Mortgage nightmare: Repayment rates to DOUBLE for 800,000 British households THIS YEAR after 'unprecedented' interest rate hikes

Up to 800,000 households will see their mortgage rates more than double this year as they leave low fixed-rate deals.

More than 1.4 million borrowers will be renewing their mortgage with higher interest rates in 2023.

Of this group, 57 per cent are currently on deals less than 2 per cent, while the current average variable rate mortgage is 4.4 per cent, with fixed rate deals beginning at around 5 per cent.

Considering Bank of England data, a peak in fixed deals ending is expected between April and June this year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A £250 increase in monthly payments is expected for the average fixed-rate borrower if their deal expires this year.

Borrowers on fixed-rate mortgages have been provided with a degree of protection from Bank of England base rate hikes over the past year, but are likely to get a bill shock when it comes to renewing.

It comes as private renters are also facing an increase in their housing costs, with rental price growth at its highest rate in the UK since records began in 2016, the ONS said.

Around a quarter (26 per cent) of renters surveyed between December 7 and 18, 2022, reported their rent payments had gone up in the past six months, according to data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (OPN).

Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 4 per cent in the 12 months to November, 2022, up from 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to October, 2022, according to ONS data.

In the year to March 2021, renters in the UK spent a total of £106.50 per week on rent once housing benefit, rebates and other allowances received were accounted for.

This equates to 24 per cent of their average weekly expenditure.