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When you can remortgage and borrow more money

If you want to remortgage and borrow more (also called additional borrowing), you will need permission from us.

We鈥檒l only allow you to remortgage and borrow more money:

• to pay back part or all of your equity loan
• to make structural alterations when you have permission
• to fund a transfer of equity (change who owns your home)

We may allow you to borrow more on your repayment mortgage to pay off leasehold arrears or mortgage arrears - we鈥檒l consider each request individually.

You can either remortgage with your existing lender or change to a new one.

If you鈥檙e in negative equity

You are in negative equity when your home鈥檚 current value is less than the total of what you owe on your repayment mortgage and equity loan.

If you鈥檙e in negative equity, you cannot remortgage and borrow more money. Your property valuation will show if you are in negative equity.

What you鈥檒l need before you apply for permission

Before you apply for permission to remortgage you鈥檒l need to contact your current mortgage lender to get a redemption (or repayment) statement.

This confirms the total amount you need to repay to your mortgage lender, and that the total on your repayment mortgage has not increased.

The statement must be less than 12 working days old when we receive it as part of the聽application process. If it鈥檚 older than this, you鈥檒l need to get a new one.

Check your new lender is qualified

Your new mortgage lender must be:

• a qualifying lending institution
• authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

This is likely to include most banks and building societies. Your conveyancer can confirm this.

Ask for a breakdown of your lender鈥檚 charges

Your current or new lender may charge you fees to remortgage and move to a different product or rate.

Ask for a breakdown of their fees, and check that they are not more than 拢2000. If they are, we might not permit you to remortgage with this lender. Contact our Customer Service team to check.

Find a conveyancer

We will need your conveyancer鈥檚 details on the application form.

You can either:

• find a conveyancer聽on the or the聽.
• ask your lender if they can instruct their own conveyancer to act for both of you

Let your conveyancer know how much of your equity loan you want to repay, as a percentage and a number. You will know the number after getting your surveyor鈥檚 valuation report.

The total amount of equity loan you repay is worked out based on the market value of your property and equity loan percentage amount at the time you choose to repay.

Pay any arrears

If you are behind with your equity loan payments you cannot remortgage.

Make sure you pay off anything you owe in full, or contact our Customer Service team to set up a payment plan.

Get a surveyor鈥檚 valuation on your home

We need to know the market value of your home so we can check your Loan to Value ratio (LTV). This to confirm you can afford the new repayments in the long term when you borrow more.

Find out your loan to value ratio

Loan to value is the difference between the value of your home and the amount of money you鈥檙e borrowing to pay for it. This is shown as a percentage.

The percentage you borrow is based on the market value of your new home when you buy it.

Your loan to value limit

Your loan to value normally cannot be more than 75% of the value of your home, unless you鈥檙e repaying part of your equity loan.

Equity Mortgage Percentage Share	Maximum LTV Limit
10%	85%
20%	75%
30%	65%
40%	55%

If your home is in London, your limit will be:

• 55%, if we contributed 40% as part of the equity loan
• 65%, if we contributed 30% from the equity loan

Example

Your home is valued at 拢200,000.

Your repayment mortgage is 拢140,000

Your loan to value ratio is 70% (140,000 divided by 200,000 and then multiplied by 100), which is below the loan to value limit of 75%.

If you wanted to remortgage and borrow more, your loan to value amount would be acceptable (as long as the additional borrowing did not take the LTV over 75%).

How to get a surveyors valuation report

Before you contact a surveyor, you must tell us about anything that may affect the value of your home as they may need to agree which surveyor you can use.

This could be things like:

• external cladding
• any breaches of planning permission
• building regulations that have an impact on your property鈥檚 value (for example, a conservatory that you did not get a building control certificate for)

If your property is affected by external cladding

If your block of flats has certain types of external cladding, you may need a specialist valuation on your property.

How the report should be made

You鈥檒l need to:

• send our Customer Service team a鈥�RICS valuation report for your property, so we can work out how much you need to repay
• pay for the report yourself

The report must be:

• signed and dated by the鈥�RICS鈥痗ertified surveyor who did the survey. .
• on headed paper addressed to Homes England
• supplied as a PDF file or a digital document that you cannot edit

We cannot accept valuations that are made for bank or mortgage purposes.

Our criteria for the surveyor

You should give the surveyor making the valuation a copy of these criteria.

They must:

• be both鈥�RICS鈥痲ualified and registered
• be a RICS member or fellow (MRICS or FRICS) - if you have Help to Buy: Equity Loan (2021-2023)
• be independent of any estate agent
• not be related or known to you
• inspect the inside of the property
• provide at least 3 comparable properties and sale prices within the last 12 months - they must be like-for-like homes in type, size, age and within 2 miles of the property that is being inspected
• provide bespoke market commentary and reference how the comparable properties provided justify the determination of market value

The report is valid for 3 months from the date it was produced.

We need to receive the valuation within 5 working days of the date it was issued. Please send by either email or post to:

Email:
customerservices@myhelptobuyloan.co.uk

When emailing our Customer Service team, please include your account number and a brief summary of your query 鈥� for example 鈥榁aluation鈥� 鈥� in your email subject line.

Post: Help to Buy Customer Service team, PO Box 5262, Lancing, BN99 9HE

If the report expires

If the valuation report expires before you repay your equity loan, we鈥檒l need a 鈥榙esktop valuation鈥� which will extend the original valuation by 3 months.

This letter must be:

• from the same鈥�RICS鈥痵耻谤惫别测辞谤 who made the valuation
• provided on the company鈥檚 headed paper and as a PDF or another digital format that you cannot edit

If you do not complete the repayment process in the additional 3 months, you鈥檒l need to provide a new valuation report.

If your valuation report is due to expire, we鈥檒l write to you and ask you to get a desktop valuation.

Getting a desktop valuation report

罢丑别鈥�RICS鈥痜irm who did the original valuation can supply a desktop valuation report without visiting the property in person.

They must:

• refer to the original valuation report
• confirm the updated report is a desktop valuation
• provide at least 6 comparable properties and sale prices from the last year if the property has increased or decreased in value. If 6 are not available, they must state this clearly.
• provide bespoke market commentary and reference how the comparable properties provided justify the determination of market value

The report must be:

• made within 2 weeks of the expiry date of the original valuation report
• completed, signed and dated by the same鈥�RICS鈥痵耻谤惫别测辞谤
• made on the company鈥檚 headed paper and also in PDF or another digital format that you cannot edit

This valuation is valid for 3 months from the date it is produced.

We need to receive the valuation within 5 working days of the date it was issued.

If we reject the report

You must make sure your surveyor carries out the valuation in the way we鈥檝e asked for it.

We may reject the valuation report if it:

• does not follow the instructions
• is too high or low compared to similar properties

If we reject the report, you鈥檒l need to provide and pay for a new report.

If you do not agree with the new valuation

Under the terms of your equity loan agreement the President of鈥�RICS鈥痺ill appoint a鈥�RICS鈥痵耻谤惫别测辞谤 to produce a final valuation.

How to apply to remortgage

Follow these steps if you want to remortgage with a new lender and borrow more money.

1. Decide what percentage of your equity loan you are repaying

You can repay all or part of your equity loan. Any part payment must be at least 10% of the market value of your home. You cannot leave less than 5% of the market value amount to repay.

2. Get your paperwork ready

To apply for permission to remortgage you鈥檒l need to:

• get a repayment mortgage redemption statement from your mortgage lender
• contact your current mortgage lender to get a redemption (or repayment) statement. This confirms the total amount you need to repay, and that the total on your repayment mortgage has not increased.

The statement must be less than 12 working days old when we receive it. If it鈥檚 older than this, you鈥檒l need to get a new one.

3. Complete the application form

Complete the application form.

MS Word Document, 535 KB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email enquiries@homesengland.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

You鈥檒l need:

• your equity loan account number
• the remortgage amount
• your conveyancer鈥檚 and mortgage broker鈥檚 details
• a copy of your new mortgage offer

If the repayment mortgage is in joint names, you鈥檒l both need to sign the application form.

4. Send your paperwork and application form

Send our Customer Service team everything by email or post using the contact details below.

Customer Service team

5. Pay the administration fee

The fee is 拢115 if you want to:

• remortgage only
• remortgage and transfer equity (change ownership of your home)
• remortgage to make structural alterations

The fee is 拢200 if you want to remortgage and repay all or part of your equity loan.

You can pay this by:

• bank transfer
• online at the link we send you
• debit card by calling 0300 123 4123
• cheque

You must tell our Customer Service team on the number or email above if you鈥檝e paid by bank transfer so they can confirm it on your customer account.

When emailing our Customer Service team, please include your account number and a brief summary of your query 鈥� for example 鈥楶ayment鈥� 鈥� in your email subject line.

If we have your mobile number, we鈥檒l send you an SMS text message from 鈥楬elptoBuy鈥� with a unique link to HelptoBuy.paythru.com. The link works for 4 days from when we send it. You can only use the unique link to pay your admin fee.

Payment details

We cannot progress your application unless we鈥檝e received this payment.

6. Getting a decision

Our Customer Service team will let you know the decision on your application by email or letter after receiving all of your documents.

From the information you send, we鈥檒l record:

• how much you want to borrow
• your conveyancer鈥檚 details
• your loan to value limit

If your application is accepted or declined

If your application is accepted and we give you permission to remortgage and borrow more, we will contact you by email and explain the next steps.

This permission is valid for 6 months from the date it is issued. If you do not complete your remortgage within this time you may have to repeat the application process.

If your application is declined, we will contact you by email to explain the decision.

Complete the remortgaging process

Your conveyancer helps you complete your remortgage.

1. If your application is accepted, we send your conveyancer an 鈥楢uthority to Proceed鈥� document, along with other documents they need to progress your remortgage.

2. Your conveyancer prepares a Deed of Postponement, which we need to agree to, along with your mortgage lender. This is a legal document that ensures your new repayment mortgage is the first charge on your home. Your equity loan is the second charge on your home.

3. We check the Deed of Postponement, and send it back to your conveyancer so that they can complete the remortgage.

4. Within 5 working days of completing your remortgage, your conveyancer sends us written notification that the remortgage has completed, and a certified copy of the Deed of Postponement. We record the new mortgage details on your Help to Buy account.