Homeowners have been keen on escaping the burden of paying more for their mortgage repayments than needed. Remortgage demand has been strong for months. However, many homeowners are stuck in their current deal. That could be changing soon as there is a possibility of relief soon to come with an easing of responsible lending rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The solution, it has warned, will not be a solution for all mortgage prisoners.

A January letter the chief executive of the FCA, Andrew Bailey, to the chairman of the Treasury select committee, Nicky Morgan MP, noted that there is an intention to change mortgage lending rules to help those stuck in their mortgage to switch from a higher loan to value mortgage with an inactive lender to an active lender.

After the publishing of the letter in early March, John Glen, MP, economic secretary to HM Treasure remarked that requiring those lenders that purchase loans of mortgage prisoners to offer new home loans to the homeowners was not feasible.

He remarked, “As stated in Andrew Bailey's letter on January 9, there ultimately needs to be a willingness from industry to offer remortgaging opportunities to these customers once the FCA’s proposed reforms come into effect.

“This will be a commercial decision for individual lenders based on their risk appetite and the individual circumstances of the customers looking to switch to a cheaper deal.”

Mr. Glen added, “The inability of customers to remortgage would be a result of their specific circumstances which put them outside of the risk appetite of lenders, rather than inflexibility in regulations."

Mr. Bailey responded, “It is not currently possible to say who will or will not benefit from our rule changes.

“We are engaging closely with lenders and lender trade bodies to understand the extent to which firms may be interested in taking on certain customers and how these options will be communicated to affected customers.

“I hope you will understand that it is difficult to speculate beyond this on who will or will not be helped, particularly as the rules themselves have not yet been finalised."

Further information is expected in the coming months and those homeowners hoping to remortgage, but currently unable to do so, should keep watch for possible opportunities that will emerge.