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i England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We do not charge you for advice, but you make payments to your insolvency practitioner once your IVA is in progress.

How an IVA affects me

Individual voluntary arrangement mortgage advice

You are unlikely to get a new mortgage on an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA).

Your mortgage is not usually included in your IVA.


  • You need to keep making normal payments
  • Contact your IVA supervisor if your payments change
  • For example, because of an interest rate change
  • They can adjust your IVA payments

IVAs are arranged by StepChange Voluntary Arrangements, part of StepChange Debt Charity. In Scotland, a protected trust deed is a similar solution. This has different benefits, risks and fees.

You cannot take out more than £500 of credit while in an IVA, unless you get written approval from your Supervisor.

It may be hard to a find a lender who is willing to give you a new mortgage during your IVA.

Discuss any mortgage decisions with your insolvency practitioner.

An IVA can impact your personal, professional and financial life. There are many risks to consider with an IVA.

Read our guide to your IVA and credit rating.

Is an IVA right for you?

There are no up-front fees, and we do not charge you for debt advice.

Fees are detailed in your IVA proposal, which an IP will assist in drafting. Any fees have to be approved by creditors. Your IP will explain what fees you need to pay for your IVA.

Clare Lindley and James O'Carroll of StepChange Voluntary Arrangements are licensed to act as insolvency practitioners in the UK by the Insolvency Practitioners Association.

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My home in an IVA

You do not have to sell your home unless you want to.

Your IVA may be agreed at six years instead of five years if there is equity in your home.

Are you currently thinking of remortgaging?

If you have an IVA, lenders may not offer you the cheapest rate or be willing to provide you with a mortgage.

The advisor will talk with you about this.

If there is more than £10,000 equity available based on 85% of the current value, your IVA may last for six years.

To work this out, we will find the value of your house. If, for example, the value of your house is £100,000, we will use 85% of this amount. 85% of £100,000 is £85,000.

We would then work out how much of the £85,000 you would have left after paying back the rest of your mortgage or any other costs. For example, if you had £60,000 left to pay on your mortgage, you would have £25,000 equity left.

As this is higher than £10,000 left, your IVA would last for six years.

If there is less than £10,000 equity available based on 85% of the current value, your IVA will last for five years.

Use our online debt advice tool to find out more about IVAs.

StepChange Voluntary Arrangements is a registered trading name of Consumer Credit Counselling Service Voluntary Arrangements Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of StepChange Debt Charity.