Mortgage News
Halifax tightens income multiples
Halifax has tightened its affordability criteria for borrowers with any self-employed income or those earning less than £30,000 a year.
In a note to its intermediaries, Halifax said the 4.49 times income multiple currently used for workers earning less than £25,000 will be extended to include those with annual earnings of less than £30,000.
The bank said it was making the change to ensure it continued to lend responsibly to borrowers on lower salaries.
Applications that include any element of self-employed income will also be subject to the same change.
Halifax said this temporary change would give it “short-term flexibility on products and service levels”. The criteria change will kept under regular review.
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To capture the information, the affordability calculator on the Halifax Intermediaries’ website will include the question, “does any applicant have any self-employed income?”
All other loan to income ratios will remain the same.
A spokesperson for Halifax said the bank regularly reviews criteria and the change remains in line with the market.
The changes take effect from Thursday 7 January.
Existing applications will not be subject to the changes.