Porting a mortgage when you move home

Porting a mortgage means taking your existing mortgage deal on your current property and transferring it to your new home¹. Most mortgages are portable, though not all, and the reason people port is usually money: moving home normally means paying off the old mortgage, and if you are still inside a fixed or introductory period, that can trigger an early repayment charge. These charges can add up to tens of thousands of pounds¹. Porting can avoid having to pay those charges, or at least get them refunded, and it can also save money if your existing rate is lower than the deals your lender is offering new customers today².

Porting is not a right, though. When you port, you have to reapply for the deal, and the lender uses its current lending criteria to decide whether to let you¹. Your circumstances, the new property and the amount you want to borrow are all looked at afresh. And porting is not always free of cost: valuation fees, arrangement fees on any extra borrowing, and the normal legal work of moving house still apply.

What porting can save: early repayment charges and exit fees

The main saving from porting is avoiding the early repayment charge that would otherwise apply when you pay off your mortgage early. NatWest puts it plainly: you can avoid paying early repayment charges by porting your mortgage to a new property⁵. Skipton makes the same point from the other direction: porting could help you avoid an early repayment charge, which you might have to pay if you switch to a new mortgage instead⁴. Furness Building Society tells its moving customers that porting could save them money because they will not need to pay any early repayment charges⁶.

The size of the charge is what makes this worth planning for. If you sell your home while still in the introductory period of your mortgage, you can use the proceeds of the sale to pay off the mortgage, but you may incur an early repayment charge⁷. On a two-year fixed rate, Experian's guidance is to see whether you can avoid the fee by taking your mortgage with you when you move, which is what porting means⁸. Which? notes that early repayment charges can add up to tens of thousands of pounds, which is why it matters to think about when you will next move home before choosing a deal length¹. A charge of that size can easily outweigh any saving from a slightly cheaper rate on a new deal.

There is a second saving that is easy to miss. If your existing rate is lower than the deals your lender is offering now, porting keeps the lower rate running on the new property rather than forcing you onto today's pricing². StepChange's mortgage jargon guide defines porting as the ability to move your current mortgage balance and deal to a different property with the same lender, with no charges or restrictions⁹. That definition is the ideal case; in practice, as the rest of this page sets out, there are conditions, checks and sometimes charges.

Porting is worth comparing against the alternatives rather than assuming it wins. You could let the deal run out and move onto the standard variable rate, or remortgage to a new deal with a new lender, paying any charge that applies. The dedicated guide to early repayment charges explains how these charges are worked out, and mortgage fees and charges covers the other costs of moving lender.

Who can port: the lender reassesses you

Porting is often described as taking your mortgage with you, but the legal reality is that your existing mortgage is repaid when you sell and a new one is set up on the new property, on the same deal terms. That is why you have to reapply: the lender treats it as a new mortgage and uses its current lending criteria to decide whether to let you port¹. Experian's guidance for people moving home is that your lender may let you move your mortgage to the new property, but this is not guaranteed¹⁰.

The reassessment covers three things. First, you: your income, outgoings and credit history are checked again, and if your circumstances have changed, you might not qualify¹. Lloyds warns that depending on the outcome of the reassessment, you may be offered a different loan amount, and there might be early repayment charges³. Second, the property: the lender will want a valuation to confirm the new home is suitable security. Third, the amount: whether you are borrowing the same, more or less changes what happens, as the sections below explain.

To check whether your mortgage is portable in the first place, RBS tells its customers to refer to their most recent mortgage offer document or speak to one of its mortgage advisers¹¹. Danske Bank states that being able to port is subject to its lending, affordability and eligibility criteria¹². In other words, even a mortgage described as portable in the offer is only portable if you and the new property pass the checks on the day.

This is why the timing of a move matters. If you took out your mortgage when your income was higher, or you have since taken on other debts, the affordability check may come out differently this time. The section on how much you can borrow explains how lenders assess income, and mortgage advice: brokers, advisers and applying direct covers where to get help if the answer is not what you expected.

Porting and buy-to-let: where it does not work

Porting only works within the same type of mortgage. Skipton gives the clearest example: you cannot port a residential mortgage to a buy-to-let property⁴. Bank of Ireland UK explains the reason: each type of mortgage has different rules, and with a residential mortgage you must live in the property, while with a buy-to-let mortgage you must let it out¹³. If you are buying a property to let out to tenants, or you plan to let your current home, you will need a buy-to-let mortgage¹⁴.

That creates a specific problem for people who want to keep their current home as a rental when they move. Your options there are set out in the guide to buy-to-let mortgages. In short, some lenders will grant a consent to let on your current deal, while others may insist on switching to a buy-to-let mortgage¹⁵. Consent to let has its own conditions, covered in consent to let: letting your mortgaged home.

There are also limits on where a port can go. Leeds Building Society states that you cannot port your mortgage to a property you already own¹⁶. And buy-to-let porting has its own rules: Vida Homeloans' Scottish buy-to-let terms state that you will only be able to port your loan at the point you purchase a new property, with additional lending subject to a credit assessment¹⁷.

If you want to move but cannot sell, a let-to-buy arrangement is one alternative: it involves having two mortgages at the same time, a buy-to-let mortgage on the existing home and a standard residential mortgage on the new home¹⁸. Which? also notes a bridging loan as an alternative in this situation, by remortgaging your current home onto a buy-to-let mortgage and using the equity released to buy a new property¹⁹. Both routes carry real costs and risks, and they are covered in full in let to buy and regulated bridging loans.

Fees and charges when you port

Porting avoids the early repayment charge, but it does not make moving free. The main fee is the valuation. You will usually have to pay a valuation fee so your lender can check that the new property is worth roughly what you are planning to pay for it¹. Even if you decide to keep your existing mortgage for your new house and are not borrowing extra, you may still have to pay certain fees, such as a valuation survey fee¹. The guide to mortgage valuations and surveys explains what each survey level covers.

If you are moving to a more expensive property, you will need to pass your lender's affordability checks, and you may have to pay a fee to increase your loan, or take on another mortgage product at a different rate¹. Where an additional product is involved, there could also be an arrangement fee¹. TSB's guide to mortgage and survey fees sets out the fees its movers can face, including valuation fees on the new property²⁰.

Which? notes that you can sometimes avoid early repayment charges by getting a portable mortgage, but adds a caution worth repeating: bear in mind that porting is not guaranteed and the checks still apply²¹. A fee-saving that depends on being accepted is not certain, so it is worth knowing what the fallback costs would be.

The legal work is unchanged by porting. Buying and selling property still requires a solicitor or licensed conveyancer, and those fees are part of the cost of any move. The other costs of selling, from estate agent fees to removals, are the same whether you port or not.

Borrowing more: a mortgage split into two parts

Most people who move need a bigger mortgage, not the same one. When you port and borrow more, the extra borrowing does not go on your ported rate. Principality explains the structure: your mortgage will be split into two parts, the existing balance which you port to your new home, and the extra money you borrow, which goes on a separate deal and rate²². Lloyds says the same: if you port your existing mortgage rate, any extra borrowing will have its own interest rate, and you will have a mortgage made up of two parts³. Halifax describes the result: one part on your ported rate and a second part to cover any additional borrowing on a different rate²³.

The lender will also check that you can afford the larger total. Bank of Ireland UK states that you can borrow more on a different interest rate, and that it will assess your circumstances and make sure you can afford the new amount¹³. This is a fresh affordability assessment on the whole loan, not just the top-up, so the fact that you have managed the existing balance so far does not by itself decide the outcome.

A few practical points follow from the two-part structure:

• The two parts can have different deal end dates, which means the charges and rate changes happen at different times.
• When the ported part's deal ends, it moves onto the lender's standard variable rate unless you choose a new deal, while the second part may still be in its own deal period.
• Overpayments are usually applied to one part at a time, and early repayment charges may apply to each part under its own terms.
• Some lenders cap how much extra you can borrow on top of a ported rate, or restrict the products available for the additional part.

If the extra borrowing is refused, or the rate on the additional part is unattractive, the alternatives include a further advance from the same lender, a second charge mortgage, or abandoning the port altogether and taking a single new mortgage with a new lender. The Finance and Leasing Association notes that second mortgages are used for purposes including renovations, helping family buy a first home, raising a buy-to-let deposit, unexpected bills and loan consolidation²⁴. Accord tells its existing customers that they will first need to pay off the existing mortgage, which may include paying early repayment charges, and that depending on what they decide, they may get a refund for some or all of these charges²⁵. Coventry Building Society simply advises customers who may be liable for early repayment charges when paying off part of the mortgage on porting to contact it to find out more²⁶.

Joint applicants should also note that a ported mortgage can be held jointly in the usual way, and some lenders will allow up to four borrowers to share a mortgage²⁷, which can matter if the move is also a change in who owns the home.

Borrowing less: early repayment charges on the difference

Downsizing, or moving to a cheaper area, creates the opposite situation: the new mortgage is smaller than the old one. Here the rule that saves you when you borrow the same or more stops working. Halifax states it directly: if you borrow the same amount, or more, you will not have to pay an early repayment charge to end your current deal, but if you borrow less, you might have to pay an early repayment charge on the difference²³. Lloyds gives a worked example: buying for £200,000 with £75,000 of equity as the deposit and a £125,000 mortgage, you can port your existing rate onto the new £125,000 mortgage, but you will have to pay early repayment charges on the £50,000 reduction³.

The charge is worked out on the reduction, not the whole balance. TSB tells existing customers that if they move and want to take their mortgage deal with them, but the new mortgage is for a smaller amount, any early repayment charge they have to pay will be based on the difference between the two mortgages²⁸. Its moving-home page repeats this: you may have to pay part of the early repayment charge based on the difference between the two mortgages²⁹. Yorkshire Building Society states that if you borrow less on the deal than the amount you owe on your current mortgage, early repayment charges may apply on the amount not being ported².

Lenders differ on how hard this bites. first direct takes the most generous position: if you are moving house and need to borrow less than your existing mortgage, you will not have to pay an early repayment charge on the difference³⁰. Virgin Money takes the strictest: if you borrow less than your current mortgage balance, an early repayment charge will apply³¹. In between, Principality notes that early repayment charges on remortgaging are usually between 1% and 5% of the outstanding mortgage balance³², and Which? has reported that on a five-year fix these charges can be as much as 5% of the mortgage balance in the first year, reducing the longer you have the deal³³.

In practice, the arithmetic is worth doing before you commit to a move. A charge of a few per cent on the reduced portion may be modest; on a large reduction early in a long fix it can be substantial. The charge also interacts with the affordability reassessment: your lender will run an affordability check based on current lending criteria even when you are downsizing and need no extra borrowing¹, so a smaller mortgage is not automatically a simpler one.

Timing: gaps between selling and buying

Porting is at its most fragile when the sale and the purchase do not happen on the same day. Lloyds warns that an early repayment charge may apply if you only port part of your mortgage rate, or if there is a gap between repaying your current mortgage and completing on your new mortgage³. Yorkshire Building Society says that in certain circumstances when porting you may need to pay an early repayment charge, which your lender may refund depending on when your new mortgage completes².

Some lenders publish a window for this. first direct states that if you find a new property and draw down a new mortgage with it within six months of repaying your existing mortgage, you might be able to port your old product rate, and once the new mortgage is set up, any early repayment charge you paid will be automatically refunded³⁰. Lloyds says it may be able to refund early repayment charges, but this is not guaranteed, so customers should call before selling³. Accord tells customers that depending on what they decide to do, they may get a refund for some or all of the charges paid when the existing mortgage was cleared²⁵.

The practical lesson is to raise timing with your lender at the start of the move, not at the end. If you expect to sell before you buy, ask specifically how long the porting window is, what evidence the lender needs, and whether the refund is automatic or has to be claimed. Where the gap looks like running beyond the window, the alternatives include securing a new rate early on a new deal, or accepting the charge and comparing it against the cost of waiting.

If the lender says no

A refusal to port is not the end of the road, but it does change the arithmetic of the move. The Financial Ombudsman Service has set out the grounds on which a lender can refuse: as well as affordability, the value of the new property may mean the ported balance would go outside the loan-to-value range for the interest rate the customer wants to port³⁴. In other words, even a borrower who passes the income checks can be refused because the new home's price, and the loan measured against it, does not fit the deal's terms. The guide to loan to value explains how that ratio is worked out.

A refusal can also come from a change in the people on the mortgage. MoneyHelper notes that where a couple separates, even if both agree or a court orders one person to take over the mortgage, the lender is not obliged to release the other person from it, and lenders apply their own affordability criteria and can refuse³⁵. That is covered in more detail in joint mortgages, separation and transfer of equity.

If the port is refused, the realistic options are:

• A different deal with the same lender, which may avoid the early repayment charge because the balance is not leaving the lender. This is close to a product transfer.
• A new mortgage with a new lender, paying the early repayment charge on the old deal. The charge then has to be weighed against the saving from the new rate.
• Staying put until the deal period ends and the charge falls away, covered in what to do when your fixed rate ends.
• Asking the lender to reconsider, or complaining through its complaints process and then the Financial Ombudsman if you believe the refusal was not handled properly.

There is a wider group for whom switching at all is hard. The government's mortgage prisoner review described borrowers who are unable to switch to a new mortgage deal despite being up to date with payments, and who could benefit from switching if they met lender risk appetite³⁶. If a refusal leaves you stuck on an unaffordable rate, mortgage prisoners and modified affordability explains the help that exists, and specialist mortgage lenders covers lenders that consider cases mainstream lenders decline.

Credit checks and the legal work

Because porting is a fresh application, the lender will run credit checks as it would for any new mortgage. That is not a reason to avoid the conversation with your lender. Which? reports that discussing your situation with your lender and exploring your options will not affect your credit score³⁷. The checks that come with the application itself are the same ones any mortgage triggers, and a single application is unlikely to be decisive on its own. The guide to credit scores and credit reports explains what lenders see and how searches are recorded.

The legal side of moving is unchanged by porting. The mortgage is being repaid on one property and secured on another, so conveyancing is needed on both the sale and the purchase. Which? notes that where two transactions run together, as in a let-to-buy, some lenders require the same solicitor for both transactions, though not all do¹⁸. Even where the whole process runs through an online application, there will still be paperwork to go through, and human mortgage brokers will always be used at some point in the process to make sure the application is correct and legally binding³⁸.

A few final points on the practicalities:

• Keep your mortgage offer document to hand: it is where portability and the early repayment charge terms are set out¹¹.
• Ask your lender in writing what its porting window and refund rules are before you exchange contracts on a sale.
• If you are borrowing more, ask for the two parts' deal end dates and charges in writing so you can see the full cost of the split structure.
• If anything in the process goes wrong and the lender will not put it right, the complaint can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service after the lender's own process finishes³⁴.

Porting sits inside the wider decision of how to fund a move, and it is only ever one option alongside remortgaging to a new lender or taking a product transfer. The comparison in remortgage or product transfer sets those routes side by side, and mortgages: a complete guide covers the rest of the ground.