The analysis found that self-employed applicants, including limited company directors and contractors, had an average of 12 eligible lenders available to them, compared with 19 for employed borrowers.
Self-employed applicants accounted for around 12% of all mortgage applications processed through MBT’s platform.
The disparity extended beyond lender choice. Almost one in five self-employed applicants were unable to find a single eligible lender, compared with around one in eight employed borrowers. Overall, self-employed applicants were around 42% more likely to be rejected by every lender on the panel.
The gap has narrowed only slightly over the past year. In June 2025, 22% of self-employed applications were rejected by every lender, compared with 16% of employed applications.
While affordability has improved across the wider mortgage market, self-employed borrowers have not benefitted to the same extent.
Are your clients ready for the first Making Tax Digital reporting deadline?
Sponsored by BM Solutions
Tanya Toumadj, chief executive of MBT, said: “Self-employed people are a fair share of this market, not a niche part of it. Our data shows they’re less likely to be offered a loan at all, and when they are, their choice of lenders is smaller.
“Fewer options doesn’t mean no options, but it does mean accurate research across a wide range of lenders becomes even more necessary to find the right one for that borrower. It’ll be interesting to see what comes out of the FCA’s consultation.”
