Tracker & SVR
Your tracker deal is ending. Here's what changes.
A tracker mortgage does not have the early repayment charge cliff-edge that makes a fix ending feel urgent, and that quietly leads a lot of tracker borrowers to treat the end date as unimportant. It isn't. The charge is usually the only thing missing. Everything else that costs a fixed-rate borrower money for drifting past their end date costs a tracker borrower the same amount, on the same terms.
What actually ends
A tracker rate moves with the Bank of England base rate for a set period, commonly two, three or five years, at a fixed margin above it, say base rate plus 0.85%. When that period ends, the tracking arrangement ends with it. Your mortgage does not simply keep tracking the base rate forever at the same margin. It moves onto your lender's standard variable rate, which is set by the lender and only loosely follows the base rate.
The part that's actually different from a fix
Most tracker deals do not carry an early repayment charge, or carry one only for a short initial period. That means you can normally move to a new deal, with your current lender or another one, at any point without a penalty. This is the main reason tracker borrowers relax about the end date: there is no step-down schedule to watch, no charge that makes leaving early expensive. If you've read about breaking a fix early, the sum in that article mostly does not apply to you.
The part that's the same
Do nothing, and you land on the SVR exactly as a fixed-rate borrower would. The SVR is set by the lender rather than mechanically tied to the base rate, and it sits well above a typical tracker margin. As of mid-2026 the Bank of England base rate is 3.75%, held since December 2025. A tracker at base plus 0.85% currently pays 4.60%. Standard variable rates at most major lenders sit between 7% and 8.5%, so the jump from tracker to SVR is often larger in percentage-point terms than the jump from a typical fix to SVR.
A worked example
Say you owe £220,000 on a tracker at base rate plus 0.85%, with 20 years left on the mortgage term. At the current base rate of 3.75%, your rate is 4.60% and your monthly payment is roughly £1,405. Your tracker deal period ends in three months.
If you do nothing, you move to your lender's SVR, say 7.75%. On the same balance and term, that pushes the monthly payment to roughly £1,825, an increase of about £420 a month. There is no charge for having stayed on the tracker up to that point, but there is nothing to show for it either: the SVR increase starts on day one and keeps costing you every month you stay on it.
Arrange a new deal before the tracker ends, say a fresh two-year fix at 5.1%, and the payment moves to roughly £1,495, about £90 a month more than the tracker cost but £330 less than drifting onto the SVR.
The real decision: fix, or track again
Because there's no charge holding you to a schedule, the tracker-ending decision is really a bet on where the base rate goes next, sized against how much a wrong bet would hurt. Forecasts through the second half of 2026 point in different directions: some expect the base rate to hold near 3.75%, others expect a further fall toward 3.25% as inflation eases, and there's a live risk of it moving the other way if energy prices push inflation back up. A new tracker keeps you exposed to whichever of those happens. A fix trades that exposure for a rate that's usually a little higher today in return for certainty over the deal period.
There is no version of this that removes the judgement call. What you can remove is the risk of making it three weeks after your SVR has already started, which is the version of this decision most people end up making by default.
What to actually do
Find your tracker's end date and put it somewhere you'll actually see it, the same way you would for a fix. Because there's usually no charge for leaving early, there's little reason to wait until the last month: start comparing new deals, both fixed and tracker, once you're within your lender's early-lock window, commonly six months out. If you want a view on whether to fix or track again for your specific balance and risk appetite, that's a conversation for a mortgage adviser regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The SVR cost calculator puts a number on what drifting onto the SVR would cost you in the meantime.
Frequently asked questions
What happens when a tracker mortgage deal ends?
If you do nothing, your mortgage moves to your lender's standard variable rate (SVR), similar to what happens when a fix ends. The difference is that leaving a tracker early rarely carries an early repayment charge, so you can move to a new deal at any point without a penalty in most cases.
Is it worth staying on a tracker after the deal ends?
Only briefly, and only if you expect the base rate to fall soon. The SVR sits well above a typical tracker margin, so it costs more than the tracker did the moment the deal period ends. Most people are better off arranging a new deal before that happens rather than after.
Should I fix or take another tracker when mine ends?
It depends on your view of the base rate over the length of the new deal, and how much a rate rise would strain your budget. A fix removes that risk at a price; a new tracker keeps you exposed to further base rate moves in either direction.
See your dates, free
The free timeline shows your tracker's end date, what the SVR would cost you if you did nothing, and reminds you when the lock window opens, all from your own figures. For £7.99 we then watch it and email you on the days that matter.
Examples are illustrative and rounded. Your own mortgage offer and lender confirm your actual figures and dates. This is information, not financial advice. For advice on your circumstances, speak to a mortgage adviser regulated by the FCA.