The Council of Mortgage Lenders and Which? have launched a new “tariff of mortgage charges” to help consumers understand charges and compare deals.

It will introduce a standard format for how lenders communicate their fees.

Following a Which? campaign to end the confusion around mortgage costs, the Chancellor asked the CML and Which? to work together.

There are two key improvements within the tariff:

Standard terminology: Different lenders will now use the same names for fees, as Which? research previously found that consumers find the existing range of names for similar fees confusing.

Common format: Each lender will list fees in the same order, and with the same descriptions.

The new tariff has been tested on consumers, and results show that they found it much easier to understand and compare costs than earlier versions.

The tariff is voluntary but lenders representing 85% of the market have already committed to introducing the new format and putting it on their website by the end of the year.

Which? and the CML are planning to agree a standard comparison method early next year for lenders to adopt in 2016.