Earning a salary of £20k a year is a decent income, and getting a mortgage on this wage is certainly possible. Many factors affect how successful you might be and how a lender might view your affordability, including your credit history, your deposit, whether you have a partner who is also earning, and your age.
Can I Get a Mortgage on £20k a Year in the UK? Yes, it is absolutely possible to get a mortgage on £20k a year. Very few lenders have a minimum amount of income to qualify for a mortgage and will typically permit anywhere between 4 to 5 times your annual income.
What is the minimum income to qualify for a mortgage in the UK?
There is not a set wage you need to earn to get a mortgage. If you can prove that you'll be able to repay your mortgage long term, your income shouldn't stop you getting a mortgage.
What is the lowest income you can have to get a mortgage?
There are no specific income requirements to qualify for a mortgage — but mortgage lenders do evaluate whether your income suffices to repay the amount you want to borrow. To determine if you'll qualify, mortgage lenders review your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, credit score and other factors.
You need somewhere between £5,000 and £10,000 saved up as a deposit to buy a low-cost home, £10,000 to £20,000 for a property costing the UK average, and around £40,000 to £50,000 if you're buying in London or similarly high-priced areas.
How much deposit do I need for a 250k house in the UK?
Deposit requirements: You'll need to save a minimum deposit of 5% to 10% for a £250,000 mortgage. How much this figure will be depends on the value of the property, but a 10% deposit on a £250,000 house would be £25,000.
How to get a bigger mortgage on low income in the UK?
You can do this by yourself, or through family support. There are also other schemes which reduce what you need to afford in the first place, such as shared ownership. If you need to increase what you can borrow for a mortgage, one option is to consider an Income Boost (a.k.a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage).
Can I get a mortgage without a job? Yes, if you're able to comfortably afford loan repayments with income from other sources, then most lenders will consider your application, depending on your individual circumstances.
Most people start by tracking down their latest bank statements and payslips, which will need to go back three months. These can be paper copies or PDFs. If you can't find any statements then most banks will send over a replacement set (sometimes for a fee), or they can be printed off via a bank's online service.
You may qualify for help towards your mortgage interest payments if you are a home owner and get certain income-based benefits. This is known as Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI). The interest is at a set rate, not the rate your lender charges and payments can be reduced for various reasons.
No, there isn't a zero deposit mortgage government scheme. However, the government-backed Mortgage Guarantee Scheme encourages lenders to offer 95% mortgages. And 5% deposit mortgages are available in the market generally.
Most lenders will require you to provide between 3-6 of your most recent payslips as part of your mortgage application. Depending on the frequency of your payslips, this number could vary.
Mortgage eligibility is complex and can be affected by a number of factors that include the size of your deposit, your credit score, income and monthly spending. Each lender will have their own criteria but using mortgage calculator tools can help give an indication of how much you could borrow.
At the time of writing (August 2025), the average monthly repayments on a £20,000 mortgage are £117. This is based on current interest rates being around 5%, a typical mortgage term of 25 years, and opting for a capital repayment mortgage. Based on this, you would repay £35,075 by the end of your mortgage term.
What is the best mortgage loan for low income people?
An FHA loan will typically be the easiest mortgage to qualify for. It offers the lowest credit score requirement — far lower than for a conventional loan — and requires only a 3.5% down payment. VA and USDA loans are even easier to qualify for than an FHA loan, but they're only available to certain buyers.
How much deposit do I need? The amount you need for a deposit usually depends on the property price and your budget. For a home purchase, you normally need to put down at least 5% or 10% of the total amount.
Your net pay. Gross pay in the form of basic salary, contractual pay, salary or notional salary. This list is not exhaustive. If you're including bonus, overtime or commission, we'll ask for additional payslips that show any or all of these.
To get a mortgage, it's best to have a stable work history of 3-6 months. If you've been at your job for less than 3 months, depending on your income, credit history, and job stability, there may still be options available. Lenders have different criteria, so it's important to compare options.
There isn't a standard minimum income requirement for a mortgage. Instead, each lender will have their own criteria, and in many cases your overall level of affordability is more important than your base income.
Can you get a mortgage if your salary is not high enough?
Yes, it's possible. It depends on the amount of mortgage you need. For their affordability assessment, lenders typically use a multiple of your annual income to determine how much you can borrow, and most will use between 4 and 4.5 times that amount.
Can you get a mortgage without three months' pay slips? When applying for a mortgage, you'll typically need payslips from the last three months to verify your income. However, some lenders may only require the most recent month's payslip.
A small mortgage is open to interpretation but typically refers to a loan amount that is significantly lower than the average property purchase mortgage. Generally, small mortgages range from as low as £10,000 to around £50,000, though this can vary depending on the lender and specific circumstances.
You can get a mortgage if you are on Universal Credit, providing you meet the lender's affordability criteria. Will the government pay my mortgage if I am unemployed? The government may provide some assistance with mortgage payments if you are unemployed, but it won't cover the entire mortgage.
What happens if I can't afford my mortgage in the UK?
Depending on your circumstances, your lender might offer you the option to: change when you pay - you might be able to take a break from paying your mortgage. repay what you owe at a later date - you could arrange to have what you owe added to the capital outstanding on the mortgage.
