Remortgaging when your fix is ending: the six-month plan
This one's for homeowners, and landlords, whose fixed rate ends in the next year. Do nothing and your lender moves you onto its standard variable rate, which on average costs about one and a half points more than a new fix. This guide covers the timeline, product transfer versus remortgage, how to weigh fees against rates with real numbers, early repayment charges, why your home's value matters, what a broker does, and what's different for buy-to-let. Market figures are Moneyfacts averages at the start of August 2026, with Bank Rate at 3.75% after the Bank of England held it on 17 September 2026. Run your own numbers in the mortgage calculator.
The timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 6 to 12 months before | Find the exact date your deal ends and the date any early repayment charge stops. Check your credit file. Get a realistic idea of your home's value. |
| About 6 months before | Compare deals and lock in a rate. Lenders signed up to the Mortgage Charter let you secure a new deal up to six months ahead. |
| 3 to 6 months before | Switching lender? Apply now: there's a full application, a valuation and legal work. |
| Until 2 weeks before | Rates fallen? Charter lenders let you ask for a better like-for-like deal until rates are finalised, two weeks before the new term starts. |
| End date | The new deal starts. No deal booked means the SVR. |
Locking in early is usually a free option: most lenders refund fees if you cancel, but a few charge an upfront fee you won't get back, so check before applying. The Mortgage Charter covers regulated residential mortgages with signatory lenders only. It doesn't cover buy-to-let, and not every lender has signed, so ask yours how far ahead it lets you book.
Product transfer or remortgage?
| Product transfer (same lender) | Remortgage (new lender) | |
|---|---|---|
| Affordability check | Usually none if you're not borrowing more | Full check: income, outgoings, credit |
| Valuation and legal work | Usually not needed | Yes, though some lenders pay these for you |
| Speed | Days | Weeks |
| Choice | One lender's range | The whole market |
| Best for | Income has fallen, credit has wobbled, or the value has dropped | Chasing the best rate, borrowing more, or wanting different features |
Product transfers are often done execution-only, meaning without advice. That's fine if you've checked the market, but you have fewer grounds to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if the deal turns out unsuitable. The sensible order: get your lender's offer first, then use it as the benchmark against everything else.
The standard variable rate cliff
At the start of August 2026 the average SVR was 7.13%, against 5.63% for the average two-year fix (Moneyfacts). On a £200,000 repayment mortgage with 25 years left:
| Rate | Monthly payment |
|---|---|
| New fix at 5.29% | £1,203 |
| Average SVR, 7.13% | £1,430 |
| Cost of drifting | £227 a month, about £2,700 a year |
The one upside: SVRs usually have no exit penalty, so if you've already drifted on, you can leave straight away. And if you're selling within a few months, sitting on the SVR briefly can beat paying a fee for a new deal with early repayment charges attached.
Fees versus rate: do the maths
Lenders buy down headline rates with fees, so compare the total cost over the fixed period, not the rate. Same £200,000 balance, 25 years left, two-year fix:
| Deal A: 4.89% plus £1,499 fee | Deal B: 5.29%, no fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment | £1,156 | £1,203 |
| Interest over 2 years | £19,164 | £20,756 |
| Fee | £1,499 | £0 |
| True 2-year cost | £20,663 | £20,756 |
At £200,000, Deal A wins by £93: effectively a draw. Run the same two deals on a £90,000 balance and Deal B wins by £783 (£9,340 against £10,123), because the fee stays fixed while the rate saving shrinks with the loan. The rule: small balance or short fix, lean fee-free. Big balance or longer fix, the fee can earn its keep. If you add the fee to the loan, you pay interest on it for the whole term.
The APRC on every offer helps compare deals, but it assumes you keep the mortgage for its full term, which almost nobody does. Your own two-year or five-year sum is the better guide.
Early repayment charges
Leave a fixed deal early and you'll usually pay an early repayment charge: typically a percentage of the balance, often stepping down each year, and set out in your mortgage offer. On £200,000, an illustrative 2% charge is £4,000, enough to wipe out most rate savings. Two practical points:
- Book early, start late. Lock your new rate up to six months ahead, but set it to start once the charge has ended.
- Use your overpayment allowance. Many lenders let you overpay up to 10% a year without a charge, which can also nudge you into a cheaper LTV band (below).
Moving house soon? Choose a deal with low or no charges. Most mortgages are portable, but porting is treated as a new application, so you still have to pass the lender's affordability checks.
LTV: why your home's value matters
Loan-to-value is your balance divided by what the lender thinks your home is worth. Rates step down at bands, typically 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, 75% and 60% (the deposits guide explains the bands). At the start of August 2026 the average two-year fix was 5.17% at 60% LTV, against 5.84% at 90%.
Example: your home is worth £300,000 and you owe £186,000, which is 62% LTV. Overpay £6,000 before switching and you owe £180,000: exactly 60%, and onto the cheapest shelf. Even 0.25 percentage points on £180,000 is about £450 a year in interest.
The catch: it's the lender's valuation that counts, and it can come in lower than you hoped. If it pushes you over a band, ask the lender to reconsider and send evidence: recent sold prices for similar homes and the cost of improvements you've made. If prices have fallen, a product transfer with your current lender may be the easier route.
What a broker does, and how they're paid
A broker searches lenders for you, knows whose criteria you fit, and handles the application. A whole-of-market broker sees the widest range. Brokers are paid in one of four ways:
- Free to you, paid by commission from the lender
- A flat or hourly fee
- A percentage of the loan
- A fee plus commission
They must tell you how they're paid before they advise you. Most don't charge for a first conversation, so speak to two. Check they're on the FCA register, and remember that taking advice gives you the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service if the mortgage turns out unsuitable. A broker fee added to the loan attracts interest like the rest of it.
Buy-to-let: what's different
- No Mortgage Charter. Its lock-in and switching commitments don't cover buy-to-let. Ask your lender directly how early you can book.
- The rent test can come back. A new lender runs its own interest cover check at a stressed rate, typically wanting rent of 125% to 145% of the stressed interest. Rent that passed easily when rates were low can fail now. Run it first in the BTL stress-test calculator, and see the BTL mortgages guide for how the test works.
- Like-for-like helps. The Bank of England's minimum stress-test expectations don't apply to a buy-to-let remortgage with no extra borrowing, though each lender still applies its own rental criteria. Raise capital at the same time and you're back under the full rules.
- Fees are finance costs. For individual landlords, loan arrangement fees get the same 20% tax credit as interest, not a deduction. A percentage fee on a large loan costs a higher-rate landlord more than it looks.
Your mortgage is only one line of what a home costs to run: the cost of owning guide has the rest.
Mistakes people make
- Leaving it to the last month, when there's no time left to switch lender.
- Comparing headline rates instead of total cost over the fix.
- Switching lender while an early repayment charge still applies.
- Taking the product transfer without checking the market. It's the easy option, not automatically the cheapest.
- Forgetting the valuation. A lower figure can push you into a worse LTV band.
- Landlords raising capital on a remortgage without re-running the rent test first.
Sources: gov.uk: Mortgage Charter · Bank of England: Bank Rate · Moneyfacts: UK Mortgage Trends Treasury Report, August 2026 · MoneyHelper: Remortgaging to get the best deal · MoneyHelper: How will interest rates affect my mortgage? · MoneyHelper: Understanding mortgages and interest rates · MoneyHelper: Should you use a mortgage adviser? · MoneyHelper: Mortgage fees and costs · Bank of England, SS13/16 Underwriting standards for buy-to-let mortgage contracts · gov.uk: Work out your rental income, finance costs · FCA: Financial Services Register
Education, not financial advice. For mortgage advice, speak to an FCA-authorised broker.