Martin Lewis urges millions of homeowners to do simple check which could save £1,000

MARTIN Lewis has urged homeowners to check their mortgage deals which could save £1,000 off their bill.

The Bank of England raised the base of interest to a 13-year high of 1% earlier this month in an attempt to stave off inflation and a cost of living spike.

It's a significant rise from December, when the rate was at a rock-bottom level of just 0.1%.

This means mortgage repayments have become more expensive for many households, but you might be able to cut costs by switching to a cheaper deal.

Martin warned that those on variable rates have about a month to shop around before their bills rise.

Meanwhile, homeowners with a tracker mortgages will already be feeling the effects of the interest rate hike.

Writing in the latest , he said: "With further rate rises predicted, and many lenders' default standard variable rates heading to 5%, checking if you can save by changing deal is a must-do."

Rates for fixed-rate mortgage deals have been increasing over the past few months.

In October last year, there were more than 50 deals below 1% but the lowest rate is now 2.1%.

The consumer expert said that although families may not save as much as if they switched their deal a few months ago, they could still save thousands of pounds as the base rate is likely to rise further.

Analysts at Capital Economics expect the Bank of England to increase base rate to 1.25% by the end of 2022, and 2% in 2023.

The interest rates on variable or tracker mortgages are linked to the Bank's base rate, so when that goes up, so do your monthly repayments.

According to figures from AJ Bell, the latest rate of 1% will increase repayments on a typical £250,000 mortgage by £32 a month - £384 a year.

If you have a fixed rate mortgage deal, then you won't be affected by rate hikes.