Contact your Citizens Advice Bureau or JobCentre office for a benefits check. If you or your partner claim Income Support, JobSeeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit, you may be entitled to some help with your mortgage repayments.

You can only get help with the interest on your mortgage but not with the full capital repayments – this is known as Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).

How much help you get depends on your personal circumstances and income level, as well as when the mortgage was originally taken out.

There is a cap associated with SMI to the value of borrowing of £200,000, so if your mortgage is over £200,000, you will only qualify for help with the interest on the first £200,000. The interest rate which SMI pays is not necessarily the interest rate of your loan. The current rate for SMI is 3.63%. If your interest rate is higher than this you may have a shortfall between the benefit amount and the actual interest your lender charges you.

There is also a waiting period of 13 week for applicants who are eligible to get this benefit – this will apply to most people, although some people will be able to get a part of this support after the initial 8 weeks of waiting. No new applicants should be waiting for longer than 13 weeks – if you are, seek advice from the Housing Rights Service or another advice agency.

In January 2009 changes were made to the rules governing SMI.  These changes introduced a two year time limit to SMI for claimants receiving income based Job Seekers Allowance.  These changes will start to affect people in January 2011.  If your SMI claim is going to expire soon, it is important that you get advice and speak to your lender.

If you remortgaged, the Social Security Agency will need to know how much the remortgage was and how the money was spent. If it was spent on home improvements, you will have to show that these were necessary and produce relevant receipts.

The Social Security Agency will not pay for remortgaged funds used to pay off other debts, or to pay for a holiday, car or wedding. It will also not pay for remortgaged funds used to buy a new property, fund a business or divorce settlement.

It is worth checking if you are receiving the right amounts of tax credits, especially if you’ve had a recent change in circumstances. Contact Citizens Advice Bureau or JobCentre office for a benefits check to establish if you could claim tax credits.

The Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme was set up to assist households that had experienced an income shock or temporary loss of income.  The scheme allowed you to postpone part of your interest payments for up to two years, although this money would be added on to the balance of your mortgage.  This scheme closed to new applicants on 21 April 2011.

Don't miss out on getting help. An adviser can tell you if you are entitled to any assistance with your housing costs.