Homeowners in Jersey face £2,000 a month rise in mortgage payments when renewing

Homeowners in Jersey looking to renew their mortgages face paying up to an extra £2,000 per month as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.

The island's inflation rate recently topped 10%, the highest figure since 1990, and similar increases are reflected across the British Isles.

This has a knock-on effect as the Bank of England ups its base interest rate to try and keep inflation under control.

Mortgage providers use this figure to create their own level of interest so when the central figure rises, often so do repayments that are not on a fixed rate.

Housing Minister Deputy David Warr has confirmed that people facing renewals will be hit with higher bills.

At a scrutiny meeting, Deputy Warr said that around 300 people in Jersey currently renewing their mortgages are spending between £1,000 and £2,000 extra per month on average.

He did add that he believes house prices will drop and also talked about a new £10 million investment scheme to help people get onto the property ladder.

There may be a delay in bringing in any help though as the Minister explained that he is trying to find long-term solutions rather than 'headline-grabbing' news.

Deputy Steve Luce, Chair of the Housing Scrutiny Panel, said: "The meeting did bring to our attention the lack of clarity the Deputy has around the timescales for the £10m investment scheme and we would require further details on when in 2023 this will be."