Mortgage rules could open up more options for borrowers

Getting a mortgage isn’t always straightforward. If you’re self-employed, approaching retirement, have an irregular income, or have had credit problems in the past, you may have found it isn’t always easy to get the mortgage you need.

However, changes to mortgage rules introduced in October, along with further proposals from the UK’s financial regulator, could give some borrowers more options.

Could lenders offer more flexibility?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reviewing mortgage rules to help more people access suitable mortgages while maintaining safeguards to keep borrowing affordable.

Its proposals, published in June 2026, cover several groups that can sometimes struggle to secure a mortgage.

• Self-employed borrowers could benefit from greater flexibility when lenders assess variable or irregular income. If your earnings fluctuate, a more tailored assessment could help a lender understand your financial position.
• Borrowers with past credit problems may also have more opportunities if lenders can take a more individual approach to assessing their circumstances, rather than automatically ruling someone out because of historic credit issues.
• Older homeowners are another group in focus. The FCA has proposed changes to its guidance on retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgages, which could help eligible older borrowers explore ways to manage their mortgage in retirement.

The proposals also cover interest-only and part interest-only mortgages, which may be particularly relevant if you’re approaching the end of an existing deal and need to consider how to repay the outstanding balance.

The FCA’s consultation closed in July, and the proposals are part of its ongoing Mortgage Rule Review. They should not all be treated as changes that are already in force.

You can read more in the FCA’s Mortgage Rule Review consultation (source: https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/consultation-papers/cp26-18-mortgage-rule-review-responsible-lending).

Borrowing more relative to your income

A separate development also affects people who need to borrow more relative to their earnings. From 28 October 2026, new regulatory arrangements allow lenders more flexibility over how many higher loan-to-income mortgages they offer.

Previously, individual lenders were generally restricted to having no more than 15% of their new mortgage lending at 4.5 times a borrower’s income or above.

The revised arrangements remove that individual limit while retaining an overall market limit. This could give some lenders greater scope to offer mortgages to borrowers who need to borrow more than 4.5 times their income.

However, this doesn’t mean everyone can borrow more. Lenders will still assess affordability, and their own lending criteria will continue to apply.

You can read the details in the Bank of England’s announcement on high loan-to-income lending (source: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2026/october/high-loan-to-income-lending-policy-statement).

If your circumstances are a little more complicated, we’re here to help.

Get in touch to discuss your mortgage options and find out what might be available to you.

Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debts secured on it.