Will I lose my house if I get an IVA?
In a protocol IVA you will not have to sell your home or release equity from it. If your share of the equity is £10,000 or more, the IVA runs for 6 years instead of 5, and you keep paying your mortgage.
May not be suitable in all circumstances. Fees apply. Your credit rating may be affected. How fees and risks work
Lines open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Our licensed insolvency practitioners are James Kaye (IP number 9373, Insolvency Service register entry (opens in a new tab)) and Nick Morgan (IP number 9078, Insolvency Service register entry (opens in a new tab)), licensed by the ICAEW.
Do homeowners keep their house in an IVA?
In a protocol IVA proposed on or after 1 July 2025 you are not required to sell your home or release equity; instead, if your beneficial interest in the home is £10,000 or more, the IVA runs for 72 months instead of 60 (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
The protocol says a protocol IVA will not include any proposal requiring you to realise your interest in your family home, so your home is left out of the IVA (Key facts (opens in a new tab)). Other IVAs can differ. If your protocol IVA was agreed on the 2021 terms and you have enough equity, you may be asked, after a valuation at month 54, to release equity by remortgaging; if equity is released the IVA ends at 60 months, otherwise it runs to 72 (IVA Protocol 2021 standard terms (opens in a new tab)). Bespoke IVAs follow their own terms, so check your proposal. For the rest of the process, read how an IVA works.
Keeping your home still depends on keeping up your mortgage, because an IVA does not change your lender's rights (section 258 (opens in a new tab)).
What happens to the equity in my home?
The equity in your home is worked out as 85% of its value minus your mortgage and any other secured borrowing, and your share of that figure decides whether a protocol IVA lasts 60 or 72 months (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
You value the home yourself, for example using an online source, and your practitioner checks the figure. Where you have a range, the middle of it is used. Once the IVA is in force, the equity is not reviewed again.
If your share is £10,000 or more, you give your practitioner information on why leaving the home out is reasonable, such as whether you could get secured lending, the ages of the people living there and what selling or moving would mean for your household (standard terms (opens in a new tab)). Those extra 12 payments are explained in how long an IVA lasts, and how IVA fees are set and paid shows where your monthly payments go.
85% of what your home is worth minus your mortgage and other secured borrowing equals the equity; your share of it is what counts
Your share is under £10,000
The IVA runs for 60 months and your home is left out of it.
Your share is £10,000 or more
The IVA runs for 72 months instead of selling or releasing equity, and your home is still left out of it.
Very high equity, a second property or a buy-to-let
A protocol IVA is unlikely to fit. A bespoke IVA is considered alongside the other options.
Joint owners are assessed one at a time: the £10,000 test applies to each person's own share. The equity is not reviewed again once the IVA is in force.
Can I remortgage during an IVA?
A remortgage or any further borrowing secured on your home needs your supervisor's written consent, because the terms bar charging an asset in the arrangement and taking credit over £500 without approval (standard terms (opens in a new tab)).
Lenders also make their own decision, and an IVA on your credit file may make it difficult to borrow (Key facts (opens in a new tab)). Talk to your supervisor before you apply.
If you sell your home, or your share of it is turned into money in another way, while the IVA is in force and the IVA later fails, your creditors may look at how the money was used and could take action to recover it (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
What if I have a mortgage or secured loan?
A mortgage or secured loan stays outside an IVA, because the law does not let an IVA affect a secured creditor's right to enforce its security unless that creditor agrees (section 258 (opens in a new tab)).
Your mortgage and secured loan payments are built into your household budget, and your practitioner looks ahead to changes, such as a rise in your mortgage payments (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)). If you fall behind on a secured loan, the lender keeps its rights over your home whatever happens with the IVA.
If you own a second property or a buy-to-let, a protocol IVA is unlikely to be suitable and a bespoke IVA is considered alongside the other options. Bankruptcy treats a home very differently: read what happens to your home in bankruptcy.
Does a partner on the deeds need to be involved?
A partner on the deeds does not become part of your IVA, because the protocol looks only at your own share of the home, and where you both propose IVAs, the £10,000 test applies to each of your shares separately (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
Your budget usually covers the income and costs of the whole household, so your practitioner will ask about your partner's income and their part of the bills. If a budget is agreed for you alone, the proposal has to explain why.
If a debt is in both your names, the creditor can still pursue your partner for it, so it may help them to get free regulated debt advice too (Key facts (opens in a new tab)). If you are both in debt, you can each propose an IVA, linked to the other.
More questions people ask
Can you buy a house with an IVA?
Buying a house during an IVA needs your supervisor's prior written approval for a mortgage or any other credit over £500, and the IVA stays on your credit file for six years from its start, which may make it difficult to get credit (standard terms (opens in a new tab); Key facts (opens in a new tab)).
Can I sell my house during an IVA?
Talk to your supervisor first. If you sell while a protocol IVA is in force and the IVA later fails, your creditors may look at how the sale money was used and could try to recover it (IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab)).
Can I move house during an IVA?
You must keep your supervisor told of your current address (standard terms (opens in a new tab)), and any new rent or mortgage changes your budget, so tell them before you commit. A new mortgage is credit, which needs their written approval if it is over £500.
Will my mortgage lender find out about my IVA?
The IVA is on your credit file for 6 years from its start and on the Individual Insolvency Register, which anyone can search, until 3 months after it ends (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).
Sources
The legislation, court decisions and official guidance this page relies on. We last checked the page against them on .
- Insolvency Act 1986, section 258 (opens in a new tab): secured creditors keep the right to enforce their security (legislation.gov.uk)
- IVA Protocol 2021, Annex 1: standard terms and conditions (opens in a new tab): the month-54 equity review in protocol IVAs on the 2021 terms (Insolvency Service, GOV.UK)
- IVA Protocol 2025 (opens in a new tab): protocol IVA terms: length, suitability, home ownership, payment holidays and completion (Insolvency Service, GOV.UK)
- IVA Protocol 2025, Annex 1: standard terms and conditions (opens in a new tab): extensions, early completion, annual reviews, changes in circumstances, breach and termination (Insolvency Service, GOV.UK)
- Key facts: protocol Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) (opens in a new tab): fees taken from monthly payments, the credit file, your home and what happens if an IVA is cancelled (Insolvency Service, GOV.UK)
- Search the bankruptcy and insolvency register (opens in a new tab): what the Individual Insolvency Register shows and when records are removed (Insolvency Service, GOV.UK)
Talk to a licensed insolvency practitioner
Speak to a licensed insolvency practitioner, who will explain your options in plain English. The call is confidential.
May not be suitable in all circumstances. Fees apply. Your credit rating may be affected. How fees and risks work
We help people across England and Wales.