈥檝e got Universal Credit for 3 months in a row.

If you move to Universal Credit within a month of another benefit ending, payments can start when you鈥檝e spent 3 months in total getting that previous benefit and Universal Credit.

If you get Income Support, income-based JSA or income-based ESA

Payments can start when you鈥檝e claimed for 39 weeks in a row.

To be eligible for a Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loan, you must own your home or have bought a shared ownership property. You must also be getting one of the following qualifying benefits:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit

Contact the relevant office to claim SMI. There鈥檚 no credit check.

You can start getting the loan:

• from the date you start getting Pension Credit
• after you鈥檝e聽got Universal Credit聽for聽3 months聽in a row or you moved to Universal Credit within a month of another benefit ending and you鈥檝e spent 3 months in total getting these benefits

You can apply for SMI from the date you start getting your benefit.

If you stopped getting SMI because you stopped getting a qualifying benefit

You鈥檒l start getting SMI again straight away if:

• you stopped getting Universal Credit but you started getting it again within 6 months
• you stopped getting Pension Credit and you were moved to Universal Credit
• you stopped getting Income Support, income-based JSA or income-based ESA, and you applied for Universal Credit within a month

Otherwise, you鈥檒l have to wait the normal period before getting SMI again.

When you apply for a qualifying benefit, you鈥檒l be asked extra questions about your housing costs to find out if you鈥檙e eligible for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).听

If you then want to apply for SMI, you鈥檒l need to fill in and sign in a form. You do not need to pay a fee to apply.

Before filling in the form, you鈥檒l need to:

• find out how much mortgage or home improvement loans you have left to pay
• find out how much interest you鈥檙e paying on your mortgage or home improvement loans
• get your partner to agree to sign the form, if you have a partner

You鈥檒l then need to send the form to your lender for them to complete. Your lender will send the completed form to the office that pays your benefit.

If you qualify for SMI, you鈥檒l be offered a loan. You can choose to accept it or turn it down.

If you turn down the offer at first, you can still accept it at any time as long as you鈥檙e eligible for SMI. The payments to your lender can be backdated up to when you were first entitled to the loan. Contact the office that pays your benefit.

If you already get a qualifying benefit

Contact the office that pays your benefit to find out if you could get an SMI loan.

If you get or have applied for Income Support, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, contact Jobcentre Plus.

If you get or have applied for Pension Credit, contact the Pension Service.

If you get or have applied for Universal Credit, you can either:

• add a message to your journal on your Universal Credit account
• contact the Universal Credit helpline

You鈥檒l need to repay your SMI loan as a lump sum with interest if you sell or transfer ownership of your home.

The interest you pay can go up or down, but the rate will not change more than twice a year. The current rate is 4.1%. You鈥檒l be told if this is going to change.

Interest will be added every year until the loan is completely repaid or written off.

If you die before you鈥檝e paid off your SMI loan, it will not need to be repaid if your home is left to a surviving partner. The loan will need to be repaid if your home is left to anyone else or it鈥檚 sold.

If you finish paying your mortgage, you will not need to repay your SMI loan unless you sell or transfer ownership of your home.

Selling your home

If you sell your home, you鈥檒l repay the SMI loan from what鈥檚 left after you pay:

• your mortgage
• any other loans secured against your home before you started getting SMI, including home improvement loans

If you do not have enough left to pay off all of the SMI loan, you will have to pay back what you can. The rest of the loan will be written off.

If you鈥檙e buying a new home

You may be able to transfer the loan to your new home. Contact DWP Loan Management as soon as you know you intend to move, and before you complete your sale.

You鈥檒l need to give DWP Loan Management your solicitor鈥檚 contact details. They will work with your solicitor to arrange for the loan to be moved to your new home.

The office paying your qualifying benefit will also check you鈥檙e still eligible.

Voluntary repayments

If you want to pay the loan back more quickly, you can also make voluntary repayments. The minimum voluntary repayment is 拢100 or the outstanding balance if it鈥檚 less than 拢100.

How to repay

Contact DWP Loan Repayment to ask for a 鈥榮ettlement letter鈥� - this will tell you how much you need to pay.

You can pay by telephone or online banking using the bank account details in your settlement letter.

You can still get financial help with your housing costs if your Income Support, income-based Jobseeker鈥檚 Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance is going to stop because you are about to:

• return to work full-time
• work more hours
• earn more money