Halifax and Nationwide have begun to contact borrowers regarding holiday payment extensions that were announced in late May.

Borrowers from both banks will be asked to self-serve from a range of options on the respective lenders’ website.

Halifax borrowers will be able to choose from, depending on their circumstances, an extension of up to three months, a part-payment holiday, which will see their payment amount reduced for the time span, the choice of making overpayments, be that through a lump sum or regularly, switching to a different type of mortgage, or extending their term.

Nationwide borrowers, meanwhile, will be asked if they want to take a mortgage payment break or make partial payments.

Buy-to-let landlords will also be able to apply for a mortgage payment holiday.

Nationwide adds that all borrowers concerned will be provided with a payment calculator so they can see the consequences of each option.

The lender also says that no borrower who has fallen into arrears because of Covid-19 will lose their home until the end of May 2021 “if they work with the society to get their finances back on track.”

Nationwide director of mortgages Henry Jordan comments: “While we would always encourage people to pay what they can, there are cases where this is just not possible. For those who continue to be financially impacted as a result of Coid-19, we are here to support them.

“Our Home Support Package is designed to help our members keep their homes. The unknown timeframe of how long this impact will last has led us to halting repossessions linked to Covid-19 until the end of May 2021 to give our members as much reassurance as we can. All that we ask is that our members continue to engage with us so that we can agree with them the best way to help them.”