Nearly two-thirds of Brits believe that lenders don’t consider whether an applicant has had help from the furlough scheme, according to survey

September 2021

Nearly two-thirds of Brits believe that lenders don’t consider whether an applicant has had help from the furlough scheme: A recent survey has found that 64% of Britons believe that lenders will not consider the help that people have been given from the furlough scheme during the pandemic when it comes to their suitability for a mortgage.

Furthermore, 42% of those surveyed believe that being self-employed is not typically something that is considered by lenders when applying for a mortgage.

The study of 2,000 British adults was commissioned by NerdWallet in response to reports that some large high street banks have refused mortgage applications to people if they were self-employed or had received help from the government during the Covid-19 crisis.

In addition, two thirds of 18–34 year-olds were of the opinion that mortgage lenders would not consider whether their applicant had benefited from the furlough scheme, with men being 9% more likely to think this than women.

When asked about whether they felt they could secure a decent mortgage, over three-quarters said they felt they lacked the knowledge to make an informed decision. Furthermore, eight in ten stated they would lack confidence in identifying poor advice given to help them, with 31% saying they would not trust what they read online regarding mortgage advice.

The survey also found that only 22% of 18–54 year-olds, including just 15% of 18–25 year-olds, knew about a government-backed mortgage guarantee scheme, which could apply to them. A further 78% of working age adults stated that they did not know of any help that could aid them when buying a property.

Richard Eagling, senior mortgage expert at NerdWallet, said: "Many people have underestimated the impact of being furloughed or accessing self-employed Covid grants on their ability to get a mortgage. A lender will always determine the risk level that a mortgage applicant presents and whether they can afford the repayments, and it seems that many lenders are excluding furloughed income when assessing affordability.”