Saffron Building Society comment on Furlough extension to September

03 March 2021

Tony Hall, Interim Head of Mortgage Sales at Saffron Building Society responds:

“Furlough has been a lifeline for businesses and has ensured many jobs and businesses have been saved from collapse. However, the extension is just compounding the issue that some jobs could not be viable when the scheme ends. This has led to a raft of lenders not accepting furlough pay on new mortgage applications.

“With young people, and therefore first-time buyers, significantly affected due to retail and hospitality being among the worst hit in the pandemic, the furlough extension will further put a dampener on their chances to get their first home. Some lenders, like us at Saffron, are considering furlough pay and - due to our common-sense approach to lending - can look at applications on a case-by-case basis. However, many lenders will remain extremely cautious, which could be a real issue for Generation Rent for quite a while to come, with or without the Guaranteed Mortgage Scheme.”