The change applies to 34 products, although one year’s accounts was permitted on a single discount for term product with a maximum 75 per cent loan to value (LTV).
Dudley’s chief executive Jeremy Wood (pictured) said lower account requirements would remove some homeownership barriers faced by self-employed borrowers.
He added that there were around 4.5 million self-employed in the UK, equivalent to 15 per cent of the population, with that figure expected to grow.
Wood said: “At the same time, the world of employment, far from offering the same security to workers as it once did, is having to adapt to an economy where the cycles of upsizing and downsizing for firms are happening more frequently.
“So, although employment still retains the cachet of ‘security’ and lenders are happy with the way mortgages to the employed perform, there is no reason why we shouldn’t constantly re-evaluate the risks surrounding self-employment.”
Self-employed borrowers have come under scrutiny in recent months, as the pandemic impacted income and various government support measures caused concern amongst lenders.
Lender’s applicant requirements vary, with some using an average of the last two years’ income, or the lowest figure from the past one to three years.
Earlier this year, Santander said that it would disregard the 2020 to 2021 tax year for self-employed borrowers, using 2018 to 2019 or 2019 to 2020 borrowing periods instead.
Cambridge Building Society also launched two self-employed mortgage products yesterday, requiring just one year’s accounts.
