When a fixed rate ends, your mortgage moves onto the lender's standard variable rate unless you have arranged a new deal. The payment usually rises. This explains the SVR, product transfers and remortgages, the Mortgage Charter and early repayment charges, with a six-month timeline, a worked example and a documents checklist.
When a fixed rate mortgage ends, the loan moves automatically onto your lender's reversion rate, which is usually its standard variable rate (SVR). Nothing else changes: same lender, same balance, same term. What does change is the payment, which usually goes up from the next month.
You can avoid that by choosing a new deal before the end date, either with your current lender (a product transfer) or with a new one (a remortgage). Most big lenders let you lock in a new rate up to six months ahead under the Mortgage Charter, which was reaffirmed in March 2026.
Mortgage rules are UK-wide, so this applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It is a general explanation, not advice about your own mortgage: MoneyHelper offers free, impartial guidance and a regulated mortgage adviser (a broker) can compare deals against your own numbers.
The short version
- If you do nothing when the fix ends, the loan moves onto the lender's reversion rate, usually its standard variable rate.
- The Bank of England's average quoted revert-to rate was 6.58% in August 2026, against 4.92% for an average two-year fix at 75% loan to value.
- On a £200,000 balance with 25 years left, that gap works out at about £200 a month.
- Lenders signed up to the Mortgage Charter (reaffirmed on 26 March 2026) let you lock in a new deal up to six months ahead.
- A product transfer stays with your lender, usually with no new affordability check if you are up to date; a remortgage moves lender and means a fresh application.
- Early repayment charges usually apply until the fixed period ends, so a new deal should start on or after that date.
- The rate, the fee and your loan to value band together decide what a deal really costs.
What actually happens on the day it ends
Your fixed rate is a product sitting on top of the mortgage, not the mortgage itself. When the product runs out, the Financial Conduct Authority explains that you move onto the lender's reversion rate: often its SVR, sometimes another variable rate, typically higher than the fix you were paying.
In practice:
- The reversion rate applies as soon as the fixed period ends. Your direct debit changes to match.
- Your lender will usually write to you as the date approaches. In March 2026 the six largest lenders also agreed to contact 1.6 million borrowers whose fixes end before the end of 2026. Don't rely on a letter, though: the end date is in your mortgage offer and on your annual statement.
- There is normally no early repayment charge while you are on the SVR, so you can move to a new deal whenever you are ready.
That last point matters if the date has already passed. A month or two on the SVR costs money (about £200 a month in the example below) but you are not locked in.
The standard variable rate explained
An SVR is a rate each lender sets for itself. It is not formally tied to anything, although lenders often move it when the Bank of England changes Bank Rate. Your mortgage offer names the reversion rate that applies to you.
For context, these are Bank of England averages of rates quoted by lenders in August 2026. They are averages, not best buys: your own lender's SVR may be higher or lower.
| Rate | Average, August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Revert-to rate (the usual measure of SVRs) | 6.58% |
| Two-year fix, 75% loan to value | 4.92% |
| Five-year fix, 75% loan to value | 4.78% |
| Two-year fix, 90% loan to value | 5.16% |
| Bank Rate (unchanged since 18 December 2025) | 3.75% |
Fixed rates do not follow Bank Rate one for one. The average two-year fix at 75% loan to value rose from 3.97% in February 2026 to 5.14% in April 2026 while Bank Rate stayed at 3.75%, so nobody can promise that waiting will help.
The Bank's effective rate figures explain why so many people notice the change: in August 2026 outstanding mortgages averaged 4.00% while new ones averaged 4.60%. Somebody coming off an older fix may pay more even on a good new deal.
A timeline from six months before
Lenders work to slightly different windows, so treat this as a typical pattern.
- Six months before. Find your end date and the date any early repayment charge stops (both are in your offer). Note your balance and estimate your home's value to work out your loan to value. Ask your lender what it would offer you: Charter lenders let you lock in up to six months ahead, though some offer less.
- Five to four months before. Compare your lender's offer with the wider market, through a broker or comparison tables. A remortgage needs a valuation and legal work, which take weeks. The FCA says a mortgage offer is generally valid for three to six months, so applying now is not too early.
- Three months before. If you are moving lender, gather the documents in the checklist below and apply. Make sure the valuer can get in.
- Two months before. Expect the offer. A conveyancer does the legal work, often paid for by the new lender. Check the completion date is set for when the fix ends, not before it.
- One month before. If you locked in early and rates have fallen, ask your lender for a better like-for-like deal: Charter lenders let you do that until the new term starts. A product transfer can usually still be arranged at this stage.
- The end date. The new deal starts. Check the first payment against the offer.
- If the date has passed. You are on the SVR, usually with no early repayment charge. A product transfer can often be done quickly; a remortgage still takes weeks. Each month costs the gap between the two rates.
Your three options: stay put, switch deal or move lender
Doing nothing leaves you on the SVR, which suits almost nobody beyond a short gap while deciding. The real choice is between the other two.
| Product transfer | Remortgage | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A new deal from your current lender | Moving the loan to a new lender |
| Affordability check | Usually none if you are up to date and not borrowing more or changing the term or type | Usually a full check (the FCA says most lenders require one) |
| Valuation | Often none; the lender may use an automated estimate | Yes, often free on remortgage deals |
| Fees | Some deals carry an arrangement fee | Some deals carry an arrangement fee; valuation and legal work are often free |
| Legal work | None needed | Yes, by a conveyancer, often paid for by the lender |
| Speed | Often days to a few weeks | Usually several weeks |
| Choice | Your lender's range only | The whole market |
| May suit | Short of time, circumstances changed or a new check could be harder to pass | Time to spare, a better rate elsewhere or borrowing more |
A common approach is to get your lender's product transfer offer first, then see whether a remortgage beats it by enough to be worth the extra steps. Borrowing more (for an extension, say) usually means an affordability check even with your current lender.
A broker can run the comparison. Some charge a fee and some are paid by the lender, so ask how yours is paid. In Scotland the legal side of a remortgage is handled by a Scottish solicitor, because property law there is different; everything else here works the same way.
What it could cost: a worked example
Here is the monthly payment on a £200,000 repayment mortgage with 25 years left, at three illustrative rates. The rates are the Bank of England's August 2026 averages, not deals you can necessarily get. Payments use standard monthly compounding.
| Rate (illustrative) | Monthly payment | Paid over a year | Interest in year one |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.78% (average five-year fix) | £1,143.69 | £13,724.26 | £9,467.55 |
| 4.92% (average two-year fix) | £1,159.88 | £13,918.52 | £9,746.76 |
| 6.58% (average revert-to rate) | £1,360.43 | £16,325.15 | £13,062.78 |
At these averages, sitting on the SVR instead of a two-year fix costs £200.55 a month, or £2,406.63 over a year. The interest gap is bigger again (£3,316.02 in year one) because at the higher rate less of each payment reduces the balance: after a year it is £195,828 on the fix but £196,738 on the SVR.
Rate versus fee
A lower rate often comes with a bigger arrangement fee. Here are three illustrative two-year deals on the same £200,000, with the fee paid up front. The true cost is the interest paid over the two years plus the fee.
| Deal (illustrative) | Monthly payment | Interest over two years | Fee | True cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.92%, no fee | £1,159.88 | £19,283.58 | £0 | £19,283.58 |
| 4.62%, £999 fee | £1,125.33 | £18,091.55 | £999 | £19,090.55 |
| 4.42%, £1,999 fee | £1,102.60 | £17,297.74 | £1,999 | £19,296.74 |
The lowest rate is the dearest deal here. On a smaller balance the fee matters even more. Adding a fee to the loan means paying interest on it for the rest of the term. Comparison sites and brokers can show this total for you.
Early repayment charges and overpayments
An early repayment charge (ERC) is what you pay for leaving a deal, or repaying more than your allowance, before the deal's charge period ends. It is set out in your mortgage offer, usually as a percentage of the amount repaid that steps down each year. MoneyHelper puts the usual range at 1% to 5%; some lenders charge a flat fee instead. On a £200,000 balance a 3% charge would be £6,000, which is why the timing matters.
- Most ERCs end on the same day as the fixed rate, but check your offer, because some run longer.
- Booking a product transfer early does not normally trigger an ERC, because the new deal is set to start when the old one ends.
- A remortgage should complete on or after the date the ERC stops. Your conveyancer can set the date.
- Most fixed deals let you overpay a set amount each year without a charge, commonly 10% of the balance. Overpaying before the end date lowers your balance and can move you into a lower loan to value band. Should you overpay your mortgage? works through the sums.
- The gap between deals is often the cheapest moment to pay off a lump sum, because no ERC applies then. Ask your lender how it handles one at the switch.
How early can you lock in a new deal? The Mortgage Charter
The Mortgage Charter is a set of voluntary commitments from lenders covering about 90% of the mortgage market. It started in June 2023 and was reaffirmed on 26 March 2026. It does not cover buy-to-let mortgages. Not every lender has signed, so check yours is on the list. Signatories commit to:
- letting you lock in a deal up to six months before your fix ends (six months is the most; some lenders offer less)
- letting you ask for a better like-for-like deal, if one is available, right up until the new term starts
- letting borrowers who are up to date switch to a new deal at the end of the fix without another affordability check
- letting you contact them for help without any effect on your credit file
- letting up-to-date borrowers switch to interest-only for six months, or extend the term to lower the payment with the option to go back within six months, without a new affordability check
- not forcing anyone from their home without consent within a year of the first missed payment, except in exceptional circumstances
Together, the first two make locking in early close to a free option: if rates fall before the new deal starts you can ask for the cheaper one; if they rise you have already secured yours.
Interest-only or a longer term lowers the payment now but adds to the interest paid overall. If payments are a struggle, talk to your lender early; MoneyHelper can point you to free debt advice.
What decides the rate you are offered
Three things do most of the work: your loan to value, the fees and the type and length of deal.
Loan to value bands
Loan to value (LTV) is your balance as a percentage of your home's value. Lenders price in bands, typically in 5% steps such as 60%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% and 95%. The lower the band, the better the rate tends to be. On a £200,000 balance:
| Home value | Loan to value | Band (up to) |
|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | 80.0% | 80% |
| £260,000 | 76.9% | 80% |
| £267,000 | 74.9% | 75% |
| £285,000 | 70.2% | 75% |
To see what a band can be worth: at the Bank of England's August 2026 averages for two-year fixes, the same £200,000 over 25 years costs £1,159.88 a month at 75% LTV, £1,187.90 at 90% and £1,230.56 at 95%.
Why the valuation matters
A new lender sends its own valuer. If the figure comes in lower than you expected, your LTV goes up and the rate you were quoted may change. For a product transfer, lenders often rely on an automated estimate instead of a visit. A realistic figure up front helps either way: the free house price calculator gives an estimate from Land Registry data. A lender's valuation is for the lender, not a check on the building's condition (how valuations differ from surveys).
Fees, type and length
Compare the true cost over the deal, as in the example above. Which? reports arrangement fees commonly between £999 and £1,999. Whether to fix for two years or five, or take a tracker, is a trade-off between certainty and flexibility that is worth talking through with an adviser.
Have the paperwork ready: a remortgage checklist
A product transfer needs little more than your account details. A remortgage is a fresh application. Lenders vary, but this is what is typically asked for:
- Identity and address. A passport or driving licence, plus a recent bill or bank statement showing your address.
- Income. Usually your last three months' payslips and your latest P60. If you are self-employed, usually two years of SA302 tax calculations with tax year overviews, or accounts.
- Bank statements. Usually the last three months for the account your income goes into.
- Your current mortgage. The latest annual statement, the account number and the dates your fix and any ERC end.
- Commitments. Credit cards, loans, car finance, childcare and other regular costs.
- The property. An estimate of its value. If it is leasehold, the years left on the lease, the ground rent and the service charge.
- Work on the home. For an extension, loft conversion, new windows or rewiring: planning permission, building regulations completion certificates and installer certificates, because a valuer may ask.
- Buildings insurance. Lenders require it, so have the policy details ready.
- Extra borrowing. If you are borrowing more for work, the quotes or plans for what it will pay for.
The property side is where people get caught out. The answers live in the same certificates a buyer's conveyancer would ask for; if some are missing, how to prove work was done on your home covers the replacement routes.
What to keep afterwards
Once the new deal is in place, keep:
- the new mortgage offer, which holds the rate, the end date, the ERC schedule and the overpayment allowance
- the product transfer confirmation or, for a remortgage, the completion statement
- the valuation figure and date, if there was one
- receipts for any fees
- each annual mortgage statement, which confirms the balance and any overpayments
- the new end date in a calendar, with a reminder six months before
The offer answers "when can I switch without a charge?" years from now, so keep it with the house paperwork. homehogs can hold your mortgage details and deal end date alongside the certificates a valuer or a buyer will ask about, with a reminder before the fix runs out. The same records help when you come to sell: see the documents you need to sell a house.
Sources
- FCA: Support with mortgages and interest rates
- HM Treasury: Mortgage Charter 2026
- HM Treasury: Chancellor gets banks to step up mortgage support (26 March 2026)
- Bank of England: Bank Rate
- Bank of England: Quoted household interest rates
- Bank of England: Effective interest rates, August 2026
- MoneyHelper: Remortgaging to cut costs
- Which?: The cost of buying a house
Last fact-checked 5 October 2026.
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homehogs keeps your mortgage details and deal end date with the rest of your home's records and reminds you well before the fix runs out, so the next deal is a decision rather than a surprise.
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