The FCA data shows that around 149,000 mortgages have temporarily reduced monthly payments via the new FCA rules.

Monthly payments on around 214,000 mortgages were reduced as people switched to temporarily paying interest-only or extended their mortgage term. This represents around 2.6% of regulated mortgage contracts.

Of those who extended their mortgage term, 547 went to reverse this. The FCA says this suggests borrowers looking for a temporary cut in payments are more likely to opt for a period on interest-only.

The latest figures show that 159 properties were repossessed within the 12 months of missing the first payment.

Firms report these were for customer-driven reasons, for example voluntary possessions or abandoned/vacant properties.

Under the Charter, lenders agreed to provide a number of options to help struggling borrowers to reduce payments for a respite period.

The FCA says that some of these forbearance measures would also have been offered under lenders’ normal business policy.

It is therefore not possible to completely isolate actions undertaken through the Charter.

Quilter financial planner Holly Tomlinson says: “The data on the Mortgage Charter is interesting, with around 1.7m mortgages benefiting from the flexibility options introduced. Measures such as temporary payment reductions and interest-only terms have helped 214,000 borrowers manage their repayments.”

“However, it remains unclear whether many of the people who benefited from the Charter might have done so regardless, as some of the measures are typically adopted throughout the industry as standard practice.”

“For example, 1,738,489 people with mortgages approaching the end of a fixed-rate deal locked into a new deal up to six months ahead of maturity. This is typically standard practice and makes up the majority of those who have benefited.”

“Similarly, 410,345 people with mortgages locked into a new deal up to six months ahead of maturity, before the start of the new deal, locked into an alternative deal.”

“What is clear from this data is that while things are improving in the property market, we are not quite out of the woods yet and those remortgaging in the new year might be in for a nasty shock.”