What is a mortgage payment holiday?

If you're worried about making your mortgage payments due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a payment holiday may help. If your application is approved, you can postpone up to 3 months of mortgage payments. Interest will still accrue during the payment holiday, which will increase the total cost of borrowing and the term of your loan will be extended.

A payment holiday should only be used as a short-term solution. If you have longer-term concerns, or you're already behind on payments, contact us for help.

If your request for a payment holiday is successful, we'll send you a detailed confirmation email with everything you need to know, including the payment holiday start date and additional terms and conditions that apply.

Payments made via standing instruction won’t be taken during the payment holiday. Once the payment holiday ends, they will be automatically reinstated. You'll still be able to make mortgage payments during the payment holiday if you can afford to do so, subject to terms and conditions.

With an HSBC Variable Rate Mortgage, the interest rate may change on a quarterly basis in line with the EIBOR rate and as per the terms and conditions. However, the interest rate will not change due to the payment holiday.

You won't be able to make any changes to your payment date during the payment holiday. You'll need to contact us after the payment holiday to do this.

You can apply for a mortgage payment holiday if:

• you're a UAE resident or non-resident with an HSBC mortgage; and
• you've been directly impacted by testing positive for COVID-19, or a family member/friend living with you has tested positive and you need to quarantine for 14 days;  or
• your salary has been reduced due to unpaid leave/employer decision, or you're unable to return to the UAE due to travel restrictions

If you've lost your job due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we're providing alternative help. We can discuss this with you when you raise a request for a payment holiday. 

You may apply for a payment holiday by calling us, submitting an application and providing us with any supporting documents we request from you.

When reviewing your request, we'll take into account:

• the information you've given us
• the most up-to-date information we have on your record
• your records from the Credit Bureau

You must let us know immediately if any of this information changes, either when applying or during the payment holiday. This may impact our decision, resulting in you no longer being eligible.

You'll need to apply for a payment holiday at least 7 working days before your next payment is due. If you apply within 7 days, the payment holiday will start from the following payment.

We'll aim to process your request within 3-5 working days. 

An approved payment holiday will not result in any negative reporting to the UAE Credit Bureau. However, if you fail to make payments once the payment holiday has ended, we're still under an obligation to report this and it will impact your Credit Bureau report.

Yes. If you want to cancel your payment holiday, you'll need to do this at least 5 days before your next mortgage payment is due.

If you do decide to cancel your payment holiday early you won't be able to reapply.

If you need to extend or renew your payment holiday, you'll need to get in touch with us. We'll review your request at the time, based on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions.

If you've taken a payment holiday, it won't affect your monthly instalments when you start paying them again. However, your monthly instalments may change based on factors such as a change in interest rates and whether you make payments in full and on time. Further details of this can be found in your Home Loan Terms and Conditions.

The terms under your Home Loan Offer Letter, HSBC Home Loan Terms and Conditions (UAE) and HSBC General Banking Terms and Conditions (UAE) will still apply during the payment holiday, alongside the HSBC UAE Payment Holiday Terms & Conditions. Visit our terms and conditions page to see all relevant documents.