Mortgage stress: The what, why, and howIf you're struggling to meet your home loan repayments, you may be in mortgage stress. A household is generally considered to be in mortgage stress if it’s spending 30% or more of its combined pre-tax income on mortgage repayments. By more general measures, households are considered to be in mortgage stress when they find it difficult to meet their mortgage repayments and pay their other regular bills. Official measures of mortgage stressThe Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) recognises that measuring mortgage stress is far more complex than the 30% mortgage-to-income test. Ways to avoid mortgage stressSome steps of avoiding mortgage stress are easier to take than others, but let’s consider all the alternatives.