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Your mortgage is likely to be your biggest financial commitment. So shopping around for the best mortgage rates is vital. MoneySuperMarket can help you compare thousands of mortgage products from a wide variety of lenders, covering the whole of the market. This way, you can be confident you’re getting the right deal.
Is it hard to get a self-employed mortgage?
If you’re self-employed, it can be more of a challenge to get a mortgage because you’ll need to prove you have a reliable income. But getting a mortgage when self-employed is certainly not impossible.
There are plenty of ways to prove to a mortgage lender that you have a reliable income. It’s usually just a case of jumping through a few extra hoops.
What are self-certification mortgages and do they still exist?
“Self-certification” or “self-cert” mortgages were specifically designed for the self-employed, allowing people to self-certify how much they earnt in a given year, with no need to provide evidence.
However, self-cert mortgages were banned completely in 2014 due to concerns borrowers were being accepted for mortgages they couldn’t afford.
This means those who are self-employed now need to apply for a mortgage in the same way as everyone else.
What counts as self-employed?
Lenders will view you as self-employed if you own more than 20% to 25% of a business, from which you earn your main income.
You could be a sole trader, company director, or contractor.
How will you be assessed as a self-employed mortgage applicant?
It’s fair to say that there are different types of self-employed workers. Based on the category you fall into, lenders may have different requests and expectations. Here are the categories you might fall into:
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Limited company
If you own a registered limited company, then you pay your own salary and dividends. When applying for a mortgage, your lender will want to know how much your earnings amount to
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Business partner
If you have one or more business partners, mortgage lenders will ask to see proof of your share of the profits
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Sole trader
It’s likely that, if you’re a contractor or a freelancer, you’ll be classed as a sole trader. In this scenario, you’ll be asked to fill out a tax self-assessment, which will then need to be undersigned by an accountant. To certify your income, you’ll then have to provide your mortgage lender with an SA032 form
How long do you have to be self-employed to be accepted for a mortgage?
This is perhaps the central concern for self-employed workers looking to get a mortgage. How long you’ve been self-employed is a key criteria for mortgage lenders, but rather than worry about it, it’s best to ensure you have well kept books and a specialist mortgage adviser who can speak directly with lenders.
In general, lenders will ask to see the last two or three years of complete accounts, from which they will take an average of your earnings to decide how much they are willing to lend you.
Don’t worry if you haven’t been self-employed for that long. If you were working full time previously, especially in a similar role, your pay slips from this time are likely to be acceptable.
Just be aware that lenders may want to see more proof of funds and will ask more detailed questions. This is why it’s essential to engage the services of a mortgage broker with an understanding of how self-employed income is calculated for mortgages in the UK.
How do you get a self-employed mortgage?
If you’re self-employed and looking for a mortgage, you will, in theory, have access to the same range of mortgages as everybody else and you’ll need to pass the lender’s affordability tests in the same way as any other borrower.
But because there is no employer to vouch for your wage, self-employed people are required to provide far more evidence of their income than other borrowers.
Since the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review in 2014, mortgage providers have considerably tightened up their lending criteria and need to be convinced you can afford your mortgage before they agree to lend you the money.
What will I need to provide for a self-employed mortgage?
Getting a mortgage when self-employed requires you to provide a wide variety of documents to satisfy lenders. They include:
Two or more years of certified accounts
SA302 forms or a tax year overview (from HMRC) for the past two or three years, based on your tax returns. Your accountant can access and provide these for you.
Evidence of upcoming contracts (if you’re a contractor)
Evidence of dividend payments or retained profits (if you’re a company director)
As well as evidence of your income, you will also need to give:
Passport
Driving licence
Proof of address – such as a council tax bill, or utility bills dated within three months
Six months’ worth of bank statements
Proof of any savings accounts
Lenders will want to examine your bank statements to look at how much you spend on bills and other costs to be certain you could afford your mortgage repayments. They may ask about:
Household bills
Travel and commuting costs
Childcare
Holidays
Socialising
Hobbies
Credit card and store card repayments
Loan repayments
Car finance agreements
Catalogue credit accounts
What type of mortgage can I get if I am self-employed?
The type of mortgage you can get as a self-employed person is unlikely to be different to any of those available to people in salaried positions. The key difference is that lenders will apply stricter affordability to criteria as you do not have an employer to back up your earnings.
This means you’ll be able to get a mortgage as a first time buyer or if you’re looking to remortgage an existing property. Buy-to-let mortgages may be more challenging, but should be fine as long as your finances are in good order.
The key here is to try and help boost your chances of getting accepted. This means making use of an accountant who can show your self-employed income. Doing so will improve how lenders perceive you. It’s a good idea, too, to improve your credit score by ensuring you are on the electoral roll, making regular payments on time and minimising spending on credit cards. You should also get a credit report to see if you can improve your score.
How much can you borrow as a self-employed person?
It depends mainly on your income and on the size of your deposit. Generally speaking, you can expect lenders to pay out 4.5 times your annual income. However, this can vary based on your own personal circumstances.
As a self-employed, you may want to put aside as much as you can for a deposit, so that you can benefit from a wider range of options when it comes to choosing a deal.
Do self-employed people have to pay higher mortgage rates?
Self-employed mortgages aren’t necessarily more expensive. As long as you’re able to supply enough information about your income, you should qualify for the same mortgage deal as someone with a comparable salary in a permanent, full-time job.
The mortgage rate you get is much more likely to depend on the size of your deposit, as well as your credit rating.
The more you can put down as a deposit, and the higher your credit rating, the better your mortgage rate is likely to be.
However, if you struggle to get accepted by a mainstream bank, you may have to apply with a specialist lender that deals with self-employed borrowers, and you may find that rates are higher.
How to boost your mortgage chances
There are a number of steps you can take to increase your chances of being accepted for a mortgage when self-employed. For instance, you can:
Save as much as you can for a deposit
Check your credit rating for free with MoneySuperMarket’s Credit Score
Correct any mistakes on your credit report
Get on the electoral roll
Avoid buying certain properties, such as flats above commercial premises or old or unusual buildings, as lenders are less willing to lend on these
Speak to a mortgage broker
Look for a mortgage with a specialist lender
Can I get a joint mortgage with a self-employed worker?
Yes, you can. If you’re taking out a joint mortgage, both names will appear on all the required mortgage documentation and you’ll both be responsible for the necessary repayments. What’s more, both incomes will be taken into consideration to assess whether you can realistically buy.
The self-employed applicant will have to go through the process mentioned above, including giving proof of their earnings and outgoings. Ultimately, they’ll have to follow the same steps as if they were applying for a mortgage on their own.
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How to find the best mortgage deals for the self-employed
The best way to find a competitive self-employed mortgage is by shopping around and comparing mortgage deals on MoneySuperMarket.
Mortgage quotes are automatically sorted by monthly cost, showing you the options which are most suited to your needs. When comparing deals, make sure you factor in the cost of any fees, as you may find it cheaper to go for a mortgage with a higher interest rate but lower fees.
If you’re struggling to get accepted by mainstream lenders, you may find that using a specialist broker will improve your chances of securing a mortgage. They should have useful knowledge of for those who are self-employed, which are most likely to offer a competitive interest rate to a self-employed borrower.
What will I need to provide for a self-employed mortgage?
To prove your income when you apply for a self-employed mortgage, you will need to provide:
Two or more years of certified accounts
SA302 forms or a tax year overview (from HMRC) for the past two or three years
Evidence of upcoming contracts (if you’re a contractor)
Evidence of dividend payments or retained profits (if you’re a company director)
As well as evidence of your income, you will also need to give:
Passport
Driving licence
Council tax bill
Utility bills dated within three months
Six months’ worth of bank statements
Lenders will want to examine your bank statements to look at how much you spend on bills and other costs to be certain you could afford your mortgage repayments. They may ask about:
Household bills
Travel and commuting costs
Childcare
Holidays
Socialising
Hobbies
Credit card and store card repayments
Loan repayments
Car finance agreements
Catalogue credit accounts
What if I only have accounts for one year or less?
If you only have accounts for one year or less, you may find it a challenge to convince a lender that you can afford to repay a mortgage – but, again, it’s not impossible. Having evidence that you’ve got regular work or providing proof of future commissions may help.
Just be aware your choice of mortgages may be more limited.
Is there anything else I can do to help my chances of getting a self-employed mortgage?
Lenders prefer self-employed mortgage applicants to provide accounts that have been prepared by a qualified chartered accountant; that way, they can be sure of your reliability. It’s likely that they will focus on the average profit you’ve earned over the past few years.
Having a healthy deposit and a good credit history will also help your chances of securing a mortgage when you’re self-employed.
What types of mortgage can I take out?
Other mortgage types to consider
Other mortgage types you might want to consider if you’re looking to remortgage include:
Capped-rate mortgage – a capped-rate mortgage is a variable-rate mortgage, but there is a limit to how high the rate can go. This can be useful if you want a variable-rate mortgage, while avoiding unaffordable payments if the rate rises
Discounted mortgage – a discounted mortgage is another type of variable-rate mortgage. This offers a discounted rate on the lender’s standard variable rate for a certain period of time
Offset mortgage – an offset mortgage helps to reduce the overall interest you pay by offsetting your savings against the outstanding balance of your mortgage. But this means you won’t be gaining any interest on your savings during the deal
Fixed-rate mortgages
Fixed-rate mortgages have an interest rate that stays the same for a set period. This could be anything from two to ten years. Your mortgage payments are the same every month and you don't need to worry about fluctuations in interest rates.
If you choose to leave the deal before the end of the fixed term, most will charge you a penalty. This is known as an early repayment charge (ERC).
Variable-rate mortgages
Interest rates adjust periodically with a variable-rate mortgage, which means repayments may change throughout the loan term. Usually, the interest rate changes in relation to the Bank of England base rate. This is very influential on variable interest rates, as is the base rate of each lender.
For standard variable-rate (SVR) mortgages, each lender has a SVR that they can move when they like. In reality, this tends to roughly follow the Bank of England's base rate movements. SVRs can be anything from two to five percentage points above the base rate (or higher). They can also vary massively between lenders.
Discounted variable-rate mortgage
The other type of variable mortgage is a discount mortgage. Rather than being linked to the Bank of England base rate (like a tracker mortgage), discounts are linked to the lender's standard variable rate (SVR). For example, if the SVR is 4.50% with a discount of 1%, the payable mortgage rate is 3.50%. If the SVR rose to 5.50%, the pay rate would rise to 4.50%.
The problem with discounts is that SVR changes are at the lender's discretion. So, your mortgage payments could change even if there has been no alteration in the Bank of England base rate. What's more, even if the SVR changes following a move in the base rate, there is no guarantee that it will increase or decrease by the same amount.
As a result, trackers are usually seen as more transparent than discounted deals. They are also often seen as being fairer for the borrower.
For example, when the base rate fell from 5.00% to 0.50% between October 2008 and March 2009, Lloyds TSB was the only top-20 lender to reduce its SVR by the full 4.50%. All the others cut their rates by less.
When the Bank of England raised the base rate from 0.25% to 0.5% in November 2017, anyone who wasn’t on a fixed-rate mortgage was at risk of seeing their repayments increase. A number of leading mortgage lenders followed and increased their tracker and/or SVR rates a month later.
Mortgage fees explained
Most mortgage deals carry arrangement fees, which can vary from a few hundred pounds up to a couple of thousand.
Also bear in mind that these set up costs can sometimes be made up of two fees. Lenders may charge a non-refundable booking fee, which is effectively a product reservation fee. If your remortgage falls through and you don’t end up taking the mortgage deal, you won’t get this fee back.
The second type of fee is an arrangement fee which you pay on completion of the mortgage, so you won't have to pay it if, for any reason, you don't take the mortgage.
Mortgage overpayment
Calculate how early you could pay off your mortgage. But make sure you read our mortgage overpayment guide first, as overpaying isn’t the right move for all homeowners.
Consider the fees
Remember to always factor additional fees into the overall cost of any deal. Even if a lender is offering a seemingly unbeatable rate, steep fees could mean that it actually works out to be more cost-effective to opt for a higher rate with much lower fees or no fee at all.
The best remortgage rate for you depends on how much you are looking to borrow. A high fee is often worth paying in order to secure a low interest rate if you are applying for a large mortgage. But those with smaller mortgages could be better off opting for a higher rate and lower fee.
However, while this is the general rule, you need to work out the total cost over the term of the deal. For example, if you are going for a two-year fixed rate, you need to work out the cost of your repayments over the term. You can do this by finding out what the monthly payment will be using our mortgage calculator – and then multiplying by 24. You then need to add on the arrangement fee to find out the total cost.
Credit history
You will likely find that you have more mortgage deals to choose from if you have a good credit history, so it’s worth making sure that your credit report is as good as it can be before applying for a remortgage. Paying off any outstanding borrowed credit you owe and making sure your current address is on the electoral roll can help to improve your credit score.
Save a deposit
The more money you can save as a deposit, the less you’ll need to borrow as a mortgage loan. What’s more, having a bigger deposit can help you get access to more competitive mortgage rates.
Lenders will often have a maximum loan-to-value ratio they’re prepared to offer you. Instead, the rest will need to be made up with either a deposit or an equity loan like the government's Help to Buy equity loan scheme.
Compare remortgage deals
Using a mortgage comparison tool can give you a better idea of how much you’d need to pay in monthly costs and interest, the duration of the deal, the maximum LTV, and any product fees you may need to pay for the remortgage deals available based on your borrowing requirements.
It’s important to remember that the mortgage deals you’re offered when you go to make an application may differ because they will then be influenced by your financial situation and credit history.
Looking for mortgage advice?
Get free mortgage advice and see deals from the whole of the market with broker London & Country. Call free from your landline or mobile on 0800 170 1943 any day. Read more about London & Country
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Reviewed on 22 Dec 2025 by
