Lloyds Banking Group is lowering the minimum income required for buyers to access its ‘First-Time Buyer Boost’, which allows first-time buyers to borrow up to 5.5 times their income instead of the standard 4.49.
From 5th December, the minimum income needed to qualify for the Boost will fall from £50,000 to £40,000.
Raising the Loan to Income (LTI) multiple to 5.5x will increase the maximum loan available by 22%. For example, a customer with £40,000 income and 10% deposit will from 5th December be able to borrow £220,000, up from £179,600.
Lloyds and Halifax (part of the Lloyds Banking Group) are also removing their specific LTI caps for self-employed borrowers, enabling many to access higher loan amounts. Self-employed applicants will now be able to use the First-Time Buyer Boost for the first time.
According to Lloyds, since the First Time Buyer Boost was first introduced in August 2024, more than £8bn of lending has been offered to First-Time Buyers, with over 15,000 able to get on the ladder more quickly through being able to borrow more.
Lloyds and Halifax join several other lenders who have increased their loan-to-income multiples or lowered stress test rates recently to help with affordability. These include Barclays, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, the Nottingham and Aldermore.
For example, Santander now allows borrowers with a combined household income of £100,000 or more, who need a mortgage worth no more than 90% of the property value, to borrow up to 5.5 times their income. This is around 24% more than they could borrow previously. Nationwide, meanwhile, will allow buyers with a joint income of £70,000 or a single income of £40,000 to borrow up to 4.5 times their income, up from 4.
