Dominik Zaum and the annexe to his house hosting two Ukrainian refugeesHalifax has apologised for rejecting a customer's mortgage application because the home owner is hosting two Ukrainian refugees.
Dominik has what he describes as a small "granny" flat attached to his house. It is one self-contained room with a kitchenette and a small bathroom accessed by its own door.scheme which started just over a year ago to help rehome refugees who fled the country following Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Like millions of other fixed-rate mortgage holders in the UK, Dominik's loan was coming up for renewal this year so he decided to look around for a new deal.He said: "We spoke directly with the valuer before, when he came and looked at our house." But Dominik claims the only reason Halifax backed down is because Money Box started to investigate. "We raised it twice with the Halifax through our mortgage broker and nothing changed," he said.Halifax said it is "very sorry for the confusion" and is very supportive of the Homes for Ukraine scheme and that it wouldn't decline a mortgage application on this basis.
Dominik said that he was worried that Halifax's refusal could have been mirrored by the rest of the lending sector. "We did not know at the time if other banks might have reacted similarly," he said.