There are several ways to curb being unable to repay your mortgage, some of which are outlined below.

You should never take out a loan at a higher rate of interest to pay your regular mortgage payments; this will only make the problem worse. Don’t ignore letters or telephone calls from your lender; if you are not sure what they mean ask your lender or a debt adviser. Don’t stop paying altogether if you can’t afford the full repayment: talk to your lender and pay what you can each month. You may be thinking about abandoning your property or sending the keys to your lender. You should not do this without talking to your lender first and understanding the consequences.

There are a few points that you could take into consideration.

You will still owe any outstanding debt/mortgage, including the interest building up on the loan, until the property is sold. You will have to pay for the costs of selling the property and will still owe any shortfall between the sale price of the property and the outstanding debt.

Your lender may pursue you, through the courts, to recover the total amount owing. You may be recorded on a register of people who have had their properties repossessed and may find it more difficult to obtain loan finance in future. Some companies offer to help you if you get into financial difficulties with your mortgage payments by buying your home and then renting it back to you for a fixed period of time (six months or more). These are sometimes called ‘mortgage rescue’, ‘rent-back’ or ‘sell-to-let’ schemes.

Selling your home in this way may allow you to clear your mortgage debts and stay in your home. However, if you opt for such a scheme you will no longer own your home and could still be evicted if you fall behind with your new rental payments. In addition most of these firms will pay you less than the market value of your property, so think carefully before entering into such a scheme and make sure you understand the consequences.

Income Support (IS) is a benefit to help people on low incomes, although eligibility for help with housing costs is very restrictive. If you qualify, then there are limited arrangements in place to help meet your mortgage interest, provided that the purpose of the mortgage was for the purchase of your home or for work carried out to maintain the property.

There is a limit of £100,000 on the size of mortgage which it will cover - although if your mortgage is larger than this, you may still be able to receive assistance on the first £100,000. Restrictions can be imposed.

In addition to mortgage interest, it may also cover ground rent or certain service charges, but it will not cover the capital part of your mortgage payments or the premiums on an endowment policy. IS for mortgage interest is normally paid direct to your mortgage lender and credited to your mortgage account every four weeks in arrears.

The timing of the assistance will depend on when you took out your mortgage, but usually you cannot start receiving assistance until 9 months after the start of a claim: check with your local Jobcentre Plus office.

Sources of further advice and assistance as well as specialist advice may be needed which cannot be obtained from your lender or you might want to seek independent advice about the best course of action for you.