House prices still feel high, and a lot of people in Fareham, Whiteley, Locks Heath, Gosport and the rest of Hampshire tell me they have already decided they cannot borrow enough. Sometimes that is still right; sometimes last year’s figure is simply out of date.
Over the past year the rules around how lenders assess mortgages have been eased in carefully limited ways. That is not a promise that you can suddenly borrow more, but it is worth checking again if you were declined, or if you talked yourself out of looking.
I’m Charles Calvert, a mortgage broker at Easy Mortgages. This is general information, not personal advice. Always check any figures against your own income, outgoings and a live lender assessment.
Affordability is still the main test
A lender does not only look at a simple multiple of your income. It looks at whether the monthly payment is affordable after your regular spending, existing credit and a buffer for rates that could be higher than today’s deal. That test has not gone away: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been clear that lenders must still check a mortgage is affordable. What has changed is the room some lenders have to apply those tests more flexibly, and, from this autumn, to make more loans at higher multiples of income.
Changes already in force
In July 2025 the FCA published Policy Statement PS25/11, with the changes coming into effect on 22 July 2025. They are meant to make it easier, in the right cases, to remortgage with a new lender, to reduce a mortgage term, and to speak to a firm about your options without that conversation automatically counting as regulated advice.
On remortgaging, a new lender can now use a modified affordability assessment where the product it can offer would be more affordable than the new product with your current lender. In plain English, if you are moving to a cheaper deal, the new lender does not always have to run the same full exercise as if you were borrowing for the first time. Not every lender uses this, but it is one reason a remortgage that felt stuck may now be worth another look. See my guide to a product transfer versus a remortgage.
The same policy also lets a lender reduce the term of an existing mortgage without a full affordability assessment. Shortening the term usually raises the monthly payment, so it is not automatically better, but it can cut the total interest if the higher payment still fits. Earlier in 2025 the FCA also reminded lenders that its stress-test rule already allows flexibility, and later said it had seen lenders react, helping more customers to access mortgages.
Higher loan-to-income lending from October 2026
A separate change came into effect on 28 October 2026, after the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) issued updated guidance and rules on 14 October, following a recommendation from the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee. This one is about loan-to-income limits, not the monthly affordability test.
For years, most lenders have been expected to keep new residential mortgages at 4.5 times income or above to no more than 15% of that lending. That loan-to-income, or LTI, flow limit was never a hard cap of 4.5 times income on every borrower; it limited how many of those higher-multiple loans a lender could make. Individual lenders can now make a larger share of those loans, provided the market as a whole stays in line with the 15% limit.
The PRA’s latest official figures, for the second quarter of 2026, show high loan-to-income lending had already risen to 14.1% of mortgages in scope of the policy, up from 9.7% in the third quarter of 2025. The regulators have not, at the time of writing, told firms to cut back. Some lenders who were close to their own 15% cap may now have more room, but you will not automatically be offered 4.5 times your income or more. The lender still has to be satisfied the payment is affordable, and buy-to-let, second-charge and lifetime mortgages sit outside this particular limit.
Who might notice a difference
First-time buyers who were close to a lender’s previous limit are the most likely to notice, especially if a gifted deposit or a slightly longer term changes the monthly picture. Start with my first-time buyer pages, the Fareham first-time buyer costs guide, the how much can I borrow page and the mortgage calculator.
People remortgaging onto a genuinely cheaper payment may benefit from the modified affordability route, depending on the lender. The self-employed, anyone with variable income, and people with older or relatively minor credit issues may also find that the choice of lender matters even more than it did. The FCA has consulted on further changes for some of these groups, but those proposals are not yet final. See also self-employed mortgages, bad credit mortgages and check your credit report.
Practical next steps in Hampshire
- Do not assume last year’s answer still stands. Lender criteria and these rule changes can alter the maximum on the same income.
- Get a current picture of your income, outgoings and credit file before you apply. Several applications close together can leave a mark on your file.
- Use a calculator as a starting point, not a decision. See how much can I borrow and the calculators.
- If your fix is ending, compare a product transfer with your current lender and a remortgage elsewhere, including total fees, not only the headline rate.
Fees if you want me to help
Your first chat and advice come with no fee and no obligation. A fee is only payable once you receive your full mortgage offer:
- Remortgage: £299
- Purchase: £495
- Specialist / adverse: £895
- Product transfers and protection: no fee from me
Full details are on the mortgages fees section.
Talk it through
If you are wondering whether you might now borrow more, book a no-fee call and we will go through your numbers together. You can book a no-fee call, message me on WhatsApp on 07368 330822, or use the contact page.
FAQ
Can I definitely borrow more now?
No. Some lenders have more flexibility than they did, but they still have to check that the mortgage is affordable, and the answer depends on your income, outgoings, credit history and the lender’s own criteria.
Has the 4.5 times income limit been removed?
No. A high loan-to-income mortgage, in the Bank of England and PRA figures, is a regulated mortgage of 4.5 times income, or joint income, or more. There was never a rule that no one could borrow that much. The change is about how many of those loans an individual lender can make. The 15% limit still applies to the market as a whole.
I was turned down last year. Should I try again?
It can be worth a fresh look, especially if your income, debts or the deal you need have changed, or if you were close to a lender’s limit. It is usually better to review the figures with a broker first than to make several applications close together.
Where can I read the official rules?
The July 2025 changes are in the FCA’s Policy Statement PS25/11. The October 2026 loan-to-income changes are in the FCA’s FG26/11 guidance and on the Bank of England’s high loan-to-income lending page. Further proposals, not yet final, are in Consultation Paper CP26/18.
Primary sources: FCA PS25/11 (22 July 2025); FCA FG26/11 and PRA high loan-to-income rules (issued 14 October 2026, in effect 28 October 2026); Bank of England / PRA figures for 2026 Q2; FCA CP26/18 (closed 28 July 2026; final rules not seen as published as of mid-November 2026). Lender criteria vary.