From 2025, protocol IVAs use a £10,000 equity threshold, clearer 5–6 year terms and no forced remortgage for most homeowners. If you’re searching for the new IVA rules 2025 for homeowners, this guide breaks down what’s changed and how it affects your house.
✅ Check My IVA OptionsMost people Google phrases like “IVA Protocol 2025 homeowners”, “new IVA rules 2025” or “IVA no remortgage”. Use the quick links above to jump straight to the bit that matches your search.
Quick IVA CheckThe IVA Protocol 2025 is a major update to the industry rules that sit behind many Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) in England & Wales. It changes how protocol-compliant IVAs are set up, how long they last, and — crucially for many people — how your home is treated.
The Insolvency Service has confirmed that the revised Protocol will apply to new protocol IVAs from summer 2025, after a short transition where both the 2021 and 2025 versions could be used. All new protocol IVAs must use the 2025 version going forward, which is designed to improve consumer protection and clamp down on poor IVA practice.
If you’re exploring an IVA now — especially as a homeowner — it’s vital you understand what has changed so you can decide whether the new rules work in your favour, or whether a different route (such as a Debt Management Plan or DRO) might be better. This guide focuses on the new IVA rules 2025 for homeowners, equity and 5–6 year terms, not just IVAs in general.
Use this page alongside our broader guides like Debt Help UK 2025 and Compare IVA vs DMP vs Bankruptcy so you can see how the IVA Protocol 2025 sits within the wider debt help landscape.
See If an IVA Fits MeAn Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a formal agreement with your unsecured creditors. You pay what you can afford each month, usually for 5–6 years. At the end, any remaining qualifying unsecured debt can be written off, as long as you’ve stuck to the terms.
People often search for “IVA to write off debt” or “IVA to stop creditor action”. A well-set up IVA should do both: freeze most interest and charges, and give structured protection while you pay one affordable monthly amount.
The IVA Protocol is a set of agreed industry standards for consumer IVAs. It’s a voluntary framework that IVA providers and creditors can sign up to. Where a “protocol IVA” is used:
Not every IVA follows the Protocol, and not every case can. But if yours does, the 2025 version sets important minimum standards for home equity, term length, reviews and variations.
Under the older 2021 version, your home could still be pulled into the arrangement through an equity release clause near the end. Under the new IVA Protocol 2025, the emphasis has shifted firmly to disregarding modest equity and using an extra year of payments instead of remortgaging where equity is higher.
If you’re unsure whether to pick an IVA or a more flexible DMP, use this guide together with DMP Provider and Affordable Repayment Plans to compare how each option treats your house, credit file and monthly budget.
Check My IVA EligibilityAdvice organisations and IVA providers have picked out several big changes in the 2025 Protocol — especially for homeowners. In plain English, the main updates include:
These updates answer common Google searches like “is my house safe in an IVA 2025?”, “IVA equity 10000 rule” and “IVA 60 vs 72 months”. The short version: your home should be better protected, and the extra 12 months of payments now take the place of risky remortgage clauses in most protocol IVAs.
Put simply, the 2025 Protocol is meant to make IVAs safer, fairer and more predictable — especially for homeowners who were previously under pressure to remortgage on poor terms.
Talk Through These ChangesTo understand whether the new rules help you, you first need to know how advisers typically calculate your share of equity for an IVA. This is often called the “IVA equity 10k rule” in blogs and forums.
Most protocol guidance uses around 85% of the market value instead of the full sale price. This builds in selling costs and avoids overestimating what your property is really worth in an IVA context.
From that 85% figure, your IP deducts:
If you own the property with someone else, the remaining equity is split between you according to the ownership share in your proposal (often 50/50 where there are two joint owners, but this can vary).
Remember, an IVA does not write off your mortgage or rent. If you already have mortgage arrears or council tax arrears 2025, you’ll need to look at those alongside any new IVA rules for unsecured debts to see the full picture.
This is a big shift from older protocols, where anyone with modest equity could be pushed towards remortgaging or secured borrowing in the final year, even when that was unrealistic or risky.
Check My Equity & IVA OptionsUse this simple tool to get a rough idea of how the IVA Protocol 2025 might treat your equity. This isn’t advice or a lending decision — it just mirrors the typical IVA calculation using 85% of your home’s value.
Once you’ve got a rough equity figure, you can talk it through with a specialist and compare an IVA with options like a DMP or DRO to see which route looks safest overall.
Review My Equity ResultSarah & Jamie own a house together:
Under the IVA Protocol 2025, both of their individual equity shares are under £10,000. That means:
Amir owns his home alone:
Amir’s share of equity is well over £10,000. Under older IVA rules, he might have been expected to try to remortgage in the final year or take out a secured loan — often at poor rates while already in a debt solution.
Under the 2025 Protocol his IP can instead propose:
The trade-off is simple: an extra year of affordable IVA payments instead of risking his home or taking on expensive secured credit.
If you’ve previously taken out payday loans or high-cost borrowing to juggle mortgage and card payments, the no-remortgage rule in the new IVA Protocol 2025 can be a big relief. You’re not expected to stack more risky credit on top of existing debt just to satisfy an IVA.
Get My Own IVA IllustrationThe detail is a bit technical, but the timing matters for searchers asking: “What happens if I entered my IVA before 1 July 2025?”
If your IVA was accepted under the old protocol or bespoke terms, it generally stays on those terms. The new Protocol does not automatically rewrite an existing agreement.
However:
If your IVA is proposed and agreed from summer 2025 onwards as a protocol IVA, it should be based on the 2025 rules, including:
The IVA Protocol 2025 applies to consumer IVAs in England and Wales. If you live in Scotland, look at alternatives such as Trust Deeds and the Debt Arrangement Scheme instead of IVAs. For Northern Ireland, you’ll need Northern Ireland–specific advice, even if search engines still show you “IVA Protocol 2025” results.
Ask About My IVA Start DateWhile the media and many blogs focus on home equity, the 2025 Protocol also tightens standards in other areas:
These changes make it more obvious when an IVA is a good fit — and when your money and stress levels might be better protected by a different route, such as the options listed on Debt Help UK 2025 or Clear Debt Fast. If a website or caller pushes IVAs for everyone, regardless of the new Protocol, treat that as a warning sign.
Compare All My OptionsNo — and any firm that says otherwise is a red flag.
The 2025 changes make protocol IVAs safer and clearer, especially for homeowners with modest equity, but they don’t magically turn an IVA into the right answer for every debt problem.
Use pages like Compare IVA vs DMP vs Bankruptcy, Debt Help UK 2025 and Affordable Repayment Plans as a starting point, then get tailored advice around your numbers and home situation.
Get IVA vs DMP HelpThis isn’t a full advice session, but if you tick several of these boxes, it’s worth a proper IVA assessment under the new rules:
On the other hand, if you rent, have low assets and relatively modest debt, something like a DRO might wipe debts in around a year with no ongoing payments — so it’s vital to compare. If you’re more focused on short-term breathing space than a formal IVA, look at Breathing Space and other temporary protections too.
Run IVA Suitability CheckIn a protocol IVA using the 2025 rules, your family home is generally treated as excluded from realisations. That means the proposal should not require you to remortgage or sell your home just to pay creditors.
However, any secured debts (like your mortgage) still need to be paid as normal, and very high equity compared to your debts can still affect whether an IP feels an IVA is appropriate in the first place.
Your IVA will usually continue under the terms you originally signed. The 2025 Protocol doesn’t automatically rewrite older agreements. If your IVA is proving unaffordable, you can ask your supervisor to look at variations or other options in light of the newer guidance, but they are not obliged to convert an old-style IVA into a new one.
No. It applies to protocol IVAs — i.e. those where the provider and creditors have signed up to use the standard protocol documents. Some cases use bespoke terms because the situation is more complex (for example, certain business debts or very high assets).
Always ask your adviser directly: “Will my IVA follow the IVA Protocol 2025, and if not, why not?”
The standard expectation is still around 5 years. Under the 2025 rules, a 6-year term is more likely where a homeowner has equity of £10,000 or more, replacing the old expectation that you would try to remortgage near the end.
No. Secured debts such as your mortgage or a secured car loan are treated differently in all IVA protocols. They must continue to be paid if you want to keep the asset. The new rules are about protecting your home from being used as an IVA asset, not writing off your mortgage.
Potentially, yes, but it needs careful advice. Some people start in a Debt Management Plan and later move to an IVA if their situation worsens or they need a more formal outcome. Others do the opposite if their IVA becomes unsustainable.
If you are already in a DMP, it’s sensible to review your full picture — debts, income, equity, and goals — before deciding whether the new Protocol makes an IVA more attractive.
Yes. Whether it follows the IVA Protocol 2025 or older rules, an IVA normally shows on your credit file for six years from the start date. Even with the improved home protections, you should only choose an IVA if you understand the impact on future borrowing and are comfortable with that trade-off.
Over time, it is often still possible to get a mortgage after an IVA, although many lenders will want to see that the IVA is completed and that you’ve rebuilt your credit. The no-remortgage rule in the 2025 Protocol is about not forcing extra borrowing during your IVA, not about blocking all future mortgage options. For now, the priority is stabilising your debts and protecting your current home.
The new IVA rules 2025 are much clearer, but every case is still individual. Use the FAQs above as a starting point, then get numbers checked against your own debts, income and equity.
Ask a Specialist TodayThe IVA Protocol 2025 is good news for many homeowners — especially those who were worried about being pushed into remortgaging while already struggling with debt. But it doesn’t mean an IVA is automatically the “best” or only option.
The safest way forward is to:
We can walk through this with you, in plain English, with no obligation.
If you’re also dealing with priority issues like energy bill debt, council tax arrears or HMRC tax debt, we’ll factor those in too when looking at whether the new IVA rules 2025 are right for you.
Start My Free IVA CheckBefore committing to any solution — IVA, DMP, DRO or otherwise — it can help to see reviews from people who’ve already taken action on their debts. Independent reviews give you a feel for how a firm communicates and supports you while you’re on your plan.
You can also cross-check information here against free guidance from organisations like Citizens Advice and MoneyHelper, alongside our own pages such as IVA Company so you feel fully informed.
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