How to get a mortgage in the UK

Knowing how to get a mortgage in the UK starts with getting your paperwork and finances in order before you start looking at properties. If you're arranging a moving home mortgage, lenders will also want to see how your existing property, and any early repayment charge on your current deal, fit into the picture.

In broad terms, the mortgage requirements UK lenders apply fall into three areas: your finances (income, credit history, and deposit), the property itself, and the documentation you'll need to prove all of it. If you're moving, you'll also need proof of your equity, such as a recent valuation or a sale memorandum from your estate agent.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it, so it's worth being realistic about what you can comfortably afford before you commit to an offer on a property.

If you're moving home, you'll also need to budget for costs beyond your deposit, including stamp duty land tax, solicitor's fees, and survey costs.

The first practical step in how to get a mortgage in the UK is understanding what you can realistically borrow. Lenders calculate this using an income multiple, typically around four to four and a half times your annual income, though some lenders stretch further for applicants with a clean credit history and stable income.

Alongside the income multiple, lenders run an affordability assessment. This looks at your regular outgoings, such as loans, credit cards, childcare, and subscriptions, and checks whether you could still manage your payments if interest rates rose. This is sometimes called a stress test, and it's one of the main reasons two people on the same salary can be offered very different amounts.

Your credit history matters just as much as your income. Lenders check your file with one or more of the three main UK credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, and each uses its own scoring system, so it's worth checking your report with more than one before you apply. Missed payments, high credit card balances, and too many recent credit applications can all reduce how much you're offered, or lead to a decline further down the line.

If you want a clearer picture of your own numbers before speaking to anyone, our guide on how much can I borrow for a mortgage walks through the calculations in more detail.

Most lenders ask for a minimum deposit of 5% of the property's price, though putting down more usually opens up a wider choice of lenders and terms. On a £300,000 property, a 5% deposit is £15,000, while a 15% deposit would be £45,000.

If you're moving home rather than buying for the first time, the equity in your current property is usually your main source of deposit. This is the difference between what your home is worth and what you still owe on your existing mortgage. Your conveyancer typically releases these funds around completion, once your sale and purchase are legally tied together, which is why timing your sale and purchase carefully matters so much for movers.

If you already have a mortgage on your current home, you may be able to take your existing deal with you rather than starting again, known as porting a mortgage. This can help you avoid an early repayment charge, though it's worth checking whether your current deal is still competitive or whether a new one would suit you better.

The size of your deposit, expressed as a percentage of the property value, is known as your loan-to-value, or LTV. As a general rule, a lower LTV (a bigger deposit) gives you access to a wider range of deals, while a higher LTV narrows your options and can mean higher costs over the life of the loan.

Once you know roughly what you can borrow, you'll need to decide whether to approach lenders directly or use a mortgage broker. Both routes can get you to the same place, but they suit different circumstances.

Mortgage brokers in the UK must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and you can check a broker's status on the Financial Conduct Authority Register before you commit to working with one. A broker compares a wide range of lenders on your behalf, including some smaller building societies and specialist lenders that don't deal directly with the public, and can be especially useful if your situation is complex, for example if you're self-employed, have a mixed credit history, or are managing a chain.

Going direct to a single lender, such as your current bank, can be quicker if your circumstances are straightforward and you're confident that lender's deal suits you. The trade-off is that you'll only see what that one lender offers, rather than comparing it against a wider range of the market.

A mortgage in principle, also called an agreement in principle or AIP, usually lasts around 60 to 90 days, though this varies by lender. It's a statement from a lender saying that, based on a quick check of your income and credit file, they'd be willing to lend you a certain amount, subject to a full application later.

Most estate agents will ask to see a mortgage in principle before they'll put forward an offer on a property, since it shows you're a serious and realistic buyer. Getting one usually involves a soft credit search, which doesn't affect your credit score, though some lenders carry out a hard search at this stage, so it's worth checking beforehand if you'd rather avoid extra marks on your file.

If your mortgage in principle is declined, it's not necessarily the end of the road. It can mean the lender you approached isn't the right fit for your circumstances, rather than that no lender will help. A specialist lender, or a different approach to your application, may still get you to where you want to be. Read more in our guide to getting a mortgage in principle.

Once you've chosen your route and had a mortgage in principle agreed, it's time to gather the documents needed for a mortgage application in the UK. Having these ready in advance can shave real time off your application.

You'll typically need:

• Three months of payslips, or two to three years of accounts and an SA302 if you're self-employed
• Six months of bank statements
• Two years of P60s or tax overviews
• Photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence
• Proof of address, such as a recent utility bill or council tax statement
• Evidence of your deposit source, such as savings statements or a sale memorandum

If you're moving home, you'll also need your existing mortgage statement, details of any early repayment charge, and correspondence from your estate agent confirming your sale, sometimes called a sale memorandum or memorandum of sale.

With your documents ready, your advisor or the lender submits your full mortgage application. This triggers underwriting, where the lender checks your paperwork in detail, and a valuation survey on the property, to confirm it's worth what you're paying and suitable as security for the loan.

Valuations range from a basic desktop or drive-by check through to a full structural survey, depending on the property, its age, and the lender's requirements. Underwriters sometimes come back with queries, for example asking for an explanation of a large deposit into your account, or further evidence of a bonus or overtime payment. Responding quickly and clearly to these requests is one of the biggest factors in keeping your application on track.

A typical mortgage application timeline runs two to six weeks from full application to formal offer, though this can extend if the property chain is long, the valuation raises issues, or your income is more complex to assess. Our guide to the mortgage application timeline breaks down what happens and when in more detail.

Once underwriting is complete and the valuation comes back satisfactorily, the lender issues a mortgage offer. This document sets out the amount being lent and the term, along with any conditions attached, such as arranging buildings insurance or resolving an issue flagged by the surveyor.

A mortgage offer is usually valid for three to six months, giving you a window to complete your purchase. If your move is delayed beyond that, most lenders will extend the offer or ask you to reapply, though this can mean your application is reassessed against their current criteria.

It's worth reading the offer carefully rather than filing it away. Check the conditions section for anything you need to action, and query anything that doesn't match what you were expecting before you move to exchange.

Your conveyancer or solicitor now finalises the legal side of your purchase and coordinates the drawdown of your mortgage funds with the lender. At exchange of contracts, you and the seller become legally committed to the transaction, and your deposit becomes non-refundable in most circumstances.

On completion day, the lender releases your mortgage funds to your solicitor, the remaining balance changes hands, and you collect the keys. If you're moving home and both selling and buying at the same time, your solicitor will coordinate the two transactions so that funds from your sale can help fund your purchase on the same day, which is one of the more stressful parts of the process to manage without support.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it, so before you complete, it's worth being confident the ongoing payments comfortably fit your budget, not just at today's rates but if they were to rise.

Getting a mortgage in the UK typically takes between six and twelve weeks from your first application to completion, though this varies depending on the complexity of your income, the length of any property chain, and how quickly your documents are ready.

The main factors that extend a mortgage timeline are a long or unpredictable chain, a valuation that raises questions about the property, or an income that takes longer to assess, such as self-employment or multiple income sources.

A decline can feel like a setback, but it's rarely the end of the story. Understanding why applications get turned down can help you address the issue, or find a lender better suited to your circumstances.

If you've been declined and you're worried about your finances more broadly, impartial guidance and support is available from MoneyHelper on 0800 138 7777.