Ownership costs
The monthly mortgage repayment is usually the biggest housing cost, but it is not the only one. Council tax, buildings insurance, maintenance, and sometimes service charges or ground rent all come out of your budget too. Adding them up gives a clearer picture of what living in the property actually costs.
Take a £350,000 home with a 15% deposit, a 5% interest rate, and a 25-year term. The capital-and-interest repayment might be around £1,640 a month — but that is not the full cost of living in the property.
Add council tax at roughly £2,400 a year (£200 a month), maintenance at 1% of the home’s value (£292 a month on average), and a £100 monthly service charge on a typical leasehold flat. The running-cost layer alone can add £500 or more on top of the mortgage.
Council tax band, whether you include buildings insurance, leasehold charges, and how aggressively you assume maintenance all shift the total. House price growth affects equity over time but not your monthly cashflow unless you remortgage.
You can plug in your council tax band or annual figure alongside the mortgage repayment to see the fuller monthly picture in one scenario.
Change the inputs on the calculator — price, nation, or buyer type — and see how the numbers respond.
Model ownership costs on the mortgage calculatorAssumptions and sourcesRent vs buy in the UK: a scenario-based comparison
Renting and buying differ in monthly cost, but the gap widens once you count upfront cash — deposit, stamp duty, and buying fees. Those costs hit harder if you move often, because you pay them again with each purchase. Over a full mortgage term, equity, house prices, and spare cash on the rent path all shape the longer picture.
Read guideHow much stamp duty will I pay in 2025/26?
Stamp duty is transaction tax on residential property. You pay nothing on the slice below the first threshold, then progressively higher rates on amounts above. The total is the sum of tax on each slice — not one flat percentage of the whole price. That slice-by-slice structure catches many first-time buyers by surprise.
Read guideFixed rate ending: a six-month checklist
When a fixed deal ends you usually move to a new rate. Even a one or two percentage point change can add a large amount to the monthly payment. Starting four to six months early gives you time to compare routes without drifting onto an expensive standard variable rate.
Read guidePalta Money is for education and planning only. It is not regulated financial advice. Tax rules and rates change; confirm figures with official sources or a qualified adviser before you commit.