Effective immediately, self-employed applicants will be able to borrow up to 5.5 times their income and loans over 85% loan to value (LTV) will not be limited to 4.49 times applicant income.
The lender added that the threshold for the gross income-based 4.49 times LTI cap will be lowered from £50,000 to £40,000.
Gen H said the changes to its LTI limits will allow it to offer funding to around 12% more customers and maximum loan amounts could rise by around 22%.
The lender has also partnered with Sesame, so advisers now have access to the lender’s mortgage products. This includes deposit and income booster deals as well as its recently launched New Build Boost and interest-only proposition.
Pete Dockar, Gen H’s chief commercial officer, said: “I’m delighted to announce these positive changes to our loan-to-income multiples policy today. Increasing our LTI limits for self-employed applicants, those with small deposits, and those on average household incomes will allow us to support exactly the people we wish to reach those who, without Gen H, may not have found a path to homeownership.
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“These buyers are often under-served by existing mortgage products and the high street, so I hope the implementation of these new rules makes our stance very clear: we’ll take every chance we get to create more incremental homeowners.”
The firm is the latest to change its LTI changes following the regulator’s announcement that it would grant lenders permission to breach the 15% high-LTI mortgage limit.
The rules stated that the number of residential mortgages lent at LTI ratios of 4.5 or higher cannot make up more than 15% of a lender’s book each year.
Lenders who have changed their LTI limits, or have applied to do so, include Tipton & Coseley Building Society, Lloyds Banking Group, Yorkshire Building Society and Nationwide.
