Leader Sir Ed Davey said that “people’s homes are on the line” amid the rising cost of living and called on ministers to provide a “safety net”.
Under the party’s proposals, the support fund would provide payments instead of the Support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme. Waiting times would be a shorter 13 weeks as opposed to 39 weeks usually needed to qualify for the interest loan scheme.
Davey said: “Many first-time buyers who have scrimped and saved to get on the housing ladder will urgently need a safety net to get through what looks like months of mortgage cost rises.
“We need an emergency mortgage support fund to support struggling families, or we will see people forced to default and hand back the keys to their homes.”
The Support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme is a government loan which can be used to pay the interest on a mortgage. It is repaid with interest when the home is sold.
To qualify for the loan, homeowners usually need to be unemployed and in receipt of another benefit from the government, such as income support or pension credit, for 39 weeks in a row.
