When is my first mortgage payment?

Your first mortgage payment is usually taken in the month after you complete, not in the month you move in. If your mortgage completes in May, the first payment normally falls in June. Which day it lands on depends on the lender and on the payment date you chose when you applied.

It is also usually bigger than the payments that follow. The first payment includes interest from the day the mortgage money was released to the end of that month, on top of a normal monthly payment. Depending on when your mortgage starts and your chosen payment date, it can cover one or two monthly payments plus that initial interest¹.

The exact amount is confirmed after completion, because it depends on the precise date the funds went out. Your mortgage offer shows an illustration, but the final figure can be higher or lower than that illustration³.

Your first payment is usually taken the month after completion

The rule most lenders follow is simple: the first payment comes out the month after the mortgage starts. Halifax states it plainly: "We always take the first payment the month after your mortgage has started"⁷. Lloyds says the same, adding that if the mortgage starts at the end of the month and the chosen payment date is at the beginning of the next month, the first payment is taken on or around the 10th of the month following completion⁸.

Other lenders set the date by reference to when you completed. Suffolk Building Society takes the first payment on the 1st of the month immediately following completion⁹. Skipton International takes it on the 1st day of the following month if completion is on or before the 23rd, or on the 10th of the following month if completion is after the 23rd¹⁰. Arbuthnot Latham sets the first repayment for the first day of the following month where the mortgage is drawn between the first and fifteenth calendar day of the month¹¹.

Some lenders fix the date regardless. The Mortgage Lender says mortgage payments are due on the 1st of each month¹².

The practical effect is that you normally get a gap of a few weeks between getting the keys and the first payment leaving your account. That gap is not free money: it is the interest building up that the first payment will collect.

Why the first payment is bigger than the rest

Interest on a mortgage is charged daily from the moment the money is released. Your regular monthly payment covers a full month. The first payment has to cover the part-month between completion and the end of that month as well, so it is usually larger¹.

Kensington Mortgages describes it as "often higher than the following regular monthly payments. This is because interest due from the day the mortgage completed is included, in addition to the first monthly payment"¹³. Atom bank says that if your mortgage completes other than on the 1st of the month, the first payment will be higher because it covers the partial month and the first full month¹⁴. Yorkshire Building Society, the Co-operative Bank and Cambridge Building Society all describe the same mechanism: initial interest from completion to the end of the month is added to the first payment¹⁵.

How much bigger depends on when you completed. Complete on the 2nd and the extra interest is nearly a full month. Complete on the 28th and it is a few days. Leeds Building Society notes that the first payment can cover one or two monthly payments plus initial interest, depending on when the mortgage starts and the chosen payment date².

The Melton Building Society takes a different approach: for new mortgage accounts, the first monthly payment includes only the interest charged between the day the mortgage starts and the first payment¹⁹.

How payment dates differ between lenders

There is no single industry rule on the day your payment falls. Lenders set their own conventions, and the date you chose at application usually carries through.

The pattern to notice is that most lenders anchor to the 1st, then shift to a later date in the month when completion happens too close to the 1st for the paperwork and the direct debit to be set up in time. That is why a late-month completion can push your first payment to around the 10th of the following month.

Once the first payment is made, the date settles. Your subsequent payments fall on the same day each month for the life of the deal, unless you ask to change it.

Choosing your monthly payment date

Most lenders let you pick the day your mortgage payment comes out, within limits. The usual condition is that one payment is made in each calendar month, so you cannot skip a month or set two payments in the same one⁴.

first direct, for example, tells customers: "You could rejig the date your monthly mortgage payment is due to help you manage your money better, as long as you make" a payment each calendar month⁴. It asks for at least 7 working days' notice before your payment is due⁵.

Bluestone Mortgages allows the due date to be changed from the 2nd to the 28th of the month, after the first mortgage payment is made following completion on the 1st²⁰.

Timing your payment to your payday is the usual reason people change it, and the Financial Ombudsman Service expects lenders to be flexible about it. Its guidance on arrears charges says that where a customer has moved to a new job with a changed salary payment date, "we would expect to see that you had allowed your customer to change the date of their monthly mortgage payment"²¹.

If you want to move your date, the process is usually:

1. Check your lender's rules on which dates are available and how much notice it needs.
2. Contact the lender before the payment is due, not after.
3. Confirm the new date in writing or in the app.
4. Check the first payment on the new date, because a change can create a short or long interest period.

Remortgaging and product transfers: what happens to your payment date

A product transfer moves you to a new deal with your existing lender. A remortgage switches you to a new mortgage, either with your existing lender or a different one²².

With a product transfer, the payment date normally stays where it is. The Mortgage Lender, for example, states that mortgage payments are due on the 1st of each month for product transfer customers, the same as for its other borrowers²³. There is a timing rule to watch: for a new rate and monthly payment to take effect on the 1st of the following month, the lender requires the product transfer to be accepted on your behalf no later than the 19th of the month²³.

With a remortgage to a different lender, you are completing a new mortgage, so the first payment rules on this page apply again. You will get a new payment date, and a first payment that includes initial interest from the new completion date.

Product transfers can usually be arranged around four months before your fixed term ends²⁶. If you are weighing the two up, the remortgage or product transfer comparison sets out the trade-offs.

What protects you if the first payment is a problem

Mortgages are priority debts. The official guidance is blunt: "Mortgages are priority debts. That makes the first payment worth planning for, because it lands at the same time as moving costs, and cashback from a mortgage deal is usually paid after completion, so it cannot be used towards those costs²⁹.

If the first payment is more than you can manage, the options are:

• Ask your lender to move the payment date to just after your payday⁴.
• Ask about a temporary arrangement or payment holiday. Lenders typically expect you to have paid on time for a minimum period, often 6 months to 1 year, be up to date or have missed no more than 1 payment, and not have taken a holiday too recently³⁰.
• Get free, impartial help. MoneyHelper and debt advice charities can talk through your options, and the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about how a lender handled arrears²¹.

Where the rules differ across the UK, the practical effect for a first payment is small, because the payment date is set by the lender's own terms rather than by law. The protection that applies if things go wrong does differ: repossession in Scotland follows the sheriff court process, and Northern Ireland has its own court process, so the rules and your rights page is the place to check what applies where you live.