This announcement follows an annual roundtable at No.10 Downing Street where Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Procurement, challenged financial institutions to support Armed Forces Personnel.
Those in the armed forces and their families make many sacrifices in serving their country and can face disadvantages in doing so. Personnel are often posted overseas for long periods of time at short notice, which can lead to penalties on their existing financial products such as mortgages.
This move led by the Building Societies Association, whose Head of Mortgage Policy, Paul Broadhead, attended the roundtable, means that members of the Armed Forces who rent out their homes during deployment will be allowed to keep their existing mortgage and not have to change to a buy-to-let mortgage. This will save them both money and time.
Sara Baade, Chief Executive of the Army Families Federation said: 'What this recognises is that military families often have limited choice in where they are sent to live. They go overseas because the country needs them to. It will mean a lot to those that have bought their own homes to know that the challenges of service life are beginning to be understood by our building societies.'
10 Feb 2016
Society Pledges Support for Armed Services Personnel
The Society has pledged to implement a mortgage policy that allows Armed Forces personnel who are posted overseas to rent out their homes without facing higher mortgage interest rates or a requirement to change their mortgage.
