All frequently asked questions

A flat with a short lease can still be mortgaged, but the years remaining on the lease limit both the lenders available and the mortgage term. Most flats are held on a leasehold tenure, and a shorter lease makes securing a mortgage harder. In our experience most lenders want at least 50 years to remain on the lease at the end of the mortgage term, and the specialist lenders we use accept from 35 years. The maximum term is the years left on the lease minus that end-of-term minimum, capped by the lender's maximum term.

Where a short leasehold is too short for a term mortgage, bridging finance with a statutory lease extension as the exit can be an option, followed by a remortgage once the lease has been extended. In England and Wales a leaseholder starts a statutory extension of a flat by serving a Section 42 notice on the freeholder, and since 31 January 2025 there is no two-year ownership requirement before doing so. As at September 2026 the extension adds 90 years at a peppercorn ground rent, for a premium set by valuation.

Extending the lease widens the choice of lenders and supports resale. We check the lease and the extension options before a lender is approached.

First-time buyers in Scotland pay no Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) on the first £175,000 of the price, a saving of up to £600. As at October 2026 they can also use shared equity schemes: LIFT Open Market Shared Equity, New Supply Shared Equity and the First Homes Fund, which opened on 24 June 2026 with up to £10,000 towards a home worth up to £300,000. The UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme supports 91% to 95% mortgages, and a Lifetime ISA adds a 25% government bonus to savings used for a first home costing £450,000 or less.

The main risks of interest-only loans are that the capital balance does not reduce and must be repaid in full at the end of the term. This creates reliance on a repayment strategy, such as selling or refinancing, which may be affected by property values or lending conditions.

You can be disqualified from a mortgage in the UK due to poor credit history, missed or recent defaults, insufficient or unstable income, high existing debt, failing lender affordability or stress tests, an inadequate deposit, undisclosed financial commitments, or property issues such as unacceptable construction or tenure under lender criteria.

A mortgage application can be ruined by poor credit history, missed or late payments, high unsecured debt, insufficient income, unstable employment, failing lender affordability or stress tests, an inadequate deposit, and property-related issues such as non-standard construction or unacceptable tenure under UK lending criteria.

Five per cent is the practical minimum for a residential purchase, and ten per cent opens up considerably more choice. Rates improve at each of the usual thresholds, ninety, eighty-five, eighty and seventy-five per cent loan to value, so the difference between a ten and a fifteen per cent deposit is often worth more over a fixed term than the extra saving cost.

The lender is repaid in full from the sale proceeds on completion. After deducting legal costs and any early repayment charges, any remaining equity belongs to you.

A buy-to-let mortgage is a loan for buying or remortgaging a property you rent out rather than live in. Lending is based mainly on rental income, deposits are usually 25% or more, and many deals are interest-only. Most buy-to-let lending is not FCA-regulated.

A good credit score for a mortgage in the UK is generally considered to be in the “good” or “excellent” range on credit reference agencies. Higher scores improve access to lenders, lower interest rates, and higher loan-to-value options, though acceptance also depends on income and affordability.

A residential mortgage is a loan secured against a property you intend to live in as your main home. The amount you can borrow is based on your income and outgoings, and the loan is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It differs from buy-to-let.

A tracker mortgage is a type of UK mortgage whose interest rate moves in line with an external benchmark, usually the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed margin. Monthly payments rise or fall when the base rate changes, unless a collar stops the rate falling below a set minimum.

Revenue is the total money a business earns from selling goods or services before any costs are deducted. Profit is the amount left after all expenses, including costs, wages, tax, and interest, are subtracted from revenue. Revenue shows turnover; profit shows earnings.

Most UK lenders base maximum mortgage size on roughly 4 to 4.5 times your annual income. On a £150,000 salary that implies a typical maximum mortgage of around £600,000 to £675,000, subject to deposit, outgoings, credit profile and lender-specific affordability criteria.

Factors that look bad when getting a mortgage in the UK include missed or late credit payments, high unsecured debt, unstable or irregular income, frequent job changes, failed affordability or stress tests, a low deposit, undisclosed commitments, and properties that do not meet lender construction or tenure criteria.

You should not withhold or misrepresent information to a mortgage broker, including undisclosed debts, credit issues, changes to income, or intended property use. In the UK, inaccurate or incomplete information can affect lender decisions, mortgage offers, and regulatory compliance under FCA and lender affordability rules.

A salary of approximately £55,000 to £65,000 is typically required for a £250,000 mortgage in the UK. Most lenders offer between 4 and 4.5 times income, but the exact amount depends on outgoings, credit commitments, interest rates, and lender-specific affordability assessments.

A salary of approximately £65,000 to £75,000 is typically required for a £300,000 mortgage in the UK. This is based on standard income multiples of 4 to 4.5 times salary, although actual borrowing depends on affordability checks, existing debts, and interest rate stress testing.

To afford a £400,000 home, lenders typically base borrowing on 4 to 4.5 times your annual income. That implies a salary of around £89,000 to £100,000. Other factors such as deposit size, credit history and outgoings also influence the actual amount you can borrow.

Common factors that can stop you getting a mortgage in the UK include poor credit history, insufficient or unstable income, high existing debt, failing affordability or stress tests, inadequate deposit levels, and issues with the property itself, such as non-standard construction or unacceptable tenure under lender criteria.

A good debt-to-income ratio in the UK is typically below 35% to 40%. This means your total monthly debt commitments, including mortgages and loans, take up no more than around two-fifths of your gross monthly income, which most lenders view as affordable.

A deposit funded from cryptocurrency gains is accepted by some UK lenders, provided the funds are converted to sterling and the full transaction history can be traced. Lenders and solicitors must verify the source of funds under anti-money laundering rules. Many mainstream lenders still decline crypto-sourced deposits, so lender selection matters.

A below market value (BMV) mortgage is an ordinary residential or buy to let mortgage on a property bought for less than the lender's valuer says it is worth. It is not a separate product: what matters is why the price is low. For an ordinary purchase, lenders generally lend on the lower of the price and the valuation, but many lenders, though not all, make an exception for a genuine concessionary purchase, such as a sale by a relative or a landlord, where they may work out the loan-to-value on the valuation while capping the loan at the price.

Usually yes, subject to the normal checks on affordability, credit and the property, but the discount may not increase what you can borrow. On an ordinary purchase from a stranger, lenders generally lend on the lower of the price and the valuation, so you need a deposit as usual. Where the discount is a genuine concession from a relative, landlord or other connected seller, many lenders, though not all, will count it towards the deposit, so the answer depends on the lender's criteria and its own valuation.

It depends on the lender and the type of sale. For an ordinary purchase, lenders generally use the lower of the two. For a genuine concessionary purchase, many lenders work out the loan-to-value on the valuation and cap the loan at the discounted price: Nationwide's published criteria, checked 29 September 2026, use open market value up to a 90% maximum and lend no more than 100% of the discounted price.

Other lenders, such as HSBC UK in its intermediary help centre (also checked 29 September 2026), link the loan-to-value for lending policy to the price actually paid, so you need a cash deposit. These are single lenders' published rules, which can change, not a list of the lenders Mortgage Lane uses or a decision on any application.

With many lenders, though not all, yes. Where a relative sells to you below market value, many lenders treat the discount as a gift of equity that can count as part or all of the deposit, as long as it is an unconditional gift with no repayment or retained interest. Some lenders still want a cash deposit from your own resources, some only recognise a discount above a minimum size, and a few do not accept family sales. The loan is usually capped at the discounted price.

It varies by lender. Family sales are the most widely accepted, but which relatives count differs: some lenders include aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and first cousins, others only immediate family. Some lenders also accept a landlord selling to a sitting tenant, and a few accept an employer selling to an employee, a former partner or a friend. Other lenders accept family sales only.

Possibly, with a lender that accepts a landlord to sitting tenant sale. Those lenders may work out the loan-to-value on the valuation and treat the discount as your deposit, often with conditions such as a minimum tenancy (at least one year at one lender) and a minimum discount before no cash deposit is needed. Other lenders accept family sales only, or lend on the price you pay. Buying a council home under Right to Buy is a separate scheme with its own rules.

The lender works from its own valuer's figure, not the value the seller or an agent suggested. If the valuation is lower, the discount the lender recognises is smaller, so the loan-to-value is higher and you may need more of your own money or a smaller loan. If the discount falls below a lender's minimum, the purchase may no longer qualify as a concessionary purchase with that lender.

In England and Wales the conveyancer acting for the lender works to the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, which covers reporting the price, any discount or incentive, money for the purchase that does not come from you, and a seller who has owned the property for less than six months, with each lender's own instructions setting what must be reported and what it then does. Some lenders also want a letter confirming the reduced price, the seller's name and your relationship, or separate solicitors for buyer and seller.

Everything about the price must be disclosed to the lender: a misrecorded price, a hidden incentive or a private arrangement to repay a gift can amount to mortgage fraud. Scotland has its own version of the Handbook.

It is a purchase where the seller has only just acquired the property, or is acquiring it at the same time, and sells it on to you. In England and Wales the solicitor acting for the lender normally reports it if the seller has owned the property for less than six months. Many lenders will not lend in that situation, and a lender that does may lend on the lower of the seller's purchase price and the valuation. This is separate from any rule on how soon you can remortgage after you buy.

It depends on the lender. Some lenders' published criteria say the seller cannot live in the property after the sale, or ask for vacant possession on completion. Others allow the seller to stay if they sign the lender's occupier consent form, which puts any right to live there behind the mortgage, and decline where the seller is given a lifetime tenancy. Staying on can have tax effects too: if the seller lives there without paying a full market rent, HMRC can treat the gifted part of the home as a gift with reservation for Inheritance Tax. Raise it before the price is agreed, because it narrows the choice of lenders.

Because a gift of equity can be challenged if the seller later becomes bankrupt. In England and Wales a trustee in bankruptcy can apply to set aside a transaction at an undervalue made in the five years before the bankruptcy petition or application. Within two years no proof of insolvency is needed. For years two to five the trustee must show the seller was insolvent at the time or became so because of the sale, which is presumed for a sale to a relative unless shown otherwise. A declaration of solvency made at the sale is evidence against that presumption, so some lenders ask for one, insolvency indemnity insurance or both. Scotland has its own rules on gratuitous alienations.

It can, for both the seller and the buyer, so each should take independent tax advice. HMRC guidance says market value, not the price received, is used for capital gains tax where an asset is sold for less than it is worth to help the buyer, although reliefs may apply, such as Private Residence Relief on the seller's own home, and the discount can count as a gift for inheritance tax, with no tax due on gifts if the giver lives for 7 years afterwards (unless the gift is part of a trust).

Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales or Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland also needs checking for how the purchase is documented. Mortgage Lane does not provide tax advice.

You can get a mortgage on a property with Japanese knotweed, on conditions that depend on the management category an RICS valuer or surveyor gives it. At categories A and B, where knotweed is damaging a structure or affecting usable outdoor space, the RICS standard expects most lenders to require a specialist inspection and a management plan with an insurance-backed guarantee, often with part of the loan held back until the plan is evidenced. At categories C and D it expects no works as a condition of the loan. Each lender sets its own policy, and a lender may decline a category its policy does not accept.

Japanese knotweed affects a mortgage through the conditions the lender attaches to the offer. The lender's valuer records the knotweed and its RICS management category. At categories A and B the lender is expected to ask for a specialist inspection and a management plan with an insurance-backed guarantee, and it may hold back part of the loan until the plan is evidenced. The valuation can also reflect the knotweed, which raises the loan to value if the figure comes in lower. The rate depends on the lender's product and the loan to value, as on any other mortgage.

Lenders that accept Japanese knotweed work from the RICS management category and look for a plan from a member of the Property Care Association (PCA) or the Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association (INNSA), with an insurance-backed guarantee. Each lender sets its own policy on the categories it accepts, whether it holds back a retention, the guarantee term it wants and when the plan must be in place, and those policies change over time. A broker can compare lenders' current policies against the category in the report before an application is made.

A Japanese knotweed mortgage report is a specialist's survey report written for a lender after a valuer has found knotweed. The RICS standard says the inspection should be by an accredited member of a recognised trade body, the Property Care Association or the Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association, followed where needed by a management plan. The plan records the infestation on a scaled plan, gives the contractor's details and methods, keeps a treatment schedule and ends with a completion certificate. The Property Care Association's guidance says a qualified knotweed surveyor prepares the report and plan with costs and, usually, the offer of a guarantee.

The RICS Japanese knotweed management categories run from A to D. Category A means knotweed on the property is causing visible material damage to a significant structure, such as a living space, conservatory, garage, outbuilding, path or wall. Category B means no such damage, but it is likely to prevent use of, or restrict access to, amenity space such as a lawn, patio or driveway. Category C means it is on the property but doing neither. Category D means it is on adjoining land within 3 metres of the boundary. The categories have applied since 23 March 2022 under the RICS professional standard.

There is no fixed distance that Japanese knotweed has to be from a house for a mortgage. The 7 metre measure in the 2012 RICS information paper was replaced by the RICS professional standard effective from 23 March 2022, which asks whether the knotweed is damaging a structure or affecting amenity space, and whether it is on the property or next door. Knotweed on adjoining land is reported to a lender as category D if it is within 3 metres of the boundary. Further away than that, the valuer normally makes a file note only.

Surveyors and mortgage valuers look for Japanese knotweed during their normal inspection, and if it is clearly visible the RICS standard expects them to identify it, place it in a management category and report it. They do not check plant by plant, and knotweed can be missed outside the growing season, after it has been cut down, or where earlier treatment has left dormant rhizome below ground. For advice on whether knotweed is present or how to treat it, the standard says surveyors should recommend a specialist from a recognised trade body.

A Japanese knotweed survey is priced by the specialist contractor, and the fee depends on the property, its location and whether the report is written for a lender. If a mortgage is involved, ask for a report that gives the RICS management category, a plan of the knotweed and a quotation for the management plan and guarantee, because the lender and the price negotiation both work from those. The Property Care Association and the Invasive Non-Native Specialists Association both list their member firms.

A Japanese knotweed management plan is a specialist contractor's written programme for treating the knotweed at a property. The RICS standard says it should record the infestation on a scaled plan, set out the contractor's details and methods, keep a treatment schedule updated as the work is done, and end with a certificate confirming completion, including a 2-year period with no growth. It should cover the whole property, be transferable to later owners and carry a guarantee of at least 5 years after the work is complete, with insurance behind it.

An insurance-backed guarantee for Japanese knotweed is the contractor's promise to treat any regrowth during the guarantee period, with an insurance policy behind it so the guarantee stays valid if the contractor stops trading. The RICS standard expects a guarantee of at least 5 years after the remediation contract is complete, and the Property Care Association's code of practice says guarantees most commonly cover 5 or 10 years. At categories A and B the standard expects most lenders to want one. The minimum term a lender accepts is set by the lender.

The cost of removing Japanese knotweed depends on the method and on how much knotweed there is, and a specialist's quotation sets it for each property. Herbicide treatment over several growing seasons is usually the economical route. Excavation costs more because of the volume of soil: the RICS standard says digging typically extends 2 to 3 metres beyond the visible stand and 1 to 2 metres down, and the waste charges include transport and landfill tax. The Property Care Association's guidance names access, waste handling and disposal charges among the things that move an excavation price.

Buying a house with Japanese knotweed can be a reasonable decision once a specialist survey has given the management category, a management plan with an insurance-backed guarantee has been priced, and the price or the seller's contribution reflects that cost. Check before exchange that a lender will accept the category on terms you can meet, including any retention. The RICS standard notes that some stigma can remain on resale even after treatment, although it should lessen over time, so think about the resale position as well.

You can sell a house with Japanese knotweed, and the sale tends to run more smoothly when the seller has the specialist survey and a management plan with an insurance-backed guarantee in place before marketing, because the buyer's lender is likely to ask for them. In England and Wales the seller answers the knotweed questions on the Law Society's TA6 Property Information Form and attaches any survey report and management plan. The RICS standard says the plan should be transferable to the buyer.

Japanese knotweed can reduce a house's value, and the RICS standard tells valuers to look beyond the cost of treatment and not to apply a standard percentage cut without evidence. Valuers consider the effect on the market before treatment, restrictions on use, disruption during treatment, knotweed on adjoining land and any stigma on resale. The standard expects value to be likely affected at category A, possibly at B and usually only modestly at C, with a limited effect at D unless severe knotweed next door makes costly defensive work desirable.

Japanese knotweed rarely causes structural damage to houses. Research published in 2018 found no support for the idea that it causes significant damage to built structures or more damage than other plants. It also found that its rhizomes rarely extend more than 4 metres from the plants above ground (PeerJ, 2018). The RICS standard says it can disrupt lightweight structures, paths and garden walls and exploit existing cracks in drains, but that structural damage to the foundations or walls of a dwelling is very rare. Category A covers visible damage the knotweed has itself caused.

A mortgage retention for Japanese knotweed is part of the loan that the lender holds back at completion until the management plan is in place or evidenced. The RICS standard anticipates that most lenders will make a retention at categories A and B, and says a retention ought not to be imposed at category C. Some lenders do not make retentions at all. The buyer funds the shortfall at completion, so the cash needed rises by the amount retained until the lender releases it on the evidence it has specified.

Yes. A beneficiary who keeps an inherited property can borrow to pay the others for their shares, and lenders differ on whether they count the share already inherited as the deposit and lend against the full value. A residential mortgage applies where you will live in the property and a buy to let mortgage where you will let it, assessed mainly on the rent. Affordability, the valuation and the lender's rules on how the transfer is documented all apply in the usual way.

You can get a mortgage on a low income. There is no legal minimum salary, and lenders assess what your income can afford. In Mortgage Lane's experience most lenders lend up to about 5 times gross income less outgoings, so a £22,000 salary with no credit commitments supports a loan of about £110,000. Benefit or maintenance income a lender counts, a longer term, a scheme such as shared ownership, a family member's income or a bigger deposit can make that loan buy a home. In our experience most lenders no longer set a £25,000 minimum income, and those that set a minimum apply their own figure.

You get a mortgage on a low income by choosing a lender that counts all of your income and lends the most on it, then using whichever levers close the gap to the home. A longer term lowers the monthly payment the lender tests. Shared ownership, First Homes in England or a Right to Buy discount reduce the loan. A family member can add their income as a joint borrower sole proprietor, or help with savings or a gifted deposit. Every loan, car finance payment and card balance reduces what you can borrow, so clearing one before you apply can raise the figure.

There is no minimum income for a mortgage set by UK law or regulation. Lenders decide on affordability under the Financial Conduct Authority's responsible lending rules, and each sets its own policy. In Mortgage Lane's experience most lenders no longer have a £25,000 minimum income, and a lender that does set a minimum applies its own figure to the main applicant or to the household. In practice the minimum is the income that supports the loan you need after your deposit and any scheme: a £60,000 loan, for example, needs about £12,000 of income at 5 times.

The lenders that suit a low income are those with no minimum income or a low one, a long maximum term, a policy of counting benefit, maintenance and second-job income, and lending on shared ownership, First Homes and 95% mortgages. Each lender sets these rules separately and changes them from time to time, and there is no single published list of lenders for low incomes. Because a case one lender declines can fit another, the whole income, the deposit and any scheme are matched to lenders' current criteria before an application is made.

You can get a mortgage on Universal Credit from a lender that counts some or all of it as income. Some lenders want earned income alongside it, some count none of it, and award statements and bank statements are the usual evidence, so the lender is chosen on its Universal Credit policy before you apply. The amount can change from month to month: Universal Credit is worked out each month and falls by 55p for every £1 earned above any work allowance (gov.uk). Owning a home does not stop a claim, because the value of the home you live in is not counted.

Personal Independence Payment counts as income for a mortgage at lenders that accept it; some count it in full, some in part and some not at all. It can be paid while you work and whatever your savings (gov.uk: PIP). A lender that counts it may ask for the award letter and look at whether the award runs for a fixed period and when it is next reviewed. In Scotland, Adult Disability Payment replaces Personal Independence Payment, and each lender applies its own policy to it.

A homeowner on Universal Credit can apply for a Support for Mortgage Interest loan once they have had Universal Credit for 3 months in a row. The Department for Work and Pensions pays an amount towards the interest on up to £200,000 of the mortgage, normally straight to the lender, worked out at a standard rate of 3.66% as at October 2026. It is a loan secured on the home, repaid with interest when the home is sold or ownership is transferred, and the interest rate on it was 4.5% as at October 2026. It does not cover capital repayments or arrears (gov.uk: Support for Mortgage Interest).

A large deposit and a low income can work, because the deposit shrinks the loan the affordability test is applied to. £90,000 towards a £150,000 home leaves a £60,000 loan, which needs about £12,000 of income at 5 times, the standard multiple in Mortgage Lane's experience. At 40% loan to value the loan also sits in the lowest pricing tiers. The lender still checks that the income covers the payments and your living costs, and interest-only, where a lender offers it, needs a repayment strategy the lender accepts.

Yes, you can get a mortgage on a part-time income, assessed on the salary in your contract and payslips like any other salary. Second jobs count at lenders that accept them where there is a history and the combined hours are sustainable. Zero-hours and variable-hours income is averaged over a period the lender sets, and lenders differ on how long a history they need. Two part-time jobs that add up to full-time hours can be accepted as one income by one lender and declined by another, so the lender is chosen on its policy for your pattern of work.

A longer term helps on a low income because the lender tests the monthly payment, and a longer term lowers it. On an illustrative £110,000 loan at an illustrative 5.2% rate, the payment is £655.93 a month over 25 years and £569.27 over 35 years, £86.66 less. The longer term also adds about £42,000 of interest over the life of the loan, and it must end by the lender's maximum age. In our experience terms run to 40 years; some lenders have no upper age limit and others cap it at 85.

Shared ownership can suit a low income because the mortgage is sized to the share you buy. A 25% share of a £200,000 home is £50,000, which with a 10% deposit on the share needs a £45,000 mortgage. You pay rent on the share you do not own: on a new-build home the limit is 3% a year of the landlord's share, and most landlords charge 2.75% (gov.uk). In England household income must be £80,000 or less, or £90,000 in London. Lenders count the rent as a commitment when they assess affordability, so the useful comparison is the total monthly cost of mortgage, rent and service charge. You can usually buy more shares later, which lowers the rent.

You can use First Homes in England on a low income where the discounted price still fits the loan your income supports. The scheme sells homes to first-time buyers at 30% to 50% below market value, for households earning £80,000 or less (£90,000 in London) who can get a mortgage for at least half the price (gov.uk: First Homes). A 30% discount on a £200,000 home gives a £140,000 price, and a 5% deposit leaves a £133,000 loan, above the £110,000 that a £22,000 salary supports at 5 times. Whether First Homes are offered near you depends on local delivery.

A 95% mortgage can be available on a low income from lenders offering 95% products, including through the government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme for eligible loans above 90%, with the loan still capped by what the income supports. A £22,000 salary supports about £110,000 at 5 times, the standard multiple in Mortgage Lane's experience, which with a 5% deposit buys a home of about £115,000. Each lender sets its own credit, property and income rules at 95%, and in our experience adverse credit usually limits the loan to 90%.

A family member can help by joining the mortgage as a joint borrower sole proprietor, which adds their income without putting them on the title, by placing savings with the lender as security on a springboard mortgage, or by gifting a deposit. A parent's £30,000 added to a £22,000 salary raises the illustrative loan at 5 times from £110,000 to £260,000, before the parent's own mortgage and commitments are counted. In our experience joint borrower sole proprietor mortgages take up to 4 borrowers, and a family member who takes on the loan should get independent legal advice.

Pension income in payment, from the State Pension, workplace and private pensions or annuities, can be counted for a mortgage, with each lender setting its own evidence rules. The term is set against the lender's maximum age at the end of the term: in our experience some lenders have no upper age limit and others cap it at 85. A retirement interest-only mortgage is another route for older borrowers: the payments cover the interest, and the lender cannot ask for the loan to be repaid until a specified life event, such as death or a move into long-term care, unless the borrower breaks the terms of the mortgage, for example by not paying the interest.

A low income does not by itself raise the mortgage rate. Residential pricing is usually tiered by loan to value: the deposit sets the tier, and the income sets how much you can borrow. A buyer with a large deposit and a modest income can reach the lowest tiers. Shared ownership and First Homes products are priced by the lenders that offer them and can sit above standard products, so compare the total monthly cost including any rent and service charge. Where adverse credit narrows the choice of lenders, it can affect the price.

You do not have to use a broker on a low income, though a broker can compare lenders' rules on the points that decide a low income case: which income each lender counts, its multiple and stress rate, its maximum term and age, and the schemes it lends on. A case one lender declines can fit another, and each full application leaves a search on your credit file, so matching the case to lenders' current criteria before applying can help. Mortgage Lane checks the lenders' current criteria for your case, and the lender makes the final decision.

A student loan affects getting a mortgage through the monthly repayment on the payslip. Student Loans Company loans do not appear on credit reports, so the balance does not affect a lender's view of credit history. The repayment is taken through payroll as 9% of pay above the plan's threshold, or 6% for a Postgraduate Loan, and lenders take it into account in affordability, although they differ on how. The effect grows with pay above the threshold: a Plan 2 borrower on £40,000 repays £79 a month in 2026/27, which at 5 times income reduces the maximum loan by £4,740 if a lender counts it as a commitment.

A student loan from the Student Loans Company does not show on a credit report, so lenders do not see it when they run a credit check (Experian). Lenders may still ask about it on the application, and the monthly repayment appears on every payslip, which is how it enters the affordability assessment. A private student loan from a bank or another lender is reported to the credit reference agencies and shows on the credit file like any other loan.

A student loan reduces a mortgage by the income multiple times the yearly deduction, where a lender counts the deduction as a commitment. In 2026/27 a borrower on £40,000 repays £79 a month on Plan 2, £98 on Plan 1, £46 on Plan 4 and £112 on Plan 5, after payroll rounds each deduction down to the pound. At 5 times income those reduce the maximum loan by £4,740, £5,880, £2,760 and £6,720. A Postgraduate Loan on top of Plan 2 adds £94 a month and takes the reduction to £10,380. The balance owed plays no part, and lenders differ on how they count the deduction.

Yes. A single person can get a mortgage under the same lending criteria as a couple: the lender assesses one income, one set of commitments and one credit file, and lends up to its income multiple and affordability limit on that income. In Mortgage Lane's experience the standard multiple is 5 times gross income after commitments, up to 6 times for professionals and specialist products, though each lender's own assessment decides the figure. The eligibility rules are the same as for a joint application. One income supports a smaller loan, so the deposit, the lender and schemes such as shared ownership or a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage decide which homes are within reach.

You apply as the sole borrower, with your own income, deposit and credit history. The lender checks your income and commitments, runs its affordability assessment and credit checks, and values the property. Choosing a lender whose multiple and affordability model lend the most on one income makes the largest difference. After that come the schemes that stretch one income: shared ownership, 95% lending under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, the Lifetime ISA bonus on savings for a first home, or a parent's income added through a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage. An agreement in principle on your income shows roughly what you can borrow before you make an offer on a home.

Lenders apply the same eligibility rules to a single applicant as to a couple, so in that sense it is no harder. One income supports a smaller loan, though, so a single buyer more often needs a larger deposit, a scheme or a lender with a higher multiple to reach the same home. The lender also sets a full adult's living costs, and any children's, against one income, and every credit commitment takes a bigger share of that income. Keeping commitments low and comparing lenders on their income multiple help most.

It depends on income, credit commitments and the lender's affordability assessment. In Mortgage Lane's experience 5 times gross income after commitments is the standard multiple, up to 6 times for professionals and specialist products. On an illustrative £45,000 salary with no other commitments, that is £225,000 at 5 times and £270,000 at 6 times. At 4.5 times, the threshold the Bank of England uses for its limit on high loan to income lending, it is £202,500. Commitments reduce the figure: £250 a month of car finance brings it to £210,000 at 5 times when the payments come off income before the multiple. These are illustrations, not an offer, and each lender works out its own figure.

A single applicant mortgage is a residential mortgage with one borrower, assessed on that borrower's income, outgoings and credit file alone, usually on a home in their sole name. It is a standard regulated mortgage, usually with no separate product or rate for applying alone. The number of borrowers changes the arithmetic of the application, because one income supports a smaller loan, while the products, rates and loan to value bands are the ones any buyer uses. Married people and civil partners can apply as single applicants where the property will be in their name alone.

Yes. A single person can get a 95% mortgage from lenders that offer 95% products, including lenders taking part in the government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, which has been permanent since July 2025 and supports 91% to 95% loan to value mortgages for first-time buyers and home movers across the UK (gov.uk). The lender still applies its own affordability and credit criteria to one income. With a 5% deposit the loan is usually the limit, so the income multiple decides the price: at 5 times an illustrative £45,000 salary, a £225,000 loan at 95% buys a home of about £236,800. Applicants with adverse credit are usually limited to 90% on the cases we arrange.

Yes. A single parent can get a mortgage on their salary alone, or with child benefit, maintenance and Universal Credit elements added where the lender counts them. Lenders differ widely on this. Some count child benefit and maintenance where there is a history of receipt and the children are young enough for the payments to continue, some want maintenance paid under a court order or a Child Maintenance Service arrangement, and some do not count benefit income at all. The lender's affordability model also sets the children's living costs against the income, so the lender is chosen on how it treats each source of income.

Yes. A married person or civil partner can get a mortgage alone where the property is bought in their sole name. The lender assesses only the applicant as a borrower, so the partner's income cannot be used.

The partner who will live in the home is usually asked to sign an occupier's consent, confirming that any right to live there, or share they might claim, ranks behind the lender's charge; in England and Wales that includes home rights under the Family Law Act 1996, and Scotland has its own occupancy rights. For Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, married couples are treated as one for the higher rates, so a partner's existing home can bring the purchase into the higher rates (gov.uk).

It is not the usual structure. On a standard purchase every owner on the title is also a borrower, so the lender's charge binds the whole property and every owner is liable for the loan. A lender asked to accept an owner who is not on the mortgage decides under its own criteria. The reverse arrangement is an established product: a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage puts a second person, such as a parent, on the mortgage but not the deeds, so their income counts while the buyer owns the home alone.

A married couple may apply in one name where one partner has adverse credit or no income, where one partner does not want liability for the debt, or where the home is meant to be one person's asset. It works only where the applicant's own income supports the loan, because a sole application cannot use the other partner's income. The partner who will live in the home usually signs an occupier's consent.

For Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, married couples and civil partners are treated as one for the higher rates, so buying in one name does not avoid them where the other partner owns another home, unless that home is the couple's main residence and is being sold, or they are permanently separated.

Yes. A joint mortgage with only one earner is assessed on that income, and the lender looks at both borrowers' credit files and commitments. A lender can accept a joint borrower with no income, such as a partner caring for children. Adding a second name with no income does not increase the loan, and the second borrower's debts can reduce it. The joint structure gives both partners ownership and responsibility for the whole debt, and the loan is the size that one income supports.

Both borrowers stay jointly and severally liable for the whole debt, whoever pays, and the lender can ask either of them for all of it if payments are missed (MoneyHelper). Paying more does not automatically change who owns what. The starting point is how the property is held and any declaration of trust, though without one a court in England and Wales can find from an unmarried couple's dealings, including who paid, that they meant different shares. Disputes about shares are for a solicitor.

To put the mortgage and the home into the paying borrower's sole name, the lender has to agree to a transfer of equity, or that borrower remortgages in their sole name. Either way the loan has to fit that one income.

Yes, by a transfer of equity with the existing lender's consent, or by remortgaging to a new lender in the remaining borrower's sole name. Either way the lender assesses the remaining borrower's income alone, and that income has to support the whole loan plus any money borrowed to pay the departing partner for their share.

The departing borrower is released only when the lender agrees, and an agreement between the couple or a court order does not oblige the lender to release them. In England and Northern Ireland, Stamp Duty Land Tax can be due on the share of the mortgage taken over, except on transfers between spouses or civil partners under an agreement or court order on divorce or dissolution (gov.uk).

The mortgage continues and the surviving borrower becomes responsible for all of it. Who owns the deceased's share depends on how the home was held. In England and Wales a joint tenant's share passes automatically to the survivor, while a tenant in common's share passes under their will or the intestacy rules (gov.uk). In Scotland a share passes automatically only where the title has a survivorship destination. Life cover arranged for the mortgage may repay some or all of the debt. Lenders have their own processes for bereaved borrowers and can allow time, and extra borrowing or a longer term would be assessed on the survivor's income.

Yes. A single first-time buyer can use shared ownership in England, buying a share of the home, usually 25% to 75% and from 10% on some homes, and paying rent on the rest, where household income is £80,000 or less (£90,000 in London) (gov.uk). The mortgage covers only the share, so the loan and the deposit are smaller; on the cases we arrange the minimum deposit is 10% of the share. A 40% share of an illustrative £250,000 home is £100,000, with a £10,000 deposit and a £90,000 mortgage, plus rent on the 60% not owned. More shares can be bought later, which is called staircasing.

Not usually. Lenders generally price by product and loan to value band, and at specialist lenders by credit history, rather than by the number of borrowers, so applying alone does not usually change the rate on its own. Single buyers more often borrow at 90% or 95% loan to value, since one income supports a smaller loan, and lenders usually price those bands higher than lower loan to values, which is where much of any extra cost of buying alone comes from. A larger deposit, or a scheme that reduces the loan, moves a single buyer into a lower loan to value band.

A single person uses the same deposit bands as any buyer, from 5% at 95% loan to value, with pricing usually improving at 10% and 15% deposits. Because one income caps the loan, the deposit often has to be larger to reach a given price. At 5 times an illustrative £45,000 salary the loan is £225,000, so a £250,000 home needs a £25,000 deposit, twice the 5% minimum. Gifted deposits from family, the Lifetime ISA bonus and family springboard arrangements can help close the gap, and shared ownership needs a deposit only on the share bought.

A single applicant does not have to use a broker, and some lenders take applications directly. A broker compares lenders' income multiples, affordability models, scheme participation and rules for sole applicants, including married applicants buying alone and joint to sole transfers, and matches them to the applicant's income and deposit. Because multiples and policies on benefit and maintenance income differ between lenders, the choice of lender can change how much one income borrows and which homes are within reach.

It depends on the discount and on how the lender measures the loan. A lender that works on its valuation divides the loan by the valuation, so a 15% discount with the loan covering the whole price gives an 85% loan to value and no cash deposit, as long as 85% is within its maximum. A lender that works on the price paid applies its maximum to the price instead, so you need a cash deposit whatever the discount. Each lender sets its own maximum: one lender's published criteria, checked on 8 October 2026, allow up to 90% of the open market value, with the loan capped at the discounted price.

Selling to the tenant who already lives there saves the landlord some of the costs of an open market sale, such as estate agent's fees, rent lost while the home stands empty and the time it takes to get vacant possession. A buyer is already in place, so the sale can also be quicker and more certain. A let home can be worth less to an investor with a tenant in it, and a landlord may price the sale against that figure. The buyer's lender values the home on its own instructions, and the discount it recognises is measured against its valuer's figure.

Yes, with a lender that accepts a sale from an employer to an employee, although fewer lenders accept it than accept family sales. A lender that does treats the discount like other gifted equity, measuring the loan against its valuation and capping it at the price, as long as the discount is an unconditional gift that the employer cannot claw back.

The discount comes to you because of your job, so it can be a taxable benefit: an employer that gives or sells an asset to an employee reports it to HMRC, and tax and National Insurance are due on the value of the benefit (gov.uk: assets given to employees). Check the tax with your employer or a tax adviser first.

On a sale between individuals, Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland is charged on the price you pay, so a family discount also lowers the tax. HMRC charges it on the amount paid, the chargeable consideration, and first-time buyers' relief, as at October 2026, is tested on that price: 0% up to £300,000 and 5% from £300,001 to £500,000, where the price is £500,000 or less (gov.uk: SDLT rates). The SDLT market value rule applies to transfers to a connected company. If you take over part of the seller's mortgage, that debt counts towards the price. Wales and Scotland charge their own taxes on the price, with their own rates.

The seller can pay capital gains tax as if they had sold at full market value. Market value replaces the price where an asset is sold to a connected person, such as a child, grandchild, parent or sibling (Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, section 18), or sold for less than it is worth to help the buyer (gov.uk: CGT market value).

Private Residence Relief usually means no tax on the seller's only home if it has been their main home throughout. On a buy to let or second home, the gain is worked out on the market value. A sale to a spouse or civil partner who lives with the seller gives neither a gain nor a loss. Take tax advice before agreeing the price.

Gifted equity is a gift for Inheritance Tax, because HMRC counts money lost by selling something for less than it is worth as a gift. No tax is due on it if the seller lives for 7 years after the sale, and exemptions such as the £3,000 annual exemption can reduce it.

If the seller dies within 7 years, taper relief can reduce the tax on gifts made 3 to 7 years before the death where the gifts are worth more than the £325,000 threshold, as at October 2026 (gov.uk: Inheritance Tax on gifts). If the seller goes on living in the home without paying a full market rent, HMRC can treat the gifted part as a gift with reservation, which stays in their estate.

Some lenders require separate solicitors or conveyancers for the buyer and the seller on a concessionary purchase, and others leave it to the parties. Separate advice protects each side, because their interests differ on the price, the gift and any plan for the seller to stay on. The conveyancer acting for the lender reports the price, the discount and how the rest of the money is being provided, under the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook. Where a lender is concerned about the seller's solvency, it may also ask for a solvency declaration or insolvency indemnity insurance, which the seller's solicitor deals with.

Gifted equity is a discount on the price given by the seller, so no money changes hands for the deposit, while a gifted deposit is cash given by someone else, usually family, towards a purchase at the full price. Lenders treat both as gifts that must not be repaid, and each needs written confirmation from the giver.

Gifted equity also lowers the price, so the buyer's stamp duty can be lower than on a full price purchase funded by a cash gift of the same amount. For the giver, both can be gifts for Inheritance Tax, and a seller who gives gifted equity can also face capital gains tax on the full market value. Both sides should take advice from a tax adviser before the price is agreed.

Gifted equity is the difference between a property's market value and the lower price that a family member or other connected seller agrees to accept, passed to the buyer as a gift. On a home worth £300,000 sold for £255,000, the gifted equity is £45,000, or 15% of the value. Many lenders, though not all, count it towards the buyer's deposit, and the lender's own valuation decides how much gifted equity it recognises. For tax, the discount is a gift from the seller: HMRC counts the difference as a gift for Inheritance Tax (gov.uk: Inheritance Tax on gifts), and capital gains tax is normally worked out on the market value rather than the price.

A gifted equity letter is a signed statement from the seller confirming that the discount on a family sale is a gift. It usually sets out the property's value, the agreed price, the amount of the discount and the relationship between seller and buyer, and confirms that nothing is to be repaid and that the seller keeps no interest in the property. Lenders that accept gifted equity usually ask for one, and the lender or the solicitors may supply the form. Some lenders also ask the seller for a declaration of solvency, because a sale below value can be challenged if the seller becomes bankrupt within 5 years.

You may need no cash deposit for a concessionary purchase if the lender counts the discount below market value, the gifted equity, as the deposit. A home worth £300,000 sold to you for £270,000 gives £30,000 of gifted equity, enough for a 90% loan-to-value mortgage with no cash from you if the lender lends the full price. Some lenders lend only on the price and want a cash deposit, and some want a minimum discount or some savings of your own. If the lender's valuation is lower than expected, the gifted equity shrinks and you may need cash. You also need money for fees, legal costs and any property tax such as stamp duty.

Yes. A first-time buyer in Scotland can borrow from UK lenders on the same products and criteria as elsewhere in the UK, usually with a deposit of at least 5%. The purchase itself runs under Scots law: the seller provides a Home Report, offers go through a solicitor, the contract is formed by missives, and the tax is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), with first-time buyer relief on the first £175,000. The lender lends on the lower of the price and the valuation, so any amount offered above the valuation is paid in cash.

Most first-time buyers in Scotland need a deposit of at least 5%, because most lending stops at 95% loan to value. The 5% is worked on the lower of the purchase price and the valuation, and any amount offered above the Home Report valuation is added to it from your own money. On a flat valued at £200,000 and bought for £210,000, that means a £10,000 deposit plus the £10,000 over, before LBTT and fees. With past credit problems, a 10% deposit is a more realistic starting point on the cases we arrange.

Start with a mortgage in principle before your solicitor notes interest in a property, and check at the same time whether you qualify for first-time buyer relief and for a scheme, such as a LIFT passport letter. Read the Home Report valuation, and set your offer against the cash you have beyond a deposit on that valuation and the LBTT.

Your solicitor submits the offer by any closing date. Once it is accepted you apply in full, and a First Homes Fund application, if you are using the fund, goes in at the same stage. The lender values the property or relies on the Home Report's mortgage valuation and issues its offer, your solicitor concludes the missives, and the relief is claimed on the LBTT return when the purchase settles.

The Home Report is the pack most homes for sale in Scotland must have from the day they go on the market: a single survey with a valuation, a property questionnaire and an energy report, often with a separate mortgage valuation report for lenders. A seller or selling agent must give you a copy within nine days of being asked. For a first-time buyer it means you see a valuation before you offer.

Lenders lend on the lower of the valuation and the price, so with a 5% deposit on a £200,000 valuation, at a lender that relies on it, every pound offered above £200,000 is paid in cash. Some lenders instruct their own valuer instead, so ask which lenders will rely on the Home Report before the closing date.

Offers over means the seller invites offers above a stated figure. Most Scottish homes are sold by blind bidding, with a closing date set if several buyers note interest. The figure can be below the Home Report valuation, and a winning bid can end up above the valuation. A lender bases the loan on the lower of the price and the valuation, and any part of an offer above the valuation is paid from your own money. A flat valued at £200,000 and bought for £210,000 with a 95% mortgage needs £20,000 in cash plus LBTT, against £10,000 at the valuation.

First-time buyers in Scotland pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) only on the part of the price above £175,000, because first-time buyer relief raises the nil rate band from £145,000. The relief saves up to £600 and has no maximum price, unlike first-time buyers' relief from stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, which stops at £500,000. A £200,000 home costs a first-time buyer £500 of LBTT, against £1,100 without the relief (Revenue Scotland: residential rates). The Scottish Government kept the rates and bands unchanged for 2026 to 2027 (gov.scot: LBTT).

For Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) relief, a first-time buyer is someone who does not own and has never owned a dwelling in Scotland, the rest of the UK or anywhere else in the world. Homes that were gifted or inherited count, and so does a home held jointly. The buyer must also intend to live in the home as their only or main residence, so a buy to let purchase does not qualify. Where there is more than one buyer, every buyer must meet all the conditions, and the relief is not available on a purchase that attracts the Additional Dwelling Supplement (Revenue Scotland: LBTT3048).

No. The Help to Buy (Scotland) schemes are closed, and so is the original First Home Fund, which ran from December 2019 to March 2022. Schemes in England, such as the Help to Buy equity loan and First Homes, never applied in Scotland. As at October 2026 the Scottish Government's help for first-time buyers is shared equity, where it funds part of the price and holds that share of the home: LIFT Open Market Shared Equity, New Supply Shared Equity and the First Homes Fund, open since 24 June 2026. The UK Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and the Lifetime ISA also apply in Scotland.

LIFT, the Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers, is the Scottish Government's shared equity programme. Under Open Market Shared Equity the buyer usually funds 60% to 90% of a home's price with a repayment mortgage and deposit, and the government holds the rest under an agreement secured by a standard security. You can buy more of the home later, and on a sale the government receives its percentage of the selling price. The home must be priced within the threshold for its area and size, and any amount paid over the valuation comes from your own funds. New Supply Shared Equity works the same way on some new homes.

The First Homes Fund is a Scottish Government shared equity scheme that opened on 24 June 2026. It gives first-time buyers up to £10,000 towards a home worth up to £300,000, new or existing, and in return the government takes a stake worked as a percentage of the value or price, whichever is lower.

There is no interest or monthly payment on the stake, and on a sale the government receives its percentage of the sale price or the current value, whichever is higher. You need a mortgage covering at least 25% of the price, and you apply once your offer is accepted (gov.scot: First Homes Fund). It cannot be combined with LIFT or another scheme that helps you buy a home (mygov.scot: before you apply).

Yes. A Lifetime ISA can go towards a first home in Scotland on the same terms as elsewhere: the home must cost £450,000 or less, and you buy it with a mortgage, at least 12 months after your first payment in, through a conveyancer or solicitor. You can save up to £4,000 a year, and the government adds a 25% bonus of up to £1,000 a year (gov.uk: Lifetime ISA). The money counts towards your deposit. The government has consulted on a First Time Buyer ISA to be offered in place of the Lifetime ISA, and as at October 2026 no launch date had been announced.

Yes. The UK government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme covers residential property throughout the United Kingdom, including Scotland. It has been permanently available since July 2025 and supports participating lenders' 91% to 95% loan to value mortgages for first-time buyers and home movers. The loan must be a repayment mortgage on a home the borrower will live in, and the rules leave out purchases made through a shared ownership or shared equity scheme, so a purchase using LIFT or the First Homes Fund falls outside it. The borrower takes an ordinary mortgage, and the lender's own criteria still apply (HM Treasury: 2025 Mortgage Guarantee Scheme).

Some lenders offer 100% mortgages to first-time buyers in Scotland, and some of these are assessed on a record of rent paid on time in place of a deposit, with the lender's own income, property and credit conditions. In our experience family help can also take a purchase to 100%, using a relative's savings or property as extra security. Loan to value is worked on the lower of the price and the valuation, so a 100% mortgage still leaves any amount offered above the Home Report valuation to be paid in cash, along with LBTT and fees. The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme does not cover loans above 95%.

In our experience lenders lend up to about 5 times gross annual income after credit commitments, and up to 6 times for professionals and on some specialist products, subject to an affordability assessment of your outgoings at a stressed interest rate. Each lender sets its own multiple. The deposit and the valuation also limit the loan: at 95% loan to value, a £200,000 valuation supports at most £190,000 whatever the income. Scottish income tax rates and bands differ from the rest of the UK, so take-home pay on the same salary can differ, and lenders' affordability models work from take-home pay.

Get one before your solicitor notes interest in a property. A closing date can be set soon after a home comes to market, and a selling agent may ask for evidence that you can fund the purchase when the offer goes in. A mortgage in principle shows the likely loan from a lender, based on your income, outgoings and a credit check, so you can set your highest offer against it and the Home Report valuation. It is an indication only, and the lender still values the property and underwrites the full application once your offer is accepted.

The lender bases the loan on the lower figure, so if its valuation comes in below your accepted offer the loan falls. You can make up the difference from your own money, renegotiate the price with the seller or withdraw, and any of these needs to happen before the missives are concluded. A buyer who has offered £210,000 on a flat the lender values at £200,000 can borrow at most £190,000 at 95%, so £20,000 plus LBTT is needed in cash. Reading the Home Report valuation before you offer, and asking which lenders will rely on it, is the main protection against a surprise.

Not usually. The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is charged where, at the end of the day of the purchase, the buyer owns more than one dwelling and is not replacing their only or main residence. For that test, a dwelling owned by the buyer's spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, or by a child under 16 of either of them, counts as the buyer's own unless a married couple or civil partners have separated (LBTT (Scotland) Act 2013, schedule 2A).

A first-time buyer whose partner keeps a home can therefore pay ADS, and first-time buyer relief is then lost. ADS is 8% of the whole price from £40,000, so on a £200,000 home it is £16,000 on top of £1,100 of LBTT (Revenue Scotland: ADS).

You can get a mortgage with a gifted deposit from lenders that accept gifts, provided the money is an unconditional gift with nothing to repay, no interest and no share in the property for the giver. The giver signs a gift letter and provides identification and evidence of where the money came from, which the conveyancer checks under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. The lender assesses your own income, outgoings and credit history as it would with a deposit from savings, and the gift lowers the loan to value, which can move the mortgage into a lower pricing band.

A gifted deposit is money given to a buyer towards the deposit on a property, usually by a parent or other relative, with no expectation of repayment and no ownership interest in the home for the giver. Lenders treat it like the buyer's own savings once the giver has confirmed the gift in writing and the source of the money has been checked. If the money has to be paid back, it is a loan, which a lender may refuse as a deposit or count as a monthly commitment.

A gifted deposit letter is a signed declaration from the giver that confirms the amount, the property being bought and their relationship to the buyer, and states that the money is a gift with nothing to repay, no interest and no conditions. It also confirms that the giver will have no legal or beneficial interest in the property. Lenders and conveyancers ask for one before the gift can be used, and some have their own form for the giver to complete.

The person gifting a deposit usually provides photo identification, proof of address and bank statements showing the money, plus evidence of where any recent large sum came from, such as the completion statement from a property sale, an estate account for an inheritance, or an investment or pension statement. The conveyancer asks for these because the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 require checks on the source of funds where necessary. How many months of statements are needed, and which other documents, depends on the lender and the conveyancer.

The lender and the conveyancer need to know where a gifted deposit came from to confirm that the money is legitimate and that it really is a gift. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, conveyancers must identify their client and scrutinise transactions, including the source of funds where necessary (regulation 28), and the government's guide to buying a home in England and Wales lists gifts from family and friends among the funds buyers are asked about. They also check that nothing has to be repaid, because a hidden loan would change the buyer's affordability.

A gifted deposit is usually transferred once the gift letter is signed and the conveyancer has checked the giver's identity and source of funds, and before exchange of contracts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, when the deposit is paid and the purchase becomes binding. In Scotland the money is needed for settlement on the date of entry. The gift can go straight to the conveyancer's client account or through the buyer's account with a clear trail. Moving it early without a documented trail creates questions the conveyancer has to resolve.

Lenders that accept gifted deposits usually accept them from parents and grandparents, and some also accept siblings and other relatives, depending on how they define family. Some lenders accept gifts from friends, a partner who will not be on the mortgage or an employer, and others accept family gifts only. Whoever gives signs a gift letter and provides identification and evidence of where the money came from. Because lenders differ on who they accept, the giver's relationship to you is checked before a lender is chosen.

A friend can gift a deposit with some lenders, but others accept gifts from family members only. Where a lender accepts a gift from a friend, it may look harder at whether the money is really a gift and not a loan, and the friend completes the same gift letter, identification and source-of-funds checks as a relative would. For inheritance tax, a gift from a friend is a potentially exempt transfer in the same way as a gift from family.

Some lenders accept a deposit that is entirely gifted, while others want part of it to come from the buyer's own savings. The lender's position is checked at the start, because a lender that wants a personal contribution changes how much the buyer needs to have saved. The rest of the assessment is the same either way: the buyer's income must support the loan, the giver signs a gift letter and the source of the money is evidenced.

Some lenders accept a gifted deposit from a giver living abroad, and others do not. Those that do can ask for evidence of the source of the money, statements translated into English and the funds moved into a UK account before exchange. International transfers and the checks take longer, so an overseas gift is arranged early. The giver may have gift rules to follow in their own country, and UK inheritance tax reaches their overseas assets only if they are a long-term UK resident (gov.uk: long-term UK residents).

A gifted deposit does not usually affect the rate on its own, because lenders price a mortgage by product and loan to value band, not by where the deposit came from. A gift that increases the deposit can move the mortgage into a lower band, which can be priced lower: a gift taking the deposit from 5% to 10% of the price moves the loan from 95% to 90% loan to value. Fewer lenders accept gifts from friends or from abroad, and with fewer lenders to choose from, the rate can be higher.

A gifted deposit is a potentially exempt transfer for inheritance tax: no tax is due when it is given, and it is exempt if the giver lives for seven years afterwards. If the giver dies within seven years, the gift is set against their nil-rate band (£325,000, fixed until 5 April 2031, or more where a late spouse's unused band is added) before the rest of the estate, and tax is due on the gift itself only if their gifts in those seven years exceed the band.

Up to £3,000 of each giver's gifts in a tax year, plus any of the previous year's £3,000 left unused, is exempt straight away under the annual exemption (gov.uk: rules on giving gifts).

The seven-year rule means a gift to another person is free of inheritance tax if the giver lives for seven years after making it. If the giver dies sooner, the gift counts against their nil-rate band, which is £325,000 (fixed until 5 April 2031) or more where a late spouse's unused band is added. Where the gifts in the seven years before death exceed the band, the part above it is taxed at 40% for gifts made within three years of the death, and taper relief reduces the rate to 32%, 24%, 16% or 8% for gifts made three to seven years before it. The rule does not protect a gift the giver keeps benefiting from.

Each parent can give £3,000 a tax year free of inheritance tax under the annual exemption, plus any of the previous year's £3,000 left unused, so two parents who gave nothing last year can give £12,000 that is exempt straight away. If the gift is made on or shortly before the buyer's marriage or civil partnership, in consideration of it, each parent can add £5,000. Anything above that is a potentially exempt transfer, which becomes exempt if the parent survives seven years. There is no limit on how much a parent can give; the limits only decide what is exempt at once.

The buyer does not normally pay tax on receiving a gifted deposit from a relative, and the gift does not count as income for the mortgage. Inheritance tax can apply if the giver dies within seven years. It is usually paid by the giver's estate, but once the giver's gifts in the seven years before death exceed £325,000 (the figure as at October 2026), the people who received those gifts pay the tax on them, so a buyer given a large deposit could have a bill (gov.uk: rules on giving gifts). A payment from an employer can be taxed as earnings.

If the person giving the deposit will live in the property, the lender usually asks them to sign an occupier's waiver or consent, confirming that any right to live there, or claim to a share of the home, ranks behind the mortgage. They are often asked to take independent legal advice before signing. Living in a home bought with their gift can also change the giver's tax position under the gift with reservation and pre-owned assets rules, so they should take advice from a tax adviser before the money moves.

A family loan is not the same as a gifted deposit, because money that has to be repaid is a loan. A lender may refuse a family loan as the deposit, or accept it and count the repayments as a commitment that reduces how much you can borrow, and it must be declared either way. A gift letter that describes a loan as a gift is a false statement to the lender. Families who want their money back can look at a family springboard mortgage, where savings are held as security and returned.

A gifted deposit given unconditionally cannot be reclaimed by the giver, which is what the gift letter confirms. Between joint buyers, what happens to a gift to one of them on separation depends on how the home is owned. In England and Wales, joint tenants have equal rights to the whole property, while tenants in common can own different shares, and a declaration of trust records each owner's share (gov.uk: joint property ownership). Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, and a solicitor advises before completion.

Yes. Many UK lenders lend on homes in Northern Ireland alongside the banks and building societies based there, though some UK lenders do not lend there or restrict the property types they accept. The products, the FCA's rules for residential mortgages and the affordability checks are the same as in Great Britain. A comparison therefore covers both the UK-wide lenders that accept the property and the local ones, and checks each lender's rules on the property, the title and the income before an application goes in.

Mortgage rates in Northern Ireland are set by each lender according to product type and loan to value band, as in the rest of the UK. The rates open to you are those of the lenders that accept the property and your circumstances. Where a product fee is a fixed sum, it is a bigger share of the cost on a smaller mortgage, and a product with no fee can cost less over the fixed period than a lower rate with a fee. Rates change often, so any case needs a current comparison.

Compare the total cost over the fixed period, meaning the payments plus fees less any cashback, across the lenders that accept your property, its title and your income. Only lenders that will approve the case are worth comparing. A bigger deposit or more equity can move the loan into a lower loan to value band, which lenders usually price lower, and the length of the fix and any early repayment charge matter as well as the rate. A broker can check lenders' criteria before you apply.

A mortgage calculator for Northern Ireland estimates what an income can borrow, usually as a multiple of income after credit commitments, then works out the monthly payment at a chosen rate and term and the Stamp Duty Land Tax on the price, on the same bands as England. Mortgage Lane's Northern Ireland calculator also covers Co-Ownership: the mortgage on a share of 50% to 90%, the rent on the rest and the combined monthly cost. It does not include domestic rates or a lender's own affordability model, so the result is a guide only.

To compare mortgages in Northern Ireland, set each product's rate, fees and any cashback against the loan over the fixed period, then check that the lender lends on that property type, title and location and accepts your income as you earn it. Price comparison sites list products and rates, while each lender's criteria decide whether an application succeeds, for example on a leasehold apartment, a Co-Ownership share, a rural home or income paid in euro. Checking the lenders that accept the case first avoids applying to one that would decline it.

You do not have to use a mortgage broker in Northern Ireland, and many lenders take applications directly. A broker compares lenders with and without branches there, checks their criteria on the property, the title, Co-Ownership and the income before an application, and manages the application through to completion. Co-Ownership says many of its customers use a mortgage adviser, and that mortgage advisers are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Co-Ownership: getting a mortgage). Mortgage Lane is authorised and regulated by the FCA.

For a home you will live in, the smallest deposit is usually 5% of the price or the valuation, whichever is lower: 95% is the highest loan to value on a standard purchase on the cases we arrange, and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme supports loans above 90% through participating lenders. A family assisted mortgage can go to 100% on the cases we arrange.

In our experience applicants with adverse credit are usually limited to around 90%, and buy to let goes up to 85%, so a landlord needs at least 15%. Co-Ownership can reduce the cash needed, because the deposit is on the share only: it says lenders typically ask for 5% to 10% of the share's value, and some ask for none.

Co-Ownership is Northern Ireland's shared ownership scheme, run since 1978 by the Northern Ireland Co-Ownership Housing Association, which is regulated and part funded by the Department for Communities. The buyer purchases a share of 50% to 90% of a home with a mortgage, Co-Ownership buys the rest, and the buyer pays rent of 2.5% a year on the value of Co-Ownership's share, reviewed each year. As at October 2026 the home must cost no more than £215,000, or £230,000 for a new build, and the buyer can buy more shares later at the value at the time.

The Co-Ownership property value limit is the most a home bought through the scheme can cost. As at October 2026 it is £215,000 for existing homes, from 14 April 2026, and £230,000 for new build homes, from September 2026 (Co-Ownership: what type of property can I buy?). The Department for Communities sets the limit and can review it at any time, and in April 2026 it said it would review how the limit is calculated (Department for Communities). The limit for existing homes applies to Co-Own and Co-Own for Over-55s. Each applicant's Co-Ownership approval shows the most they can pay.

Yes. A co-owner can buy more of the home, known as staircasing, in 5% steps, in larger blocks of 10% or 20%, or by buying the whole remaining share, usually with savings or by remortgaging. Each purchase is priced at a current valuation by a RICS-registered valuer; as at October 2026 the valuation costs £75 and is valid for 12 weeks. Value added by improvements the co-owner has declared is left out of Co-Ownership's share. There is no deadline. If the home has risen in value, the remaining share costs more than it would have at the start.

No. The Help to Buy equity loan was for homes in England and is closed to new applications, and Wales runs its own scheme (gov.uk: Help to Buy equity loan). An existing Help to Buy ISA, which can no longer be opened, can still go towards a first home in Northern Ireland costing up to £250,000 (gov.uk: Help to Buy ISA). Other help comes through Co-Ownership, the shared ownership scheme there, and the UK-wide Mortgage Guarantee Scheme on mortgages above 90%. First-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax on the first £300,000 of a home costing £500,000 or less, and a Lifetime ISA's 25% bonus can go towards a first home costing £450,000 or less.

No. The Home Report, a survey and valuation provided by the seller, is a Scottish requirement. In Northern Ireland the buyer arranges any survey of the property's condition once the offer is accepted, and the mortgage lender may instruct its own valuation to confirm the value (nidirect: buying a home, step by step). The lender's valuation is for the lender and does not report on the condition in detail, so a buyer who wants that commissions a survey from a RICS surveyor.

A house purchase in Northern Ireland becomes legally binding when the buyer and seller have signed the contract and their solicitors have exchanged it. An accepted offer, marked sale agreed by the estate agent, does not bind either side, so either can withdraw before exchange. The buyer usually pays the seller a deposit of at least 5% of the price at exchange, and completion, when the money is paid and the home changes hands, follows on the agreed date. The mortgage offer should be in place before contracts are signed.

Some lenders accept income paid in euro from applicants who live in Northern Ireland and work for an employer in the Republic of Ireland. They convert it to sterling, and some count less than the full amount to allow for exchange rate movement; how much they count varies by lender. Fewer lenders accept income in a foreign currency than income in sterling, and some ask for a larger deposit, so the currency of pay is confirmed at the start, with payslips and bank statements that show the income.

Domestic rates are a household bill, and lenders take household bills into account when they assess affordability, so a higher rates bill leaves a little less income for the mortgage. Rates are charged in place of council tax. The bill is the home's capital value, based on values at 1 January 2005 and counted up to £400,000, multiplied by the domestic rate for the council area, which is made up of a regional rate and a district rate. Land & Property Services issues the bills each April.

Yes. Mortgages on homes in Belfast are available from banks and building societies based in Northern Ireland and from UK lenders that lend there, under the same rules as elsewhere in the UK. Apartments, leasehold titles with ground rents, new build developments and former Housing Executive flats are where lender criteria differ most, so the property type and tenure are checked first. As at October 2026 Co-Ownership can be used in Belfast for homes up to £215,000, or £230,000 for a new build, and Stamp Duty Land Tax uses the England bands.

A mortgage in Scotland is the same kind of UK loan as one in England, from the same lenders, on the same income and credit checks, but it is secured by a standard security under Scots law. The seller provides a Home Report with a valuation before you offer, offers go through a solicitor, often by a closing date, and the contract is formed by missives.

The purchase tax is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), with an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) if you will own another home and are not replacing your main residence, in place of Stamp Duty Land Tax. Lenders lend on the lower of the price and their valuation, so an offer above the Home Report valuation is usually funded from your own money.

A mortgage calculator for Scotland should work out the loan to value on the lower of the price and the Home Report valuation, and show the cash needed for any amount offered above that valuation. It should also add Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) where it applies, in place of Stamp Duty Land Tax. For a mover buying before selling, it should also show the ADS that can be claimed back if the previous main home is sold within 36 months. The borrowing figure itself is worked out as it is anywhere in the UK, from income after credit commitments.

A mortgage in principle in Scotland is a lender's indication that it would lend a stated amount, based on your income, outgoings and a credit search, issued before you have found a property. It is also called an agreement or decision in principle. Closing dates can be set at short notice and a selling agent may ask for evidence of finance with an offer, so it helps to have one before you note interest. It is most useful when it is set at the loan you need on the Home Report valuation. It is not a mortgage offer, and the lender decides after the full application, its valuation and its underwriting.

To get a mortgage in Scotland, start with a mortgage in principle, then use the Home Report valuation to fix the loan to value and the most you can offer. Your solicitor notes interest and submits the offer, often by a closing date. Once the offer is accepted you make the full application, and the lender relies on the Home Report's mortgage valuation report or instructs its own valuer before it issues a mortgage offer. Missives are concluded once that offer is in place. On the date of entry the solicitor draws down the loan, registers the lender's standard security and submits the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax return.

The Home Report is the pack a seller in Scotland must have before marketing most homes: a single survey, with condition ratings and a valuation, an energy report, and a property questionnaire completed by the seller. The survey and energy report must be no more than 12 weeks old when the home goes on the market.

A seller must give a copy within nine days to a buyer who asks, unless they doubt the buyer is serious or can afford the home, or would prefer not to sell to them. New homes sold to the first occupier and newly converted homes are exempt. The surveyor can also provide a mortgage valuation report for lenders, so a buyer sees a lending valuation before offering (mygov.scot: Home Report).

Some lenders accept the Home Report valuation, through a mortgage valuation report the same surveyor prepares for lenders, and others instruct their own valuer. Policy has long varied between lenders and can depend on the property and the loan to value (gov.scot: Home Report consultation analysis, 2014). Whichever valuation the lender relies on, it lends on the lower of that figure and the price. If the valuation comes in below the price, the buyer funds the difference from their own money or renegotiates. A down valuation after an offer has been accepted can mean a larger deposit than planned, so the lender's valuation is worth having before missives are concluded.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) is the tax on property purchases in Scotland. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax there on 1 April 2015 and is collected by Revenue Scotland. Residential rates are 0% up to £145,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £325,000, 10% to £750,000 and 12% above, each applied only to the part of the price in its band. First-time buyers pay nothing on the first £175,000, which saves up to £600, and the Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 kept these rates and bands. The return has to be made, and the tax paid, within 30 days after the effective date (Revenue Scotland: residential rates and bands).

The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is an extra charge of 8% of the whole price, on top of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, on a residential purchase in Scotland of £40,000 or more. It is due where the buyer already owns a residential property anywhere in the world and is not replacing their only or main residence. It applies to buy to let purchases, second homes, buying a new home before selling the old one, and most residential purchases by companies. It has been 8% for transactions on or after 5 December 2024, and the rate was kept for 2026 to 2027 (Revenue Scotland: ADS).

Yes, if the conditions are met. For purchases from 1 April 2024, a buyer who paid the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on a new main residence can claim it back if the previous main residence is sold within 36 months of the purchase. The old home must have been the buyer's only or main residence at some time in the 36 months before the purchase, and the new home must be occupied as the main residence. The claim is made by amending the LBTT return or by a repayment claim, and Revenue Scotland cannot consider exceptional circumstances, so a sale after 36 months gets nothing back (Revenue Scotland: ADS repayment).

Yes. Tenement flats in Scotland are mortgageable with many lenders, which look at the building's condition, the common repair obligations in the title deeds and under the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, and whether a property factor manages the common parts. Scottish flats are usually owned outright, so a lease length does not come into it. The Home Report's condition ratings for the roof, stonework and common areas carry weight with the lender's valuer. For ex-local authority blocks, in our experience some high street lenders cap the building at 4 storeys and others at 10, while specialist lenders set no storey limit, so a high-rise block narrows the choice.

Usually, yes. The conveyancing for a purchase or remortgage in Scotland is done under Scots law, because the offer, the missives, the disposition and the standard security are Scottish legal documents, and the title and security are registered in the Land Register of Scotland. It is usually done by a Scottish solicitor, although conveyancing practitioners registered with the Law Society of Scotland can also provide conveyancing services. The same solicitor often acts for the buyer and the lender, and for the lender's work they usually need to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. A buyer moving from England, Wales or Northern Ireland therefore usually appoints a Scottish firm, and the lender confirms whether that firm is on its panel.

If your mortgage is declined close to completion, tell your conveyancer early so the seller's side knows the timetable may move. Then find the reason quickly and apply to a lender that can process a new application in the time left. In England and Wales the purchase becomes legally binding when contracts are exchanged, and in Scotland when the missives are agreed; in Northern Ireland your solicitor can confirm when you are committed. After that point, pulling out usually has a cost, so a decline after exchange needs urgent advice from your conveyancer. Mortgage Lane does not give legal advice.

A lender can pull out after exchange only where its offer's conditions allow, typically for a material change in your circumstances, information found to be wrong, or a problem with the property or its title. Otherwise the offer on a regulated term mortgage to buy a home binds the lender. Your contract with the seller does not depend on the mortgage, so you are still bound to complete on the agreed date if the lender withdraws. In England and Wales a missed completion lets the seller serve a notice to complete, so replacement funding has to be found within the contract's timetable.

You still have to complete the purchase on the agreed date. You can try to resolve the reason with the same lender, apply to a replacement lender that can complete in time, take a bridging loan to complete, or ask the seller for a short delay. If none of these works and completion is missed, in England and Wales the seller can serve a notice to complete giving ten working days. If that notice runs out, you risk losing your deposit and facing a claim for the seller's losses.

You can lose your deposit if you cannot complete before a notice to complete runs out. Under the Standard Conditions of Sale used in England and Wales, the seller can then rescind the contract, keep the deposit with any interest earned on it, resell the property and claim further losses, such as a lower resale price and the costs of reselling.

The conditions set the deposit at 10% of the price unless the contract says otherwise, and a buyer who paid less must pay the balance up to 10% when the notice arrives. A court can order a deposit to be repaid if it thinks fit (legislation.gov.uk: Law of Property Act 1925, section 49), and a solicitor can advise on whether it might.

A notice to complete is a formal notice that one party to a property contract serves on the other after the completion date has passed without completion. Under the Standard Conditions of Sale in England and Wales, a party who is ready, able and willing to complete can serve it once the time for completion on that date has passed. The parties must then complete within ten working days, not counting the day it is given (Law Society: Standard Conditions of Sale). Time becomes of the essence: if the buyer misses the deadline, the seller may rescind, keep the deposit and claim its losses.

Yes. Under the Standard Conditions of Sale, a buyer who completes late pays the seller compensation at the contract rate on the price less any deposit paid, for each day of delay the buyer causes. The contract rate is the one written into your contract. If the contract adopts the Standard Conditions without changing that rate, it is the Law Society's interest rate, which was 7.75% as at October 2026 (Law Society: interest rate). On a £300,000 purchase with a £30,000 deposit, that is £57.33 a day. Money that reaches the seller after 2pm counts as arriving on the next working day.

Yes. Redundancy between the offer and completion can lead a lender to withdraw, because the offer was assessed on your previous income and its conditions usually require you to report material changes. FCA guidance names loss of employment as a change an offer's conditions can cover. If you lost your job after exchange, you still have to complete, and the options are a replacement lender that accepts your new income, a bridging loan with a credible exit such as a term mortgage once new income is evidenced, extra deposit from family, or a delay the seller agrees to. Telling your broker and conveyancer straight away keeps the most routes open.

Yes. A mortgage offer can expire after exchange if completion is delayed beyond the offer's validity period, which each lender sets. The risk is higher on a new build exchanged before the home is finished, where the build can run late. The lender may extend the offer, sometimes after fresh checks of income, credit or the valuation, or a new application may be needed before completion. Checking the expiry date against the expected completion date before exchange, and again as the build progresses, gives time to act.

Yes. A late valuation concern, or a retention or property issue raised after exchange, can lead a lender to refuse to release the funds. FCA guidance allows an offer's conditions to cover a change affecting the condition, value or title of the property. Your conveyancer and broker then try to resolve the issue within the contract's timetable, for example with the reports or works the lender asks for, or look for a lender that accepts the property as it is. Raising property and title questions before exchange reduces the risk.

Contact your conveyancer and broker the same day, with the lender's letter, the completion date and the contract terms. Then find out whether the lender's concern can be resolved, apply to a replacement lender that can complete in time, consider a bridging loan to complete, and ask the seller, through the conveyancers, for a short extension if needed. Several of these can run at once. Family help, as extra deposit or as security, can widen the options. Gifted money needs evidence of where it came from, and a relative offering security should take independent legal advice.

How quickly a replacement mortgage can be arranged varies by lender and by case. Some lenders can underwrite and issue an offer quickly where the documents are ready and the valuation can be done at once, while others take weeks. Choosing a lender for its speed and its fit with the reason for the withdrawal, and having income, identity and credit documents ready, makes the most difference after exchange. Where underwriting cannot finish before the contract deadline, a bridging loan can complete the purchase while the mortgage is arranged.

Yes, the seller can agree to extend the completion date, often in return for compensation, but does not have to. The seller's own onward purchase may limit how long they can wait. Asking early through the conveyancers gives the most room, ideally before a notice to complete is served, because a notice makes the deadline strict. Any agreed change should be recorded in writing between the conveyancers, including whether compensation at the contract rate still runs until the new date.

In Scotland, once missives are concluded, the buyer is bound to pay the price at settlement whether or not the mortgage goes ahead. Where the missives incorporate the Scottish Standard Clauses (Edition 6), late payment entitles the seller to interest on the unpaid price or its reasonable losses. If the price is still unpaid more than 14 days after it was due, the seller can rescind the missives and claim its losses (Law Society of Scotland: Scottish Standard Clauses (Edition 6), clause 13). Other missives may differ, and the buyer's solicitor advises on the terms that apply.

Yes. Family can provide extra deposit, which may make a replacement loan possible at a lower loan to value, or offer their own property or savings as security for a bridging loan or a family help mortgage. Gifted money still needs a gift letter and evidence of where it came from for the conveyancer's money laundering checks. A relative who offers their home as security puts it at risk if the loan is not repaid, so they should take independent legal advice before agreeing.

Yes, through your broker. Your offer's conditions usually require you to tell the lender about material changes in your circumstances before completion, such as a new job, lower pay, new borrowing or missed payments. Not disclosing a change can lead to the offer being withdrawn later, possibly after exchange, and causes problems with any replacement lender, which will see the same facts. Telling the lender first gives time to check whether the offer continues, and to find an alternative before the contract deadline if it does not.

You can, but changing jobs after a mortgage offer and before completion can lead the lender to reassess or withdraw it, especially if the new role has a probation period or lower pay, or means a move to self-employment. Lenders differ: some accept a new permanent role from the start, while others want time in the job first. Discuss the timing with your broker before accepting a new job, so the lender can be told and its answer known before you resign, and ideally before you exchange.

You may be. If you cannot complete and the seller rescinds after a notice to complete, the Standard Conditions of Sale in England and Wales let the seller keep your deposit and claim damages for further losses, such as a lower resale price, the costs of reselling and interest. Whether a seller sues depends on its losses and on how much of them the deposit already covers. Mortgage Lane does not give legal advice, so ask your conveyancer or a solicitor about a claim or a notice you have received.

The FCA's rules limit when a lender can withdraw an offer after exchange: it must assess affordability properly before it makes a binding offer, and it can withdraw only under the offer's lawful conditions (FCA Handbook: MCOB 6A.3.3G). No official statistics show how often mortgage offers are withdrawn after exchange. A withdrawal at this stage therefore usually follows something new: a change in the buyer's circumstances, information found to be wrong, an offer expiring on a delayed purchase or a late property issue. Keeping your circumstances stable until completion, and telling your lender about any change, reduces the risk.

Overtime and bonus income can cause an underwriting decline where the application relies on the full amount and the lender counts only part of it. Lenders differ widely: some count variable pay in full where it is regular and evidenced, some count a share, some average it over one or two years and some leave it out, and commission is treated in the same way. The FCA's guidance notes that overtime may be evidenced by payslips over a period of time (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6.9G). For example, £10,000 of overtime declared in full but counted as £3,000 lowers the maximum loan by £35,000 at 5 times income.

An underwriter may decline because of employment outside the lender's policy, such as a probation period, a short contract, zero-hours work or recent self-employment. Other lenders may accept the same employment, so the case turns on finding a lender whose policy fits. In our experience specialist lenders accept fixed-term contract workers with no track record and during probation, while high street lenders prefer 6 to 12 months. Self-employed applicants are assessed on their trading history and their tax calculations or accounts, and each lender sets its own minimum.

A deposit whose source cannot be evidenced, includes borrowed money, or comes from a source the lender does not accept can lead to a decline. Lenders must carry out anti-money laundering checks, which include scrutiny of where funds come from where necessary (legislation.gov.uk: Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 28). A clear savings history, a gift letter from the giver or a sale proceeds statement supports the deposit. Money that has to be repaid is a loan, which a lender may refuse as the deposit or count as a commitment.

A mortgage can be declined at underwriting after a valuation if the valuer reports a lower value, a property defect or construction the lender does not accept, or if underwriting of income or credit finds an issue at the same time. Valuation and underwriting can run in parallel, so a case can pass one and fail the other. A lower valuation raises the loan to value on the same loan, which can take it outside the lender's limit or into a different price band, and a larger deposit or a lower price may then be needed.

A mortgage stress test checks whether you could still afford the payments if interest rates rose. Under the FCA's rules a lender must consider likely interest rates over at least the first five years and assume a rise of at least 1%, unless the rate is fixed for five years or more (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6.18R). The rules do not say which rate the test must start from, so each lender sets its own stress rate, and a longer fix may be tested at or close to the pay rate. The Bank of England's separate affordability test was withdrawn on 1 August 2022.

No. An income multiple caps the loan at a multiple of income. Affordability tests whether your income, after commitments and household costs, covers the payment at a stressed rate. A lender applies both, and the lower answer sets the loan. The FCA allows a lender to limit lending to a multiple of income only if it can still show the loan is affordable. So a loan within the multiple can still fail affordability, for example where car finance or childcare takes a large share of income.

Different lenders offer different amounts because each sets its own rules on which income it counts, the household costs it assumes, how it treats commitments, the stress rate it tests at and its income multiple cap. The FCA requires every lender to write those choices into its own responsible lending policy, so the models differ by design. The same applicant can see maximum loans tens of thousands of pounds apart. A lender that counts all regular overtime, or tests a five-year fix at its pay rate, can approve a loan another lender declines.

Yes, but it applies across the market rather than to each borrower. Under a Bank of England recommendation, no more than 15% of new residential mortgages should be made at 4.5 times income or more, so most new mortgages are below that level. Since July 2025 individual lenders have been able to go above 15% under interim measures running to 31 December 2026 at the latest, and the PRA and FCA consulted in April 2026 on making that permanent. As at October 2026 the final rules had not been published (Bank of England: high loan to income lending). Some lenders keep loans at that level for higher earners or particular professions.

Yes. Lenders take the car finance payment off the income available for the mortgage, and the effect on the maximum loan is often far larger than the balance left to pay. On the arithmetic our calculators use, every £1 a month of payments removes £60 of borrowing at 5 times income, so £350 a month reduces the maximum loan by £21,000. On those figures, clearing a balance of £8,000 would add more borrowing than it cost. Some lenders may treat an agreement with only a few payments left differently, as the FCA's guidance allows.

Childcare costs reduce the maximum loan, because lenders take them into account as an outgoing, and each dependant increases the household spending a lender assumes. The FCA lists childcare among the basic quality-of-living costs a lender must allow for, and a lender can use your actual costs or statistical figures for a household of your make-up (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6). Some lenders may treat costs that will soon end differently, such as nursery fees before a child starts school, so it helps to show when the cost will fall.

Overtime can count for mortgage affordability, but how much varies by lender: it may be counted in full, in part or as an average over one or two years. The FCA's guidance gives payslips over a period of time, or regular payments into a bank account, as examples of evidence for overtime. Two years of payslips, or P60 end-of-year certificates showing regular overtime, help a lender count more of it. A P60 shows your pay and the tax paid on it for a tax year running from 6 April to 5 April (GOV.UK: P60).

You can increase your mortgage affordability by clearing or reducing credit commitments, or by lengthening the term where your age allows. A fixed rate of five years or more can help where the lender tests it at a lower rate, and so can adding an applicant, evidencing variable income for the full period a lender asks for, or applying to a lender whose model suits your income. Borrowing less, through a larger deposit or a cheaper home, also closes a gap. Each change works differently from lender to lender, so modelling them before applying shows which ones matter for your case.

Paying off debts before applying usually increases how much you can borrow, because lenders take monthly commitments off the income available for the mortgage. Using savings to clear a debt also reduces your deposit, so you need to weigh the effect of fewer commitments against a smaller deposit, which can change the loan to value, the rate and the choice of lenders. Mortgage Lane does not give debt advice. MoneyHelper and other free services can help with debts (GOV.UK: options for dealing with your debts).

A longer mortgage term lowers the monthly payment and so improves affordability in a lender's payment test, but it increases the total interest paid. On an illustrative £220,000 loan at 5.2%, the payment is £1,311.86 a month over 25 years and £1,138.53 over 35 years. Lenders limit terms by age. Where the term runs past your expected retirement date, or State Pension age if that is not known, the FCA expects the lender to assess your income in retirement. In our experience terms run to 40 years, and some lenders have no upper age limit while others cap it at 85.

Adding a joint applicant combines incomes and can increase the maximum loan, though the second applicant's commitments are counted too. A joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage lets a family member's income support the loan without them owning the property, and in our experience up to four borrowers can be named on one. Everyone named on the mortgage is responsible for the whole debt, so each borrower needs to be comfortable with the full payment.

Lenders can use either your declared household spending or their own statistical figures, and a lender that holds both may take the higher, so declaring very low spending does not by itself increase the loan. The FCA's rules let a lender use statistical data for a household of your size and make-up, with realistic assumptions (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6.12R). Credit commitments are different: the lender must take reasonable steps to find your actual commitments, usually from your declaration, statements and a credit search. For childcare and maintenance, lenders use what you declare and evidence.

Your credit card balance can affect affordability even if you clear it every month. Lenders count credit cards as a commitment. Some take a percentage of the balance as a monthly cost, and others count a balance only if it is not repaid in full. Our calculators count 3% of card balances a month, so a £2,000 balance takes £720 a year off income and reduces the maximum loan by £3,600 at 5 times income. Reducing balances before applying can increase the maximum loan.

Some lenders will reconsider an affordability decline if new information changes the assessment, such as evidence of income that was not counted or a commitment that has since been cleared, but a lender does not have to change its decision. Asking which part of the assessment failed shows whether a fresh case to the same lender is worth making. Applying to a lender whose model fits your income is often quicker, and modelling the case first helps avoid a second decline.

Borrowing less can turn an affordability decline into an acceptance, because a smaller loan lowers the payment the lender tests, but the lender still decides on its full assessment. A larger deposit and a cheaper property are the usual ways to borrow less. For example, if £181,000 is the most a lender's assessment supports and you asked for £220,000, £39,000 more deposit or a home costing £39,000 less would close the gap. Checking your maximum loan with the lenders that suit your income before you choose a property helps avoid a shortfall like this.

A mortgage is declined on valuation when the lender's valuer either values the property below the agreed price, which reduces the loan, or reports that it is not suitable security at all, which is a nil valuation. Nil valuations usually follow the lender's own property criteria and reflect something about the property, such as its construction, condition, lease, location or a risk like Japanese knotweed or flooding. After a down valuation the mortgage is still possible at a smaller loan or a higher loan to value, while a nil valuation usually needs a lender whose criteria accept the property, or a fix to the problem first. The first step is to ask the lender for the main reason.

A down valuation is when the lender's valuer values the property below the price you agreed to pay. The lender bases its loan on the lower of the price and the valuation, so you need more cash to cover the gap, a higher loan to value, or a lower price. For example, on a £300,000 purchase valued at £285,000, a lender lending 90% offers £256,500 against the £270,000 you planned to borrow. With a down valuation, unlike a nil valuation, the property is still acceptable security at the lower figure.

You can still buy after a down valuation if you can cover the difference between the reduced loan and the price from your own money, accept a higher loan to value product, or agree a lower price with the seller. Another lender may also value the property differently, although where the valuation reflects recent sales nearby a second valuer may reach a similar figure. Which route works depends on your savings, your income at the larger loan, whether a higher loan to value product exists for that property and borrower, and how much time is left before the contract becomes binding.

Renegotiating is worth considering, because a down valuation suggests the market value is below the price and another buyer's lender may reach a similar view. A seller may meet the valuation, split the difference or refuse. Meeting the valuation keeps your original loan to value band and reduces the deposit: on a £300,000 purchase valued at £285,000 with a 90% loan, the cash needed falls from £43,500 at the full price to £28,500. Whether to press for a reduction is your decision, and it turns on how much you want the property and the cash you hold.

You can ask the lender to reconsider a valuation by providing recent sales of similar nearby properties that support the agreed price. RICS says someone unhappy with a mortgage valuation should contact the lender, because the lender is normally the valuer's client, and that RICS itself cannot change a valuation figure (RICS: concerns about valuations). Lenders review challenges at their discretion, and the valuer may or may not change the figure. A challenge is strongest where it identifies comparable sales the valuer did not use, a feature it missed or a factual error.

Another lender may value the property differently, because it instructs its own valuer and applies its own property criteria, particularly where the comparable evidence is mixed. Applying elsewhere takes time and can mean a new valuation fee, so it is worth weighing the chance of a different outcome first. Where a down valuation reflects recent sales nearby, a second valuer may reach a similar figure. A nil valuation often follows one lender's criteria, so a lender whose criteria accept the issue may lend where the first would not.

A down valuation affects your rate if you keep the same loan, because the loan to value rises and may move into a higher-priced band. For example, a £270,000 loan is 90% of a £300,000 price but 94.7% of a £285,000 valuation, which falls in the 95% band, and a higher band generally carries a higher rate. Adding cash or reducing the price keeps the original band and rate. If the rise takes the loan above the lender's maximum for your case, the loan has to come down instead.

A nil valuation is when the lender's valuer reports that the property is not suitable security for that lender at any value, so the application is declined. It reflects a feature of the property, measured against the lender's criteria, rather than its price. RICS explains that nil valuations are usually due to the mortgage lender's own criteria, for example because of the way a property was built, cladding or structural problems (RICS: concerns about valuations). Because lenders' criteria differ, a property one lender values at nil may be acceptable to another.

Reasons for a nil valuation include non-standard construction the lender does not accept, a short lease, a flat above a takeaway or other commercial premises, Japanese knotweed nearby, structural movement, no working kitchen or bathroom, unauthorised works, agricultural or other occupancy restrictions, and flood risk. Valuers can also flag legal points that affect saleability, such as a flying freehold or an unadopted road, and cladding on a block of flats without the fire safety evidence the lender asks for. Each lender sets its own property criteria, so a reason that rules out one lender may not rule out another.

You may be able to get a mortgage after a nil valuation from a lender whose criteria accept the issue, such as a lender that lends on non-standard construction or short leases, or after resolving the issue, for example by extending a lease or completing repairs. The first step is to find out the reason, because it decides which lenders can consider the property. Where the reason is a fundamental defect, such as confirmed subsidence, other lenders are likely to reach a similar view, and the problem may need putting right before any lender will lend.

Some lenders will tell you, or your broker, the main reason for a nil valuation, but the valuation report is not always released, and policies on reports and reasons vary by lender. The reason decides which lenders' criteria can accept the property and whether the issue can be fixed. If you think the valuer assessed the property wrongly against the lender's criteria, RICS says to raise the concern with the mortgage lender, since the valuer acted for the lender (RICS: concerns about valuations).

A mortgage retention is part of the loan that the lender holds back until work the valuer specifies, such as a roof repair or damp treatment, is completed and inspected. The lender advances the rest at completion, so you must fund the purchase without the retained amount and reclaim it after the work. The mortgage offer sets out the retention and the conditions for releasing it. Some lenders do not make retentions and ask for the work to be done before completion instead.

To release a retention, complete the specified work, then ask the lender to reinspect; some lenders charge a fee for the reinspection. Once the valuer confirms the work is satisfactory, or you provide the other evidence the lender asked for, the lender releases the retained amount. Until then you fund that part of the purchase yourself, so the cost of the work and the time it takes need to fit your budget. The mortgage offer sets out what the lender needs before it releases the money.

A down valuation can happen on a new build, because new build prices can include a premium for being new and the effect of incentives that the second-hand market may not support. RICS guidance tells valuers that monetary incentives, such as cashback or paid fees, do not add value to the property in themselves, and that comparable new build sales should be adjusted to remove their effect (RICS: valuation of individual new-build homes). Valuers look at comparable sales, and the lender bases the loan on their figure, so a price that depends on incentives is more exposed to a down valuation.

Before exchange of contracts you can pull out of a purchase after a down valuation without a contractual penalty, though you lose costs already spent, such as the valuation, survey and legal fees. In England and Wales an offer is not legally binding until contracts are exchanged, and after exchange neither side can usually pull out without paying compensation (GOV.UK: buying a home). The sale also becomes binding at exchange in Northern Ireland. In Scotland a buyer who pulls out after missives are concluded can be liable to pay the seller damages, so a valuation problem needs resolving before that point.

A valuation subject to reports means the valuer needs a specialist report, such as a structural, damp, timber, electrical or knotweed report, before confirming the value. The lender will not issue a mortgage offer until the report is provided and accepted. The report may confirm the valuer's concern, lead to a retention for work it recommends, or clear the property at the agreed figure. The time a report takes can affect the purchase timetable, so it is worth arranging as soon as the lender asks.

You can reduce the risk of a down valuation by checking recent sold prices for similar nearby properties before offering, being cautious about bidding well above the asking price, and bearing in mind that a valuation may not reflect new build premiums and incentives. You can search sold prices in England and Wales free on GOV.UK (GOV.UK: search house prices), and in Scotland the Home Report gives a surveyor's valuation before you offer. No step removes the risk, because the valuer forms its own view of the evidence.

Equity release is the name for lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans, which let homeowners in later life take money from their home without having to make monthly repayments. A lifetime mortgage is a loan, usually repaid from the sale of the home when the last borrower dies or moves into long-term care. A home reversion plan sells part or all of the home to a provider, which receives its share when the home is sold. Both are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, and advice on them needs an adviser with an equity release qualification. Plans meeting the Equity Release Council's standards carry protections such as a no negative equity guarantee.

A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured on your home, open to homeowners above a minimum age set by the provider, usually 55. It is not repaid in full until a specified life event, usually when the last borrower dies or moves permanently into long-term care. Interest can roll up and be added to the loan, be partly paid or be paid in full. A drawdown plan lets you take the money in stages. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under its equity release rules. Plans that meet the Equity Release Council's standards include a no negative equity guarantee, the right to stay in your home for life and the option to move to a suitable property.

On a roll-up lifetime mortgage, interest that is not paid is added to the loan and is then charged interest itself, so the balance grows faster each year. As an illustration, £50,000 at 5.2% a year, added monthly, grows to £84,007 after 10 years and £141,143 after 20, about 2.8 times the amount borrowed; 5.2% is illustrative, not a product rate. The growth slows if you pay some or all of the interest, make repayments without a charge where the plan allows, or use a drawdown plan that releases money only as you need it. The no negative equity guarantee on plans meeting the Equity Release Council's standards caps what is repaid at the home's sale value.

Yes, releasing equity reduces what you leave, because the loan is repaid from the sale of the home or from your estate. A lifetime mortgage on which interest rolls up can reduce the inheritance substantially over time, and a home reversion plan passes the share sold to the provider, so that part of the home cannot be left to anyone. The Equity Release Council encourages talking the decision over with family where that is possible. Whether a release affects any Inheritance Tax on the estate is a tax question: the rules are on GOV.UK (GOV.UK: how Inheritance Tax works), and a solicitor or tax adviser can advise on your own estate.

A no negative equity guarantee means that you, or your estate, will never owe more than your home is worth when it is sold, even if the lifetime mortgage balance has grown larger, provided the home is sold for the best price reasonably obtainable and the terms of the loan are kept. Reasonable sale costs come off first. It is one of the Equity Release Council's product standards, so it applies to plans that meet those standards (Equity Release Council: standards). It protects the estate from a shortfall, but if the balance reaches the sale price, nothing is left for beneficiaries.

Home reversion is selling part or all of your home to a provider for a lump sum or regular payments while keeping the right to live there for life. The provider pays a percentage of the full market value of the share it buys, which takes account of your age and health, and receives that share of the proceeds when the home is eventually sold. You no longer own the part sold, so you do not gain from any rise in its value and cannot leave it to anyone. Home reversion plans are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Each provider sets its own minimum age, which can be higher than for a lifetime mortgage.

Yes, lifetime mortgages that meet the Equity Release Council's standards let you make repayments without a charge, subject to the provider's lending criteria, and this has applied to new plans taken out since 28 March 2022 (Equity Release Council: right to make repayments). Providers set their own limits on how much can be repaid each year. Some plans also let you pay some or all of the interest each month. Paying the interest stops the balance growing, and partial repayments reduce it, which keeps more of your home's value for later or for your estate.

Yes, cash released from your home can reduce means-tested benefits if you hold it as savings. For Pension Credit, savings of £10,000 or less are ignored and every £500 above that counts as £1 a week of income (GOV.UK: Pension Credit eligibility). Council Tax Reduction in England, Wales and Scotland also looks at savings, and Northern Ireland has its own help with rates. Releasing smaller amounts over time through a drawdown plan can limit the effect. An adviser recommending equity release must consider the effect on means-tested benefits, and the Pension Service, Citizens Advice or MoneyHelper can check your own entitlement.

Yes, lifetime mortgages that meet the Equity Release Council's standards let you move to a suitable alternative property and take the plan with you, subject to the provider's lending criteria at the time and the terms of the contract. If the new home is worth less, or does not meet the provider's criteria, part or all of the loan may need repaying under the plan's terms. If a later move is likely, check the plan's terms on moving before taking it out. An adviser recommending equity release must take your future plans, such as moving house, into account (FCA Handbook: MCOB 8).

Yes, equity release plans that meet the Equity Release Council's standards require you to take independent legal advice from a solicitor before completing, and you can choose your own (Equity Release Council: standards). The solicitor explains the plan, and you then sign a certificate confirming that you understand it and wish to proceed. A remortgage also involves legal work to repay the old lender and register the new lender's charge, while a further advance or second charge involves less or different legal work, without the same independent advice requirement.

Downsizing releases equity without borrowing or interest and can lower running costs, but it involves moving costs, a property tax on the new home and leaving your current one. That tax is Stamp Duty Land Tax in England and Northern Ireland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in Scotland and Land Transaction Tax in Wales (GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax). Releasing equity lets you stay but adds debt, and on a lifetime mortgage the debt grows unless the interest is paid. Compare the two over the years you expect to stay in the home before deciding.

A second home mortgage is a residential mortgage on a property you will use yourself in addition to your main home, such as a weekend home or a flat for work. It is assessed on your income, with the mortgage on your main home counted in affordability, and because you will live in it for part of the time it is normally a regulated mortgage under the Financial Conduct Authority's rules. A buy to let mortgage, by contrast, is assessed on rent, and a holiday let mortgage on projected letting income.

Yes, you can remortgage to fund a home for a child, structured as a purchase in your name, a gifted deposit, a joint purchase or a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage. A mortgage on a property your child will live in is a regulated mortgage even if they pay rent, because a child is a related person under the Regulated Activities Order (legislation.gov.uk: article 61), so an ordinary buy to let mortgage does not fit.

The structure decides which mortgage applies, who pays the stamp duty higher rates and the tax position, so it is settled before buying. If a buyer who already owns a home is on the title, the higher rates usually apply to the whole purchase.

Some lenders refuse flats above shops because of noise, cooking smells and fire risk from the commercial use, access through or shared with the shop, lease terms set by a commercial freeholder, and a smaller pool of future buyers, which can make the flat harder to sell if the lender needs to repossess. The shop's use can also change after you buy: in England a shop can become a cafe or restaurant within Class E without planning permission. Each lender weighs these points differently, so a flat one lender declines can be accepted by another, and the valuer's comments on saleability are part of each lender's decision.

A first-time buyer can get a mortgage on a flat above a shop from lenders that accept the commercial use, though fewer lenders offer the highest loan to values, such as 95%, on these flats than on ordinary flats. A flat over quiet retail with separate access and a long lease gives the widest choice, and a larger deposit widens it further. The lender assesses your income and outgoings under the FCA's mortgage rules as it would for any home. In England and Northern Ireland a £120,000 flat bought as your only home pays no Stamp Duty Land Tax, because the price is inside the nil band.

The lease matters, because flats above shops in England and Wales are usually leasehold, often with a commercial freeholder. Lenders review the lease length, ground rent, service charges and covenants, and a short lease or onerous terms can restrict lending until the lease is extended or varied. In our experience a short lease limits the mortgage term rather than the loan to value. A qualifying leaseholder of a flat can ask for a 90-year extension (GOV.UK: extending, changing or ending a lease), and the solicitor also checks the access rights and repairing terms. In Scotland a flat is normally owned outright, and the title deeds set how owners share repairs.

The shop's use affects the flat's value and saleability, because buyers and lenders are more cautious about food, late-night and noisy uses. A change in the shop's use can affect the flat's value later, and it may not need the flat owner's consent: in England a shop can become a cafe, restaurant or office within Class E without planning permission (legislation.gov.uk: Use Classes Order, Schedule 2), while a change to a hot food takeaway or a pub generally needs permission. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own use classes. The lender's valuer reports on the commercial influence when the flat is valued.

A mortgage on a flat above a shop that you will live in is a regulated mortgage contract, because the flat is your home, so the lender assesses affordability under the FCA's rules (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6). A buy to let on the flat let to tenants who are not family is generally business lending outside the FCA's mortgage rules, assessed on the rent, unless it is a consumer buy to let, which has its own regime. A flat let to a close family member such as a parent or child is a regulated mortgage. These rules follow the use of the flat, whatever the business below.

The deposit for a flat above a shop depends on the lender's maximum loan to value for that property, and lenders set their own limits. Some reduce their maximum on flats over commercial premises, and fewer lenders offer 95% loan to value on these flats than on ordinary flats, so a larger deposit widens the choice. For a buy to let, in our experience 85% loan to value is the ceiling where a lender accepts the flat, and the rent must also pass the rental test. At an illustrative 75% loan to value, which is an example and not a lender's limit, a £120,000 flat needs a £30,000 deposit.

A mortgage on a flat above a pub or restaurant is available from fewer lenders than a flat above a quiet shop, because of late opening, noise, cooking smells, extraction and fire risk. Specialist lenders consider it where the flat is self-contained, has its own entrance and has adequate fire separation from the business below, and the valuer's view of saleability carries weight. Some lenders decline these flats outright. In England a restaurant falls within Class E, so a shop can become one without planning permission, while a pub is outside every use class and a change to one generally needs permission (legislation.gov.uk: Use Classes Order, article 3).

Fire separation matters, because fire risk from the business below is one of the reasons lenders are cautious about flats above shops, particularly over takeaways, restaurants and other food uses. Lenders and valuers look at how the flat is separated from the commercial unit and how it is reached, and a lender may ask for evidence of the separation before it lends. Specialist lenders consider flats above takeaways where the flat is self-contained, has its own entrance and has adequate fire separation. Your solicitor and surveyor can tell you what evidence exists for a particular building.

The lender's valuer inspects the flat and reports on its value, its saleability and the influence of the commercial use below, using recent sales of comparable flats as evidence. The valuer looks at what the business is, its trading hours, noise, smells and extraction, how the flat is reached and its fire separation. Fewer comparable sales make the value harder to evidence. A report that notes an adverse commercial influence can lead a lender to decline, while another lender with different criteria may accept the same flat. The valuation is for the lender and is not a survey of the flat's condition.

In England the shop below your flat can generally become a hot food takeaway only with planning permission, because a takeaway is outside every planning use class and a change to it needs an application (legislation.gov.uk: Use Classes Order, article 3). A change from a shop to a cafe, restaurant or office usually needs no permission, because all three are within Class E. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own use classes, so the council's planning department or a solicitor confirms the position. A change of use below can affect the flat's value and the lenders that will accept it.

Yes, you can get a mortgage on a section 106 property from a lender whose criteria accept the agreement's terms. Lenders that accept these homes look for a mortgagee in possession clause, which releases or relaxes the restrictions if the lender has to repossess and sell, and they lend on the discounted price rather than the full market value. Fewer lenders lend on section 106 homes than on unrestricted ones, and the clause wording each accepts varies by lender, so check the agreement before you reserve. A mortgage on a home you live in is a regulated mortgage, assessed on your income and outgoings in the usual way.

A section 106 property is a home subject to a planning agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that restricts who can buy it, at what price or how it is used, usually to keep it affordable for local or first-time buyers. The obligation binds the person who made it and anyone who later owns the home, until it is released or varied (legislation.gov.uk: Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 106). The most common type for buyers is a discounted market sale home, sold below market value with the discount passed on at every sale. Section 106 covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own planning agreements.

Some lenders refuse section 106 properties because the restrictions could limit their ability to sell the home if they had to repossess it. A home that can only be sold at a discount to eligible buyers may take longer to sell and recover less, its restricted value can be harder to assess, and resale demand is narrower. Lenders whose criteria accept section 106 homes do so where the agreement includes a mortgagee in possession clause they accept, which lets them sell free of the restrictions, sometimes after a set period offering the home to eligible buyers. Without a clause it accepts, a lender can decline the home however strong the application.

A mortgagee in possession clause is a provision in a section 106 agreement that releases or relaxes the restrictions if a lender repossesses the home, so the lender can sell it and recover the loan. Some clauses free the lender at once; others first require a period of offering the home to eligible buyers, the council or a housing association on the restricted terms.

For First Homes, government guidance says every agreement should include a mortgagee exclusion clause letting a repossessing lender sell on the open market (GOV.UK: First Homes guidance). Lenders that accept section 106 homes look for one, and the wording each accepts varies by lender. It is different from the mortgagee protection clause in a shared ownership lease.

A discounted market sale home is sold at a set percentage below its open market value to buyers who meet eligibility criteria, and the discount stays with the home, so every later sale is at the same percentage below market value. National planning policy for England defines discounted market sales housing as sold at least 20% below local market value, with eligibility set by local incomes and house prices and provisions keeping it discounted for future eligible households (GOV.UK: National Planning Policy Framework glossary). Each agreement fixes its own percentage, which can be deeper than 20%; First Homes, for example, are discounted by at least 30%. You own the whole home and pay no rent.

Who can buy a section 106 property depends on the agreement. Its criteria can include being a first-time buyer, having a local connection through where you live or work, working in a key worker role, or having a household income below a cap. First Homes, for example, are for first-time buyers aged 18 or over with a household income of £80,000 or less, or £90,000 in London, who can get a mortgage for at least half the price. An agreement can include a cascade that widens eligibility if no eligible buyer is found within a set period, and the council or developer confirms whether you qualify before you reserve.

Section 106 properties are valued for a mortgage at the restricted value, the price an eligible buyer can pay under the agreement, alongside the open market value the discount is worked from. The lender lends against the restricted figure, so the loan to value is calculated on the discounted price. Every First Home sold is valued by an independent surveyor so the discount reflects actual market value, and if the lender's valuation is lower than the agreed price, the lender's figure after the discount caps the sale price (GOV.UK: First Homes guidance). A lower valuation therefore lowers the price as well as the loan.

You need a local connection to buy a section 106 home only if its agreement requires one, and some restrict sales to people who live or work in the area, at least for an initial marketing period. The agreement defines the connection, such as how long you must have lived or worked locally, and the council decides what evidence it accepts, which can include proof of address or a letter from your employer. Under First Homes, local criteria apply only for the first 3 months a home is on sale, and members of the armed forces and veterans who left in the last 5 years do not need to meet them (GOV.UK: First Homes scheme).

The deposit for a section 106 property is a percentage of the discounted price, so a 5% deposit on a home with a £300,000 market value sold at 30% off, for £210,000, is £10,500, against £15,000 on the full price. The maximum loan to value on section 106 homes varies by lender, so the deposit you need depends on the lender as well as the price. For First Homes the mortgage must cover at least half of the price, so the deposit can be no more than half. Purchase costs come on top of the deposit.

You can sell a section 106 property, but usually only at the same percentage discount to market value and to a buyer who meets the eligibility criteria, after any marketing period the agreement sets. Under First Homes, local criteria apply for the first 3 months, and if you cannot sell as a First Home after 6 months the council can allow an open market sale, with the same percentage of the sale price paid to the council (GOV.UK: selling a First Home). Other agreements set their own cascade and periods, so check your agreement and ask the council about the route for your home.

Section 106 restrictions can be removed if the obligation is modified or discharged, either by agreement with the local planning authority at any time or through a formal application once the obligation is more than five years old. On an application the council considers whether the obligation still serves a useful purpose, and a refusal can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate within 6 months (GOV.UK: planning obligations guidance). Affordable housing restrictions exist to meet local need, so whether a council agrees depends on its housing policy, and it may ask for a payment in return. A planning solicitor can advise on your agreement.

A discounted section 106 home's resale price rises with the market, but only at the discounted percentage, so your equity grows more slowly than on an unrestricted home. With a 30% discount you share in 70% of any rise: if the market value goes from £300,000 to £350,000, the discounted price goes from £210,000 to £245,000, a £35,000 gain against £50,000 on the open market. The same applies to a fall, so you also bear 70% of any drop in market value. The discount stays with the home and never becomes your equity.

You can buy some section 106 homes if you are not a first-time buyer, because the eligibility rules come from each agreement. Some, such as First Homes, are only for first-time buyers, and where people buy a First Home together every buyer must be a first-time buyer. Others are open to existing homeowners who meet local connection, key worker or income criteria, or are restricted by age or occupation rather than by buying history. The agreement's eligibility terms decide, and the council or developer confirms whether you qualify before you reserve.

First Homes can still be built where a council asks for them, but national policy no longer requires them. When the National Planning Policy Framework was revised on 12 December 2024, the government removed the requirement that 25% of affordable homes delivered through section 106 agreements be First Homes, and said councils could still deliver them through section 106 and exception sites. The framework that replaced it on 17 August 2026 does not mention First Homes and leaves the types of affordable housing to each council's plan (GOV.UK: National Planning Policy Framework). As at October 2026 existing First Homes keep their restrictions, and the government's buyer guide is still published.