Mortgages · Dated note
Mortgage lenders will contact 1.6 million customers with fixed deals ending in 2026
HM Treasury says the UK's six largest banks and building societies will write to 1.6 million households whose fixed-rate mortgage deals are due to end by the end of 2026. The end date itself is still the active decision point.
1.6 million households
Reuters reported HM Treasury's figure for the number of customers with fixed-rate mortgage deals due to end by the end of 2026 across the UK's six largest lenders.
Six largest lenders
The commitment covers the six largest banks and building societies. Households with other lenders are not part of this specific outreach commitment.
By end of 2026
The commitment relates to deals ending by the end of 2026. The end date itself is when the existing fixed rate stops and the reversion rate begins to apply by default.
Source: Reuters, reporting an HM Treasury statement, 26 March 2026.
What the announcement actually said
On 26 March 2026, the Chancellor met the chief executives of the UK's six largest banks and building societies. Reuters reported that one outcome was a commitment for those lenders to contact 1.6 million customers whose fixed-rate mortgage deals are due to end by the end of 2026.
The same meeting reaffirmed the Mortgage Charter. Under the Charter, a borrower can lock in a new rate with the existing lender up to six months in advance of the current deal ending, and can switch to a new deal with that existing provider without a new affordability assessment.
Nothing in the announcement changes the mechanics of a fixed-rate ending. On the day after the end date, by default, the loan moves onto the lender's reversion rate. The reversion rate is usually higher than the original fixed rate and recalculates the monthly payment.
Lender outreach is a backstop. The end date itself is the household's decision point — and the six-month Mortgage Charter window only works if the end date is known in time to use it.
Why lender outreach is not a household's planning tool
Letters arrive on the lender's schedule
A lender's outreach reaches a household on the lender's timetable. That is not necessarily six months before the end date, and not necessarily early enough to use the full Mortgage Charter window.
Letters can be missed
Lender post and secure messages compete with everything else in a household's inbox. A letter that is opened after the end date has the same information but less time to act on it.
Outreach does not equal advice
A lender contacting a customer is not the same as that customer reviewing their own end date, comparing reversion behaviour, or speaking to a broker. The review still has to happen on the household's side.
An independent reminder anchored to the household's own end date is the only way the six-month window is reliably opened on time.
How the date controls the decision
The fixed-rate end date is not a soft target. It is the moment the original deal stops applying. Three stages run from it.
- 1
Up to 6 months before the end date
Under the Mortgage Charter, the existing lender can offer a new fixed rate that locks in for the period after the end date. This is the household's earliest review window.
- 2
The end date itself
The existing fixed rate stops applying. By default, the loan moves onto the lender's reversion rate from the day after. This is the active decision point.
- 3
After the end date
The reversion rate determines the monthly payment until a new deal is in place. The Mortgage Charter window has closed; the household is on the lender's standard variable rate by default.
The window between the earliest review point and the end date itself is where a household's decision is actually made. After the end date, the same decision still has to be made — just under a different monthly payment.
Knowing the end date in advance is what makes the Mortgage Charter window usable. Without that date, the window quietly closes.
What the Mortgage Charter offers — and what it does not
The Mortgage Charter is a voluntary set of commitments by signed-up lenders. It includes the option to lock in a new rate with the existing lender up to six months in advance of the current deal ending, and the option to switch deals with that existing provider without a new affordability assessment.
The Charter does not guarantee a particular rate, does not require the household to stay with the existing lender, and does not remove the household's option to remortgage elsewhere subject to the new lender's own assessment.
The Charter helps a household that knows its own end date and acts inside the six-month window. It is not a substitute for that planning step.
What to check before your own end date
The fixed-rate end date
Confirm the exact end date on the mortgage offer or annual statement. The end date is the anchor for every other decision below.
The early repayment charge window
Check whether any early repayment charge is still in force, and on what date it ends. Acting too early can trigger a charge; acting too late means the reversion rate has already applied.
The existing lender's product transfer window
Check when the existing lender opens its product transfer window. Under the Mortgage Charter, this can be up to six months before the end date.
Any letter or message from the lender
If the lender has written under this 2026 outreach commitment, check what the letter actually says — and how that lines up with the household's own end date.
These four checks belong to the household, not to the lender. Onremind exists so the first of them — the end date itself — is never the missing piece.
Why the end date is the anchor
A mortgage end date is one of a small number of household dates where missing it has a direct price effect. After the date, the monthly payment can change because the reversion rate is applied — not because of any action the household took.
Every other useful step depends on knowing the end date in time:
- Reading a lender's outreach letter while the six-month window is still open.
- Reserving a product transfer with the existing lender inside the Charter window.
- Speaking to a broker about remortgaging to a different lender, subject to the new lender's assessment.
- Confirming when any early repayment charge ends, so the timing of any switch is correct.
The window that protects you is the one before your end date
Onremind does not provide mortgage advice, recommend lenders or tell you which mortgage to choose.
It helps you track the date.
Add the end date of your fixed-rate mortgage. Onremind reminds you before the fixed period ends, giving you time to check what happens next before your rate changes.
Questions households are asking
Mortgage lender outreach: what it does and does not change
Five direct answers about the June 2026 commitment, the Mortgage Charter window and your own end date.
Related mortgage guidance
Fixed-rate mortgage ending
Add your fixed-rate end date so the Mortgage Charter review window is opened on your own calendar — not the lender's.
What to do before your fixed-rate mortgage ends
A short guide to the dates, terms and decisions before a UK fixed-rate mortgage end date.
Fixed-rate mortgage ending report 2026
Evidence on how UK fixed-rate mortgage end dates are landing across 2026 and what households are facing at the reversion rate.
Source and caveat
Source: Reuters — "UK's Reeves meets banks to gauge impact of Middle East conflict", reporting an HM Treasury statement, 26 March 2026. The Mortgage Charter is a voluntary set of commitments by signed-up UK lenders, referenced by HM Treasury in the same meeting.
Reuters, reporting the Treasury statement — UK's Reeves meets banks to gauge impact of Middle East conflict · 26 March 2026
This is a dated note based on secondary reporting of a Treasury statement. It is not a permanent market-wide rule and not a guarantee of individual support for any household.