Reference, not news
The reading room
Two things here that don't change week to week: the complete guide to your mortgage's costly dates, and sourced lender rules. For what's new, the articles update twice a week.
The guide
Every date on a fixed-rate mortgage that can cost or save real money — the SVR cliff, the lock window, ERC step-downs, allowance resets — in one read.
OpenLender rules, sourced
Overpayment allowances and early-lock windows for major UK lenders, every fact linked to the lender's own pages with the date we checked it.
OpenUK mortgage rate index
The average 2-year fix, 5-year fix, SVR and Bank Rate, pulled straight from the Bank of England and refreshed daily. Free to cite.
OpenWhat your lender actually lets you overpay
"10% a year" is the rule of thumb everyone repeats, but it's not universal — NatWest and RBS allow 20%, and lenders don't all measure the percentage against the same figure. Where we couldn't verify a lender's own published rule, the page says so and uses the common market rule: 10% of the balance each year, resetting either on 1 January or on the deal anniversary depending on the lender rather than a guess.
Halifax
10% of the amount owed as at 1 January, each calendar year · lock window ~4 months
Sourced ruleNationwide
10% of the original loan amount, each year · lock window ~4 months
Sourced ruleNatWest
20% of the outstanding balance, each year · lock window ~4 months
Sourced ruleRoyal Bank of Scotland
20% of the outstanding balance, each year · lock window ~4 months
Sourced ruleSantander
10% of the fixed-rate loan, each calendar year (January to December) · lock window ~4 months
Sourced ruleHSBC
10% of the outstanding balance, each year, on the account's opening date or the fixed-rate start date · lock window ~3 months
Sourced ruleVirgin Money
10% of the mortgage balance, each calendar year
Sourced ruleTSB
10% of the amount owed at 1 January, each calendar year
Sourced ruleCoventry Building Society
10% of the balance, each year
Sourced ruleSee every lender, with sources →
Something not adding up, or a lender's rule changed? Get in touch — corrections with a source are especially welcome.