Mortgage lenders have raised concerns about potential changes to the way support is given to those struggling to pay their mortgage.
The government is reviewing the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme, where homeowners who lose their jobs may receive financial help.
It says the programme, which costs £400 million a year, is unsustainable.
The Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme, which helps people receiving some benefits, operates across the UK.
Under the SMI, those who lose their jobs receive financial help with mortgage interest payments. This comes 13 weeks after losing their job, a timescale previously cut from 39 weeks. However, the assistance only lasts for up to two years.
Chancellor George Osborne said in this year’s Budget that the scheme would operate until at least January 2013.
Support for Mortgage Interest is a UK scheme aimed at helping those with a sudden change of circumstances make mortgage payments rather than be thrown out of their home.
Some people on benefits are eligible and can receive help to make mortgage interest payments 13 weeks after losing their job.
Now Lord Freud, the minister for welfare reform, has launched a review of the scheme.
These changes could see a charge put on the property of anyone who receives the assistance, which is recovered when the house is sold.
The suggestion was welcomed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Building Societies Association (BSA).
Two other proposals have raised worries from the CML, which represents those who give home loans.
The first is a plan to make the payment to the homeowners themselves, rather than straight from the government to the lender. Lord Freud said the current system did not encourage people to get on top of their own finances.
The CML is also concerned that the qualifying period may return to 39 weeks after somebody has lost their job.
The BSA is calling for the amount received in SMI payments to reflect the actual rate the borrower is paying, rather than a set standard rate.
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