Morning, Monday, 1st September 2025
Online
This conference will consider next steps for the mortgage market in England, focusing on regulation, consumer access, market stability, and government support for home ownership.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss key new government measures, including the transition of the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme to a permanent UK-wide arrangement in July - the new Affordable Homes Programme - alongside investment in housebuilding, digitalisation, and planning reform. Discussion will assess implications for first-time buyers, affordability, housing supply, and the overall market.
Delegates will also consider the Financial Conduct Authority’s ongoing consultation on where regulatory changes may be needed to support sustainable home ownership and economic growth - ahead of its closure on the 19th September - particularly on the trade-offs and risks of changes to responsible lending rules and rebalancing the collective risk appetite.
With the FCA publishing a policy statement on simplifying mortgage lending rules in July 2025, sessions will look at how changes to mortgage term reductions and remortgaging will make it easier for borrowers while maintaining appropriate protections, and consider what non-advised options could mean in practice for the support provided to borrowers and the responsibilities of lenders and intermediaries.
The impact of changes to lending restrictions for high Loan to Income mortgages will also be discussed, alongside wider consequences of the Chancellor’s Leeds Reforms on the sector, with sessions considering the overall impact of measures on mortgage accessibility and risk.
Further sessions will address the wider policy and fiscal context - including changes to stamp duty and ISAs, planning reform, and the Renters’ Rights Bill - as well as long-standing challenges around housing supply, barriers facing mortgage prisoners, housing prices and market certainty, as well as maintaining resilience in uncertain economic conditions.
With the agenda currently in the drafting stage, overall areas for discussion include:
- permanent Mortgage Guarantee Scheme: what it means for first-time buyers and mortgage access - safeguards for consumers and public funds - impact on house prices and demand
- Loan to Income flow reforms: impacts of higher loan-to-value mortgages on mortgage affordability and accessibility - mitigating consumer risks
- Affordable Homes Programme and new investment: possible effects on housing supply and affordability - impact on the stability of the market
- digital home buying: what is needed to speed up transactions and reduce failed sales - improving reliability - making the process accessible for all
- FCA policy statement on mortgage lending: how to make it easier for people to switch lenders - removing unnecessary requirements - what this means for mortgage applications
- outcomes-based regulation: implications for mortgage decisions - changes in responsibilities for lenders and intermediaries
- non-advised mortgage options: how these could affect the support and protection available to borrowers - what borrowers can expect if they do not receive formal advice
- changes to stamp duty, ISAs, and planning reform: likely impact on mortgages and home buying - how these changes fit with wider policy developments
- issues for mortgage prisoners and leaseholders: barriers to switching - options for those unable to move to a better deal - support for those with leasehold properties
- financial resilience: risks linked to high loan-to-value mortgages - what might happen if interest rates change unexpectedly
