Joint mortgage applications and credit scores

On a joint mortgage, the lender runs a credit search on every applicant and looks at each person's history, as well as their combined income and outgoings. Applying together also creates a financial association between the applicants on their credit files, which lenders can see on future applications until one of them asks for it to be removed.

Lenders use their own credit scoring, built from the credit reference agency data and the application itself, so the result can differ from one lender to the next. A joint account or joint mortgage links the applicants' files, but one person's score does not change because of the other's history.

There is no single minimum credit score for a joint mortgage. The scores shown by credit reference agencies are a guide only, and lenders do not see them. Each lender scores the application on its own model, so a couple declined by one may be accepted by another. A very high score on a credit report does not guarantee approval.

What lenders look for is a record of credit used and repaid on time, a stable address history, being on the electoral roll and no recent missed payments, defaults or CCJs.

When one applicant has a weaker credit history, the lender usually assesses the application on the weaker record, because both borrowers are fully responsible for the whole loan. Recent defaults, CCJs or missed payments on one file can lead to a decline or a narrower choice of lenders, even if the other applicant's history is clean.

Older or settled problems are treated more leniently by many lenders. Specialist lenders consider joint cases with adverse credit, and how they assess missed payments, defaults and CCJs is set out in the adverse credit mortgages section.

Married couples do not have to apply jointly, and marriage alone does not link credit files. A couple can apply in one name if that person's income supports the loan, but the other partner then has no ownership rights through the mortgage. Lenders still ask about a spouse's debts and income, because they affect household spending.

Applying together usually means a larger loan, because lenders combine both incomes. Some lenders allow up to four applicants, and how they treat each income varies.

A joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage, or JBSP, lets a family member join the mortgage to add their income, without being named on the property's title. Both are responsible for the loan, but only the proprietor owns the home. Lenders check each borrower's credit and affordability, and many set age limits for the family member.

A JBSP avoids the family member paying the higher rates of stamp duty that can apply when they already own a home. Borrowing limits on joint and JBSP cases follow each lender's income multiples and affordability rules. Firms that arrange these cases can be compared on the residential mortgage brokers page.