How much can I borrow for a mortgage?
UK lenders work out your maximum loan two ways and usually take the lower: an income multiple applied to your income, and an affordability test of your real income and outgoings against a stressed interest rate. Each lender sets its own multiple. Bank of England rules limit lending at 4.5 times income or more, so treat that as a ceiling, not a typical figure. Clearing short-term debt usually lifts your maximum more than anything else.
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Commitments means regular credit: loans, credit cards, car finance. Not everyday spending.
At 4.5 times income
At 4 to 5 times income: to
Indicative only. This shows your income at 4, 4.5 and 5 times. These are not typical lender figures: each lender sets its own maximum, and lending at 4.5 times income or more is limited by Bank of England rules. The binding test is affordability: the stress test, your outgoings, deposit and credit profile can all cap this lower. Not a quote and not advice. A regulated broker can confirm the real figure.
Two tests, the lower one wins
The income multiple is the headline: a lender multiplies your income by a figure to get a rough ceiling. But the binding test is affordability: the lender checks that the monthly payment, calculated at a higher stressed rate than the pay rate, fits comfortably alongside your outgoings. Whichever is lower sets your maximum. A high earner with lots of debt can be capped by affordability well below their income multiple.
Income multiples and the 4.5 times limit
Each lender sets its own income multiple, and it can change with your income, deposit and the type of mortgage. We do not quote a typical multiple, because we have no lender source for one. What is published is the Bank of England limit: a mortgage counts as high loan to income when it is 4.5 times income or more, and the regulators aim to keep those loans to no more than 15% of new mortgages across the market (Bank of England, PS19/26). So 4.5 times is a ceiling that only some loans go past. For a lender's actual limit, check its own criteria.
How much mortgage can I afford?
What a lender will lend and what you can afford are different questions. The lender's answer comes from the income multiple and the affordability test above. Your answer comes from the monthly payment: what you can pay each month after bills, debts and saving, and still pay if rates rise when your deal ends. Start from that payment, not the biggest loan on offer.
Here is what the monthly payment looks like on a repayment mortgage of £180,000 over 25 years, at the Bank of England's average quoted rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed mortgages at 75% LTV in September 2026 (Bank of England database).
| Example rate (September 2026) | Rate | Monthly payment on £180,000 over 25 years |
|---|---|---|
| 2-year fixed average | 5.13% | £1,066 |
| 5-year fixed average | 4.98% | £1,050 |
Our illustration, not a quote. The rates are the Bank of England's monthly average quoted rates for 2-year and 5-year fixed mortgages at 75% LTV, not rates you will be offered. The payment is worked out the same way as our mortgage repayment calculator, before fees. Put in your own loan, rate and term there.
To work the other way, from the monthly payment you can afford to the loan it covers, and to see that payment at higher rates, use our how much mortgage can I afford calculator.
What moves your maximum
- Clearing or reducing short-term debt (the biggest controllable lever).
- How much of your bonus, commission or overtime a lender counts: see complex income.
- Childcare, dependents and regular commitments, which reduce affordability.
- The mortgage term: a longer term lowers the monthly payment and can raise the maximum.
Common questions
How is my maximum loan worked out?
Lenders start from your income and apply an income multiple, then run an affordability assessment of your actual income and outgoings against a stressed interest rate. The lower of the two usually sets your maximum. Both the multiple and the stress test vary by lender, which is why maximum loans differ so much between them.
How much mortgage can I afford on my salary?
Start with the monthly payment, not the loan. Work out what you could pay each month after your bills, debts and savings, then use our how much mortgage can I afford calculator to see what loan that payment covers at a realistic rate. A lender may offer more than that, but what you can comfortably pay is the safer limit.
What income multiple do lenders use?
Each lender sets its own maximum, so there is no single figure. Bank of England rules limit how many new mortgages can be at 4.5 times income or more (no more than 15% of new lending across the market), so 4.5 times works as a ceiling that only some loans go past. Check the lender's own criteria for its limit, and remember the affordability test can cap you lower.
What reduces how much I can borrow?
Short-term debts (loans, credit cards, car finance), childcare and other regular commitments, and dependents all reduce affordability. So can variable income that a lender only partly counts. Clearing debts before applying often lifts your maximum more than anything else.
Why do lenders give different amounts?
Because they use different multiples, different stress rates and different assumptions about your spending, and they treat bonus, commission and overtime differently. The same income can produce noticeably different maximum loans, which is why matching to the right lender matters.
Check it for real
Run your own figures
The estimate above shows the method. Use this tool to run your own numbers. This is an embedded third-party tool run by Propillo, not by Mortgage Explained. Anything you enter is collected by Propillo under its own privacy policy. Information, not advice, and no obligation.
Got a figure in mind? Get an agreement in principle, and gather your documents.
Getting ready to apply? Use the mortgage documents checklist to gather your payslips, bank statements and ID.
Founder, MortgageExplained
Adam spent over eight years as a mortgage adviser at Just Mortgages, with further experience in commercial finance. He is CeMAP and CF qualified. He built MortgageExplained to do one thing well: explain mortgages in plain English, so you know where you stand before you speak to a regulated broker. Every page on the site is written by Adam.
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