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Mortgage holder? You may have less time to lock in a new rate before your current deal expires

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Kit Sproson
Kit Sproson
Senior Money Writer – Mortgages Expert
Created 11 June 2024 | Edited 25 November 2024

NatWest is the latest major lender to reduce the amount of time its mortgage customers have to lock in a new rate ahead of their current deal ending, joining five other high street banks. The changes mean you've less time to insure yourself against rates rising before your existing mortgage comes to an end.

After the introduction of the last Government's 'mortgage charter' in June 2023, nearly every UK mortgage lender had allowed existing borrowers to lock in a new rate up to six months before their current deal ran out. This support was designed to give borrowers greater flexibility at a time when mortgage rates were volatile. Prior to 2022/23, four months had been a typical product transfer window.

NatWest has now reduced this six-month period to four months. This follows similar moves by Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, and Santander in 2024.

Following a prolonged period of getting cheaper, fixed-rate mortgage deals have increased in cost since October's Budget and the US election. Two- and five-year fixes for those looking to remortgage currently start from 4.17% and 4.1% respectively. And despite the Bank of England's decision to cut the base rate to 4.75% in October, brokers say there's no immediate prospect of fixed rates coming down again.

Only two major lenders still let you lock in a new deal six months ahead

Two major lenders we asked are still offering six-month product transfer periods, though they are in the minority, as you can see from the table below.

Product transfer periods by lender

Lender

Changed / changing its rules?

How far in advance you can start the process

Barclays

Yes

Decreased to three months in September 2024

Halifax

Yes

Decreased to four months in September 2024

HSBC

No

Six months

Lloyds

Yes

Decreased to four months in September 2024

Nationwide

Yes

Decreased to four months in May 2024

NatWest

Yes

Decreasing to four months from 1 December 2024

Santander

Yes

Decreased to four months in June 2024

Virgin Money

No

Six months

Correct as of 25 November 2024.

It's often sensible to start the mortgage-switching process early

Even if you expect rates to improve, arranging a new fix in advance is still usually a good idea. Locking in early prevents you from rolling on to your lender's standard variable rate (SVR) – likely to be around 7% to 8% – and can act as insurance against interest rates rising before your current deal ends.

If rates fall, you may have the flexibility to switch to a cheaper deal, for free, if one launches before your current rate ends (though check this with the lender first).

If your mortgage deal is ending soon, the first step is to check how far in advance you can lock in a new rate beforehand. This applies whether you're getting a new deal from your existing lender (a 'product transfer') or from a different lender entirely (a 'remortgage'). Need a new mortgage? Use our Product transfer tool to see the best new rates your lender is offering.

Watch to watch out for when locking in early

Before locking in a new mortgage deal early – be that a product transfer or remortgage – check the following:

  • Do you need to pay fees upfront to secure the rate? If so, you're less likely to be able to ditch the deal penalty-free if a better rate comes along in the meantime.

  • Do you need to ditch the rate within a set period? Most lenders won't let you ditch a deal 14 days or less before the new rate is about to start. So, factor this in.

  • Do you have two new mortgages set to start concurrently? This can happen if you lock in a new rate with your existing lender, then decide to get a new deal from a different lender, but forget to cancel the one you don't want. In this scenario, you may need to pay an early repayment charge (which can cost £1,000s) if you leave cancelling too late.

See our Product transfer mortgages guide for more on how a product transfer compares to a remortgage. If you're considering a remortgage, see our Getting ready to remortgage guide for information on what it involves.

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