CENTRAL Devon MP Mel Stride is urging local families concerned about making upcoming mortgage or rent payments to seek the three-month payment holiday that the Government has negotiated with lenders.

Families or individuals with a mortgage can contact their provider, inform them that their finances have been impacted by coronavirus, and request a three-month payment holiday.

The provider will not ask for evidence of their financial position.

Renters can also ask that their landlords apply for a mortgage holiday and then pass this onto them by not asking for their rent for three months.

Mr Stride said: “Anyone struggling with their finances will be looking at the measures that the Government has introduced to give them an income.

“This includes providing businesses with grants to pay furloughed employees 80 per cent of their wages and making payments to self-employed workers worth 80 per cent of their average income for the past three years; in both cases up to £2,500 a month.

“But it is also vital to look at outgoings, and mortgage or rent payments are usually someone’s largest expense so a three-month payment holiday could make a big difference.”

The Government has set aside £1 billion of support for renters by increasing housing benefit and Universal Credit so that Local Housing Allowance covers at least 30 per cent of market rents.

The allowance for Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit has also been increased by £1,000 for the next year, benefiting more than four million of the most vulnerable households.