Mortgages in Northern Ireland, Calculator and Co-Ownership

What is a Northern Ireland mortgage?

A Northern Ireland mortgage is a residential or buy to let loan secured on property in Northern Ireland, with the lender's charge registered with Land & Property Services in the Land Registry or, where the land is not yet registered there, in the Registry of Deeds. The products are the same as in Great Britain. A mortgage on a home you will live in is a regulated mortgage under the Financial Conduct Authority's conduct rules (FCA Handbook: MCOB), and most buy to let lending is business lending outside them. Lenders run the same affordability checks as they do elsewhere in the UK and price their products in the same loan to value (LTV) bands.

Property law and conveyancing in Northern Ireland are separate from England's, and many homes are held on a long lease or a fee farm grant that carries a ground rent. Households pay domestic rates, based on the capital value of the home, in place of council tax. Tenancy law is devolved, so the rules for landlords differ from England's. The main help for first-time buyers is Co-Ownership, Northern Ireland's shared ownership scheme: in 2024/25, 91% of its purchases were by first-time buyers (Department for Communities, 1 April 2026). Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) applies on the same bands as England.

The average house price in Northern Ireland was £202,487 in April to June 2026, 9.2% higher than a year earlier. Council averages ranged from £177,450 in Mid and East Antrim to £240,737 in Lisburn and Castlereagh (Northern Ireland House Price Index, Q2 2026).

Mortgage Lane arranges mortgages across Northern Ireland, in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Derry/Londonderry, Craigavon, Bangor and the rural counties. We act for first-time buyers, Co-Ownership buyers, home movers, homeowners remortgaging at the end of a fixed rate, landlords, self-employed and contractor applicants, cross-border workers paid in euro and borrowers with past credit problems. We compare the lenders based in Northern Ireland with the UK lenders that lend there. Scotland, where the tax and the conveyancing differ again, has its own page: mortgages in Scotland.

Mortgage rates in Northern Ireland

Mortgage rates in Northern Ireland are set by each lender according to product type and loan to value band, in the same way as in the rest of the UK. The rates available on a case are those of the lenders that accept the property and the borrower, so a search for mortgage deals in NI starts with which lenders will take the case. A larger deposit, or more equity on a remortgage, can move a loan into a lower LTV band, which lenders usually price lower. Loans above 90% and up to 95% can be supported by the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme through participating lenders, and the scheme covers homes throughout the UK (see 95% mortgages).

The comparison is made on the total cost over the fixed period: the monthly payments, the product fee and any cashback. Where the fee is a fixed sum, it is twice as large a percentage of a £150,000 mortgage as of a £300,000 one. Over two or five years, a product with no fee can cost less than a lower rate with a fee. The length of the fix matters too, because leaving early can mean an early repayment charge. Rates change often, so a comparison of mortgage rates in NI holds only for the day it is made.

Buying or remortgaging in Northern Ireland? Get in touch with the property, your income and your deposit or equity, and we will compare the lenders that lend in Northern Ireland, including those without a branch there.

Northern Ireland mortgage criteria

Lenders check income, credit and deposit in Northern Ireland as they do elsewhere, then check whether they lend there at all and whether they accept the title and the property. Five rows rest on published rules as at October 2026: regulation, security, the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, Co-Ownership and tax, with landlord registration in the buy to let row. The loan to value, income multiple and term rows, and the 85% buy to let figure, are Mortgage Lane's experience on the cases we arrange; the other rows describe how lenders vary, and each lender's underwriting decides a case.

Types of Northern Ireland mortgage, and how each is assessed

These are the Northern Ireland circumstances that most change how a case is planned and which lenders will take it.

First-time buyers in Northern Ireland

A first-time buyer pays no Stamp Duty Land Tax on a home costing up to £300,000, and 5% on the part from £300,001 to £500,000 where the price is £500,000 or less, so a home at the Northern Ireland average price carries no tax. A small deposit can come through a 95% mortgage under the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, through Co-Ownership, or through a Lifetime ISA, whose 25% government bonus can go towards a first home costing £450,000 or less. Family can help with a gifted deposit (gifted deposit mortgages) or a family assisted mortgage (family help mortgages). The UK-wide detail is in our first-time buyer mortgage guide.

Get in touch with your income, your deposit and where the deposit is coming from.

Co-Ownership buyers

A Co-Ownership buyer purchases a share of 50% to 90% with a mortgage and pays rent to Co-Ownership on the rest. Co-Ownership approves the applicant first and then the home, which must be within its value limit and property criteria, and the mortgage comes from a lender that works with Co-Ownership. The rules are set out below, and the last section compares the scheme with an outright 95% purchase.

Get in touch once you have Co-Ownership approval, or before you apply if you are not sure which route fits.

Home movers

A mover who buys before selling owns two homes at the end of the day of purchase and pays the 5% higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on the new one. The extra tax can be reclaimed if the previous main home is sold within three years (gov.uk: SDLT on an additional residential property). The mortgage options are to port the existing deal, take a new mortgage with a different lender, or use a bridging loan to cover the gap between purchase and sale. A bridge on a home you or your family will live in is regulated by the FCA. Our bridging loan Northern Ireland page and the guide to bridging loans in Northern Ireland cover it.

Get in touch with both values and where the sale stands.

Remortgaging in Northern Ireland

When a fixed rate ends, the choice is a product transfer to a new deal with the existing lender or a remortgage to a new one. A product transfer usually needs no valuation or solicitor. A remortgage to a new lender involves its valuation and a solicitor to repay the old loan and register the new charge. No Stamp Duty Land Tax is due on a remortgage where the ownership does not change, and extra borrowing is assessed on affordability like any other loan.

Get in touch three to six months before the current deal ends.

Self-employed, contractor and cross-border borrowers

Self-employed applicants usually show one or two years of accounts or tax calculations, depending on the lender, and in our experience contractors can be assessed on their day rate annualised over 48 weeks. Our self-employed mortgages page covers each kind of self-employed and contract income. Some lenders accept income paid in euro by an employer in the Republic of Ireland to an applicant who lives in Northern Ireland. They convert it to sterling, and some count less than the full amount to allow for exchange rate movement; whether they accept it, and how much they count, varies by lender. Buyers living abroad, including people returning home, are covered in our guide to expat mortgages in Northern Ireland.

Get in touch with your payslips or accounts and the currency you are paid in.

New build homes

In Mortgage Lane's experience some lenders go up to 95% on new build houses and flats, with fewer options than for an existing home, and lenders usually ask for a new build warranty. Co-Ownership's property criteria ask for a 10-year structural warranty on a new build, a price that includes all utility connection fees, roads and sewers that are bonded or adopted, and a declaration of any incentive from the builder. The scheme's limit for new build homes is £230,000 from September 2026, above the £215,000 for existing homes.

Get in touch with the development, the price and any incentive the builder offers.

Buying in Belfast

Homes in Belfast range from terraced streets to apartments and city centre new build, and many are let privately. Apartments, leasehold titles with ground rents and former Housing Executive flats are where lender criteria differ most: lenders look at the lease, the service charge, the block and, for some flats, the construction. Unlike a house owner, the owner of a flat or apartment cannot buy out its ground rent. Our page on a mortgage for a leasehold flat covers those checks, and short-term letting in the city is covered under holiday let mortgages in Belfast.

Get in touch with the address and the tenure.

Rural homes, farms and conversions

A home with land, a farm dwelling with an agricultural occupancy condition, a self-build site or a barn conversion narrows the lender list, and some lenders limit the acreage they will take. Co-Ownership does not accept a home with a private water supply or one that does not front an adopted road, and some lenders have rules on both. Our rural mortgages page and the guide to barn conversion mortgages in Northern Ireland cover these cases.

Get in touch with the acreage, any occupancy condition and the water and road access.

Borrowers with past credit problems

Northern Ireland has its own courts and its own register of judgments. Registry Trust records undefended default, small claims and High Court judgments there for six years, and a judgment paid within one calendar month of its date, with proof of payment, is removed (Registry Trust: Northern Ireland judgments). Lenders see these entries, with defaults, missed payments and IVAs, through the credit reference agencies as they do elsewhere in the UK, and specialist lenders assess them on their age, size and status. In our experience adverse credit lending usually stops at around 90% loan to value. Co-Ownership does not accept an applicant with adverse credit at the time of applying. Our CCJ mortgages page covers judgments in each part of the UK. Mortgage Lane does not give debt advice; nidirect lists Advice NI for free, confidential and impartial money and debt advice (nidirect: debt repayment options).

Get in touch with a copy of your credit file.

Buying a home in Northern Ireland: offer, contract and registration

Buying a home in Northern Ireland runs on its own conveyancing and land registers, with domestic rates in place of council tax, and the lender's steps fit around them. nidirect's step-by-step guide to buying a home sets out the stages (nidirect: buying a home, step by step).

Offer and sale agreed

Most people buy through an estate agent, though a home can also be bought privately or at auction. An accepted offer is marked sale agreed, but the sale becomes legally binding only when contracts are exchanged, so until then either side can withdraw and a buyer can still be outbid.

Survey and valuation

Northern Ireland has no Home Report, the survey and valuation that a seller in Scotland provides. Once an offer is accepted, the buyer arranges any survey of the condition, and the lender may instruct its own mortgage valuation to confirm the value. That valuation is for the lender. A buyer who wants a report on the condition commissions a RICS Home Survey.

Contracts and exchange

The buyer's solicitor carries out the legal work and deals with the seller's solicitor. The solicitor investigates the title in the Land Registry or the Registry of Deeds, searches the Statutory Charges Register, and reports any lease, fee farm grant or ground rent to the buyer and the lender. A house owner can usually buy out a ground rent under the Ground Rents Act (Northern Ireland) 2001: nidirect puts the price at nine times the yearly ground rent plus a £50 Land Registry fee, as at October 2026 (nidirect: buying out your ground rent). Both sides then sign the contract and the solicitors exchange it, which makes the sale binding. The buyer usually pays the seller a deposit of at least 5% of the price at this point, so the mortgage offer should be in place before contracts are signed.

Completion and registration

On completion the lender's funds reach the seller's solicitor and the home is the buyer's. The solicitor registers the transfer and the lender's charge, and a sale of land not yet in the Land Registry brings compulsory first registration. The Stamp Duty Land Tax return goes to HMRC, with any tax due, within 14 days of completion.

Domestic rates

Northern Ireland households pay domestic rates in place of council tax. The bill is the home's rateable capital value, based on property values at 1 January 2005, multiplied by the domestic rate for the council area, which is made up of a regional rate and a district rate set by the council. The highest capital value used is £400,000, and Land & Property Services issues the bills each April (nidirect: how rate bills are calculated). Lenders take household bills into account in their affordability assessment, so the rates on the home you are buying belong in the budget.

Stamp Duty in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland pays Stamp Duty Land Tax on the same bands as England, collected by HMRC. Scotland and Wales have their own purchase taxes, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Land Transaction Tax, and Northern Ireland has none of its own. The bands below are those in force as at October 2026 (gov.uk: SDLT residential property rates). Each rate applies to the part of the price within the band.

On a £200,000 home a first-time buyer pays nothing. A mover who has sold their previous home pays £1,500, which is 2% of the £75,000 between £125,000 and £200,000, and a buyer who will own another home, such as a landlord, pays £11,500, the same £1,500 plus 5% of the whole price. A first-time buyer at £350,000 pays £2,500, 5% of the £50,000 above £300,000. Every buyer on a joint purchase must be a first-time buyer for the relief to apply. The higher rates apply where the price is £40,000 or more, and buyers who are not UK resident usually pay a further 2%.

Co-Ownership is a housing association. Under the SDLT rules for shared ownership leases from housing associations, a buyer can pay on the full market value at the start by making a market value election. The alternative is to pay on the share bought, with nothing more to pay until their ownership passes 80% (gov.uk: SDLT on shared ownership property). First-time buyers' relief can apply where the market value in the lease is £500,000 or less. At Co-Ownership's price limits a first-time buyer usually pays nothing either way, and the solicitor works out the figure and files the return. Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice; HMRC's guidance or a tax adviser can confirm a particular case.

Co-Ownership in Northern Ireland

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, Co-Ownership buys the rest, and the buyer pays rent on Co-Ownership's share. It is the only provider of shared ownership in Northern Ireland, and the English shared ownership model does not operate there (Co-Ownership: shared ownership in Northern Ireland). Co-Ownership says it has helped more than 35,000 people buy a home since 1978.

Property value limits

As at October 2026 a home bought through Co-Ownership can cost up to £215,000 if it is an existing home, a limit in force from 14 April 2026. The limit for a new build is £230,000, from September 2026 (Co-Ownership: what type of property can I buy?). The limit for existing homes applies to Co-Own, the standard scheme, and to Co-Own for Over-55s. 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. Each applicant's Co-Ownership approval shows the most they can pay.

Who can apply

Co-Ownership's applicant criteria, as at October 2026 (Co-Ownership: applicant criteria), include these:

• You live in Northern Ireland, have the right to reside there and are at least 18.
• You do not own any property or land, including commercial property, and your name is not on any property title, in Northern Ireland or elsewhere.
• You have no adverse credit when you apply, and you can show at least three months of payslips from employment.
• You cannot afford the home without help. Co-Ownership multiplies income, or a couple's combined income, by 4 to work out what an applicant can afford.
• Savings over £13,000 go towards the deposit, and an applicant with a large deposit, or who could save one, may not be suitable.
• Couples who are married, in a civil partnership, engaged, living together or planning to live together apply together.

The home

The buyer chooses a home on the open market, new build or existing, anywhere in Northern Ireland. Co-Ownership's surveyor assesses whether the price is fair. It does not accept homes that need more than £6,000 of work, homes of non-standard construction, HMOs, homes with an annex, Japanese knotweed, a private water supply or agricultural use restrictions, or homes that do not front an adopted road. It expects a service charge of no more than about £200 a year on a house and £1,000 on an apartment, and asks you to contact it if the charge is higher (Co-Ownership: property criteria).

Rent, fees and the lease

The rent is 2.5% a year of the value of Co-Ownership's share. It is reviewed each year in line with inflation, with the new amount notified in February and taking effect on 1 April, and is paid monthly by direct debit. Co-Ownership's own fees, as at October 2026, are £100 on application, £120 for the property assessment and £480 towards its legal costs (Co-Ownership: fees, costs and rent). The buyer holds the home on a 99-year lease, is responsible for repairs from the first day, and can sell at any stage at market value.

The mortgage on the share

The buyer's mortgage is on their share only, from one of the lenders Co-Ownership lists, nine as at October 2026. Co-Ownership says lenders typically ask for between 5% and 10% of the share's value as a deposit, and some offer mortgages with no deposit (Co-Ownership: getting a mortgage). On a 60% share of a £150,000 home that is £4,500 to £9,000. Our experience on the shared ownership cases we arrange is that at least a 10% deposit on the share is needed (shared ownership mortgages). Co-Ownership says some of the lenders that work with it ask for less, so on a Co-Ownership share the lender's terms decide. Co-Ownership purchases are outside the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme, whose rules exclude shared ownership and shared equity purchases (HM Treasury: 2025 Mortgage Guarantee Scheme rules, rule 3.1). Lenders' affordability assessments take the rent into account, and the calculator on this page counts it as a commitment.

Buying more of your home

A co-owner can buy more of the home, known as staircasing, in 5% steps, in larger blocks of 10% or 20%, or all at once. A RICS-registered valuer values the home for each purchase; as at October 2026 the valuation costs £75 and is valid for 12 weeks, and the money and legal work must be completed within that time. Value added by improvements the co-owner tells Co-Ownership about is excluded from Co-Ownership's share, and there is no deadline for buying more. The rent falls as the co-owner's share rises.

Co-Own for Over-55s

Co-Own for Over-55s involves no mortgage. The buyer, aged 55 or over, pays for at least half the home from savings or the sale of their current home and can keep up to £26,000 in savings, and Co-Ownership buys the rest.

Buy to let mortgages in Northern Ireland

A buy to let mortgage in Northern Ireland is assessed on the rent, and the letting runs under Northern Ireland's own tenancy law. Lenders test the rent against the mortgage interest at a stressed rate, an interest cover ratio. Banks and building societies do this under the Prudential Regulation Authority's buy to let underwriting standards (PRA: SS13/16), and other lenders set their own tests. On the cases we arrange 85% is the highest loan to value for buy to let, and the rent test often limits the loan before the loan to value does. A purchase pays the 5% higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax where the landlord will own more than one home. Landlords can buy in their own names or through a limited company, and portfolio landlords are assessed across all their properties; the buy to let mortgage guide covers both. A company pays the higher rates on any residential purchase of £40,000 or more, including its first, and above £500,000 the 17% rate for companies can apply instead, as gov.uk's guidance on buying an additional residential property sets out. Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice; a tax adviser can confirm a particular case.

Tenancy law in Northern Ireland

The Renters' Rights Act 2025 extends to England and Wales, with one chapter extending to Scotland, so it does not cover Northern Ireland (Renters' Rights Act 2025, section 144). Private tenancies there are governed by the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006, as amended by the Private Tenancies Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. As at October 2026, nidirect sets out the main rules (nidirect: private rent and tenancies):

• Every private landlord must register with the Landlord Registration Scheme before letting a new tenancy.
• Since 1 April 2025 a landlord cannot raise the rent within 12 months of granting a tenancy or of the last increase, and must give three months' written notice of an increase.
• A deposit cannot be more than one month's rent and must be protected in an approved scheme within 28 days.
• A landlord's notice to quit must be at least 4 weeks for a tenancy of up to 12 months, 8 weeks for one of more than 12 months and up to 10 years, and 12 weeks for one of more than 10 years.

Houses in multiple occupation

A home that is the main residence of three or more people from more than two households is a house in multiple occupation (HMO), and every HMO must have a licence from the local council unless a temporary exemption notice is in force. Belfast City Council's NIHMO unit runs licensing for all 11 councils. Under the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 the owner applies, and the council can grant a licence only if the HMO use would not breach planning control. Lenders ask for the licence or evidence of the application: see HMO mortgages in Northern Ireland and our HMO mortgages page.

Holiday lets

Tourist accommodation in Northern Ireland, including a self-catering holiday let, must be certified by Tourism NI before it can operate, under the Tourism (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, and offering it without a certificate is an offence (Tourism NI: what do you need to consider). Lenders on holiday lets assess the expected letting income. Our guides cover holiday let mortgages in Northern Ireland and holiday let mortgages on the Causeway Coast.

Commercial and mixed use property

Shops with flats above, pubs, guest houses and other business premises are financed on commercial terms, and most of that lending is outside the FCA's mortgage rules. Our guides to commercial mortgages in Northern Ireland and pub mortgages in Northern Ireland cover them.

How Northern Ireland mortgages are compared

Comparing mortgages in Northern Ireland starts with the lenders that will accept the property, the title and the income. Price comparison sites list products and rates, and each lender's criteria decide whether an application succeeds. To compare mortgages in NI, work out the total cost over the fixed period: the payments plus fees, less any cashback. Then keep only the lenders that lend in Northern Ireland on that property type and tenure and that accept Co-Ownership where it is used. The last check is the income, read as the borrower earns it, whether from self-employment, contracting or a salary paid in euro.

Leasehold apartments, rural homes, non-standard construction, Co-Ownership shares and foreign currency income are the cases where the cheapest product on a comparison site can come from a lender that would decline, so a broker checks the criteria before an application goes in.

How a mortgage is arranged in Northern Ireland

1. Budget and agreement in principle. Income, commitments, deposit and credit file checked; Stamp Duty Land Tax worked out; Co-Ownership eligibility checked where it may help; an agreement in principle from a lender whose criteria fit.
2. Offer and sale agreed. The offer made through the estate agent and a solicitor instructed. On a Co-Ownership purchase the approval comes before the offer, and the property details then go to Co-Ownership for its assessment.
3. Application and valuation. The full application, with the lender's valuation; Co-Ownership's property assessment by a RICS-registered surveyor runs alongside where the scheme is used.
4. Mortgage offer and title. The offer issued; the solicitor reports on the title, the registers and any lease, fee farm grant or ground rent.
5. Exchange and completion. Contracts signed and exchanged, with the deposit paid; the funds released on completion; the transfer and the charge registered; the SDLT return filed within 14 days.

Mortgage calculator Northern Ireland: what it works out

The mortgage calculator on this page works out what an income can borrow, the monthly payment and Stamp Duty Land Tax on an outright purchase, and the mortgage, rent and monthly cost of a Co-Ownership share. Borrowing uses 5 times gross income, the standard multiple in our experience, or up to 6 for professionals and specialist products, after credit commitments: twelve months of credit payments, counting 3% of card balances as a monthly payment, are taken off the income before the multiple. Payments use an illustrative 5.2% rate, which is not a product rate. The tax uses the bands in force as at October 2026, with a 1 or 0 for whether every buyer is a first-time buyer and whether you will own another home. For Co-Ownership you set the share, the deposit on it and the rent rate, which starts at Co-Ownership's 2.5%, and the yearly rent is counted as a commitment.

The calculator leaves out domestic rates and other household bills, a lender's stress rate, Co-Ownership's own assessment, fees, the 2% surcharge for buyers who are not UK resident, the rules for company purchases and the tax on a Co-Ownership purchase. Lenders' own calculations decide the figure.

Co-Ownership or a 5% deposit: what each costs

For a first-time buyer at a typical Northern Ireland price, the choice between Co-Ownership and an outright 95% mortgage turns on the cash needed now, the monthly cost, the income the lender needs and the price of buying the rest later.

Step 1. The cash needed now

An illustrative case, not a product or an offer: a first-time buyer earning £34,000 a year, with no credit commitments and £8,000 saved, buys a £200,000 home. That is a little below the Northern Ireland average of £202,487 for April to June 2026 and inside Co-Ownership's £215,000 limit for an existing home. First-time buyers' relief means no Stamp Duty Land Tax on either route at this price. Co-Ownership says lenders typically ask for 5% to 10% of the share's value and that some ask for nothing, so the table shows all three on a 60% share.

The outright route needs £10,000, more than the £8,000 saved. On a 60% share the 5% and no-deposit rows fit within the savings, and the 10% row needs £12,000. Legal costs and fees come on top.

Step 2. The monthly cost and the income needed

Payments are worked over 30 years at 5.2%, the illustrative rate used across our guides, which is not a product rate. The Co-Ownership buyer repays a smaller mortgage and pays rent of 2.5% a year on Co-Ownership's £80,000 share, which is £166.67 a month. The last column is the gross income each mortgage needs at 5 times, the standard multiple in our experience, with the £2,000 a year of rent counted as a commitment on the Co-Ownership rows.

On these figures the buyer's £34,000 supports £170,000 at 5 times, £20,000 short of the £190,000 the outright purchase needs. With the rent counted, the same income supports £160,000, which covers each of the Co-Ownership mortgages, and the Co-Ownership route with a 5% deposit costs £250.65 a month less than the outright one. Co-Ownership runs its own check as well: it multiplies income by 4, which gives £136,000 here, and it supports only applicants who cannot buy the home without its help.

Step 3. The price of buying the rest

Further shares are priced at the home's value when they are bought, so the growth on Co-Ownership's share belongs to Co-Ownership. If the home rises from £200,000 to £220,000, the co-owner's 60% gains £12,000 and Co-Ownership's 40% gains £8,000, while an outright owner keeps the whole £20,000. The table shows what Co-Ownership's 40% and a single 5% step cost at three values.

Each purchase also carries Co-Ownership's £75 valuation and legal costs, and value added by improvements the co-owner has declared is left out of Co-Ownership's share. Where the tax on the first share was paid in stages, a purchase that takes the co-owner's share above 80% can bring a Stamp Duty Land Tax charge.

What decides the case

Co-Ownership lowers the income the lender needs and, on these figures, the monthly cost. It lowers the cash needed now only where the deposit on the share comes to less than the £10,000 a 95% purchase needs: on a 60% share that is £6,000 at 5% and nothing with no deposit, while at 10% it is £12,000, more than the £10,000 and the £8,000 this buyer has saved. Buying outright keeps all of any rise in value and has no rent. Co-Ownership supports only applicants it assesses as unable to buy the home without its help. Its test is 4 times income, with savings over £13,000 going towards the deposit, so a buyer who could afford the home outright on that test would not be accepted. A buyer who cannot, like the one here, can buy through Co-Ownership where the lender's deposit on the share fits within the £8,000 saved, as it does at 5% or with no deposit, and can buy more of the home as income and savings grow. The value limit, the share Co-Ownership approves and the deposit the lender wants on the share decide the numbers, and the calculator below starts from these figures.