Can you repay equity release early? Usually yes, in full or in part, but an early repayment charge may apply if you clear a lifetime mortgage early.
The lenders whose documents we quote allow early repayment, but rarely for nothing: these plans are built to run for life, and the cost of leaving early depends on the plan, how long you have held it and why you are leaving. Below are the normal ways a plan ends, how much can be paid back without a charge, how the two main kinds of charge are worked out, and when a charge is waived. Your own offer document is what binds you. A qualified equity release adviser can read yours with you; ask for a free call back through the form on this page.
Can you repay equity release early?
Yes, though the price varies. Canada Life's customer guide, printed in January 2026 (code 30-012 0126RC), says its loan "may be repaid in full, or in part, at any time", but warns that because the plans are built to last a lifetime, an early repayment charge may be payable if the loan is repaid earlier. Aviva says paying off all of your loan and interest early could mean "substantial early repayment charges", and Legal & General that repaying in full "may" bring a charge "which could be substantial".
The answers below come from named lenders' documents, with their dates, as examples and not as a picture of the whole market. Taking out equity release involves advice from a qualified equity release adviser and, under the Equity Release Council's standards, independent legal advice for every customer; those standards bind members who sign up to them, and are not law covering every firm.
This page is about lifetime mortgages. A home reversion plan works differently: you sell all or part of the property, usually below market value according to MoneyHelper, so there is no loan balance to pay back; home reversion compared with a lifetime mortgage sets the two side by side.
How is equity release normally repaid?
On a lifetime mortgage the usual end is a death or a move into care, not a date in a diary. MoneyHelper says the amount borrowed, plus interest, is repaid by selling the home when you die or move into long-term care. The Equity Release Council adds that for a couple, repayment waits until the last person living in the home has died or moved into care.
Care has a lender-by-lender definition. Pure Retirement's Classic sheet (code 0826) says the mortgage must be repaid when the borrower or borrowers "have died, or have permanently left the property because they need long-term care", so check the definition in your own plan's terms. In practice the home is usually sold, though Canada Life's guide says beneficiaries "can choose to repay the loan without selling the property". How equity release works from start to finish has the wider picture, and how to get a redemption statement covers the paperwork. Until then, interest that is not paid is added to the loan; how the interest builds up shows the pattern.
Paying some of it back without a charge
Repaying part of the loan is the other route. One of the Equity Release Council's product standards for its members reads: "Customers must have the ability to make repayments without incurring any charges, subject to lending criteria of the provider." The limit is each lender's to set, and four published allowances show how they differ.
| Lender and document | Charge-free partial repayments, as the lender states them |
|---|---|
| Aviva, costs page last updated 15 September 2026 | Up to 10% of the total amount borrowed each year; minimum £50 an instalment. |
| Canada Life, Advantage Options page, read 20 October 2026 | Up to 10% of the original loan amount each year; minimum payment £50. |
| more2life, Omni guide M2L814.10 (08/26) | Up to 15% of the initial loan amount in each non-overlapping 12-month period; each payment at least £50. |
| Pure Retirement, Classic at a Glance (0826) | No more than 10% of the total borrowed in 12 months, in at most 12 payments; minimum £50. |
Aviva and Pure state theirs as a share of the total borrowed, Canada Life and more2life of the original or initial loan; whether later borrowing or added interest counts toward the base is a matter for the plan's terms. Going over the allowance is where cost appears: more2life's guide says repayments outside its conditions "may incur early repayment charges", and Pure's sheet that non-conforming repayments "are liable to attract Early Repayment Charges".
A repayment smaller than the interest being added leaves the balance still growing, as our guide to equity release interest explains. On plans where you committed to monthly interest payments for a lower rate, extra rules apply: Pure's Heritage sheet (0326) says customers still paying regular monthly interest cannot add partial repayments, while those who have stopped can pay up to 10% a year without a charge. Interest-only lifetime mortgages covers that kind of plan.
What is an early repayment charge, and how is it worked out?
An early repayment charge is what the lender charges when a loan ends before the plan expects it to. The name is not optional for firms. Rule MCOB 3A.2.6R in the FCA Handbook says:
Any communication, including a non-real time financial promotion, must describe: (1) any early repayment charge as an “early repayment charge” and not use any other expression to describe such charges
Aviva's booklets give the lender's side: it prices its loans on statistics about when they are likely to end, so when one is repaid early "we may need to recover our costs", such as reinvesting the money or changes in long-term interest rates. Its customers pick one of two kinds of charge at set-up, and the choice cannot be changed once the mortgage completes. Other lenders' offers differ.
Fixed-percentage charges
The charge is a set percentage of the amount owed, falling as the years pass. Aviva's fixed-percentage booklet (print code PF011601_1124, November 2024), for customers applying after 21 October 2021, applies it to the loan including interest added up to repayment. It says its table is "for illustration only" and that the offer document gives the percentages for your loan:
| Year loan is repaid | Aviva, illustrative (November 2024 booklet) |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | 9% |
| 3 | 8% |
| 4 | 7% |
| 5 | 6% |
| 6 | 5% |
| 7 | 4% |
| 8 | 3% |
| 9 | 2% |
| 10 | 1% |
| 11 or later | 0% |
In the booklet's worked example, a loan that completed in November 2021 and was repaid in May 2025 is in year 4, so 7% is payable on top of the balance. Other lenders publish their own schedules, which start and stop at different points; see Canada Life's plans, more2life's plans and Pure Retirement's plans.
Gilt-linked charges
The other kind ties the charge to a market measure. Aviva's Variable Gilt Index booklet (PF011612_0326, March 2026) covers its Lifestyle Flexible customers who chose that charge, and uses the FTSE Actuaries 15 Year Gilt Yield Index on the completion date and the repayment date. If the yield is the same or higher, there is no charge. "If the redemption yield percentage has fallen by 0.125% or more we will make an early repayment charge, unless one or more of the nine exemptions apply." The booklet sets the charge out as:
Loan balance (£) x Remaining early repayment charge term (years/days) x Fall in gilt yield (%)
and says "The early repayment charge won’t be more than 25% of the total amount you’ve borrowed." The term depends on age at application: the lender uses 88 as an end age, so a single applicant who is 75 when applying has a 13-year term, a joint application adds 4 years, and there is a minimum term of 5 years. The booklet calls these current terms, subject to change; your Key Facts Illustration and offer fix the term for your loan. Pure's Heritage sheet (0326) describes a gilt-linked charge of between 0% and 25% of the loan, "not available for new customers". Because a gilt-linked charge can be nil on one date and substantial on another, ask the lender for a figure on the day.
Your Key Facts Illustration and offer set out which kind applies to you. For a view on what repaying on a particular date might cost, ask for a call from a qualified equity release adviser by filling in this page's form.
When is an early repayment charge not made?
Each lender lists situations in which the charge does not apply. They overlap, but the conditions differ, so treat this as a set of questions for your own lender.
- Death or long-term care of the last borrower. Aviva's booklets exempt repayment because all borrowers have died or "meet our long-term care criteria". Canada Life's Advantage page lists repayment after the death of the remaining borrower, or a move into long-term care; Pure's Classic sheet says that "In this instance, no Early Repayment Charges are payable". The Council's long-term care standard for members has the lender waive the charge on a permanent move into care, in a care home or with relatives providing care, once it receives a medical practitioner's certificate and provided the loan's terms and conditions have been met.
- The first of two joint borrowers dies or goes into care. Aviva gives the remaining borrower three years to repay without a charge. Canada Life says the same on products with an early repayment waiver, Pure's Classic sheet adds "subject to terms and conditions", and more2life's Omni guide allows partial or full repayment within 3 years.
- Downsizing protection. The waiting period and conditions differ. more2life's Omni and Pure's Classic allow full repayment without a charge when the new home does not meet their lending criteria at the time, once 5 years have passed since the loan started. Canada Life gives two periods in two documents. Its Customer Guide (30-012 0126RC, January 2026) says that on some products, "if, after 5 years, you want to repay the loan because you are selling your home and moving to a different property, you will not need to pay an early repayment charge". Its Advantage Options page (undated, read 20 October 2026) says: "If you decide to downsize after three years, you won’t need to pay an early repayment charge." Aviva's exemption covers a move to a property that does not meet its current lending criteria "but you’re eligible for downsizing protection". Pure's Heritage sheet says those plans have no downsizing exemption.
- Selling part of the home, or adding a joint borrower. Aviva lists selling part of the property where it gives consent, and someone moving in as a joint borrower with the loan to be repayable when the last person passes away or needs long-term care.
- The charge period has ended, or gilt yields have not fallen. Fixed schedules reach 0% after a set number of years, and Aviva's gilt charge is not made if the yield on repayment is the same or higher than at completion.
Your own plan's terms and conditions hold the full wording of each exemption.
Moving home with a lifetime mortgage
Moving is a different question from repaying, because many plans let you take the loan with you. The Council's standards require members to let customers move to a suitable alternative property and take the mortgage with them, if the lender's criteria are met when the move happens and the contract's conditions have been kept. Legal & General says the loan will be transferred "as long as the new property meets our requirements", and Canada Life that you can transfer it if the new home meets its lending criteria when you move.
Two things can then force a repayment. If the new home is worth less, Canada Life's guide warns it may be unable to lend the same amount, so part of the loan may have to be repaid. If the new property fails the criteria altogether, the question becomes whether your plan has downsizing protection and whether its waiting period has passed. Moving house with equity release goes through the steps, and transferring a lifetime mortgage covers moving the loan to a different lender, which is not the same as porting it. Alternatives to equity release compares downsizing and other routes.
Lifetime mortgages on a Scottish home
Some of the lenders above lend in Scotland: Canada Life's guide lists property in "England, Scotland or Wales", and Pure's Classic sheet "England, Wales and mainland Scotland". The legal form of the security is Scottish. Section 9 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 makes a standard security the only form in which a heritable security over land for a debt takes effect at law, so a lifetime mortgage on a Scottish home is secured by a standard security. A Scottish solicitor can explain what that means for your title; the conveyancing process covers the legal stages.
Questions people ask about repaying equity release
Do you have to pay back equity release?
Yes, but usually not until you die or move permanently into long-term care, and for a couple not until the last person has done so. On products meeting the Council's standards, a no-negative-equity guarantee means the borrower or estate will not owe more than the property is worth after reasonable sales costs, as long as it sells for the best price reasonably obtainable and the terms of the loan have been kept.
How much are early repayment charges on equity release?
It depends on the plan, the lender and the year. Aviva's illustrative fixed schedule (November 2024) starts at 9% of the loan plus added interest in year 1, and its gilt-linked charge has a cap of 25% of the total borrowed. Only your offer document gives the figure for your loan.
Is there equity release with no early repayment charges?
more2life's Maxi Zero ERC guide (M2L734.3, 12/25) says there are no early repayment charges on that plan, and lists an arrangement fee of £1,199 on the initial advance. For any plan, ask which charges apply and which costs are paid elsewhere; equity release fees covers the set-up costs.
What is more2life's downsizing protection?
On Omni, as set out above, full repayment is charge-free on a move to a home outside more2life's lending criteria, after 5 years. Other plans differ; see more2life's plans and rates.
How do I find out what I would pay to repay early?
Ask the lender for a figure on a given date. Aviva's booklets say the current charge is shown in MyAviva "at all times", that customers can phone for a quote, and that the annual statement shows the charge as at the statement date. Canada Life's guide says the charge is also explained in your Key Facts Illustration.
Next step
Whether to repay early, or only in part, depends on how long you have held the plan, what it says about charges and what you need the money for. If you would like your own plan looked at, this page's form puts you in touch with a qualified equity release adviser, who will phone you; there is no charge for that.
Sources: Equity Release Council, Professional Standards & Guarantees and What is equity release?; MoneyHelper, archived 19 September 2026; Aviva, equity release costs, Variable Gilt Index early repayment charge and Fixed Percentage early repayment charges; Legal & General, lifetime mortgages and Interest Roll Up; Canada Life, Customer Guide and Advantage Options; more2life, Omni guide and Maxi Zero ERC guide; Pure Retirement, Classic at a Glance and Heritage at a Glance; FCA Handbook, MCOB 3A.2; legislation.gov.uk, Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, s 9. Accessed 20 October 2026.