Osborne said the scheme’s extension would help stop 100,000 families from falling into arrears on their mortgages.
The scheme allows unemployed borrowers with mortgages up to £200,000 to claim up to 100% of their mortgage interest payments after 13 weeks without a job.
The unemployed period was due to revert to 39 weeks by the end of January 2012.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said it welcomed the “modest support measures” but added they are “unlikely to create any fundamentally different landscape for home-buyers”.
Bob Pannell, CML chief economist, said: "Chancellor Osborne has adhered closely to the fiscal script set out in this Budget. Today’s indirect tax announcements will marginally soften the impact of significant fiscal cuts for household finances, but do not alter our forecast of a challenging year for households and the housing market this year."
