A standard variable rate (SVR) is the most common type variable rate mortgage available from lenders. When mortgage deals come to the end of the offer period they revert to the SVR until you select another deal.
The lenders standard variable rate can be much higher than other fixed, discount or tracker mortgage deals and it is always worth remortgaging to reducing the cost of interest you pay on the SVR. Lenders can change the SVR at any time and are the rate is sensitive to movements in the Bank of England base rate.
One way to reduce the cost of the SVR is to remortgage to a discount deal which is also a type of variable rate mortgage. The offer period is typically for two, three or five years at a specified discount so if the standard variable rate is 4.5% and the discount is 2% you would pay 2.5%.
If the lender decides to change the SVR the discount rate will also change by the same amount, up or down. If you are concerned about the rising cost of interest and want to know your repayments will remain the same, you should consider a fixed rate rather than a discount mortgage.