As part of the affordability-related change, Gen H will now differentiate between two-, three- and five-year products in its stress testing, which it said could allow customers to borrow up to 25% more on five-year deals. 

Gen H said the change had already made a positive impact; in one case, a married couple earning around £20,000 and £40,000 respectively needed £289,000 to buy a home. The previous stress rate made this unaffordable. 

After the change, the borrowers were able to obtain up to £303,000 on a five-year fix. 

Gen H said other borrowers would similarly be able to benefit from the changed stress rate on its five-year products. 

The lender is also introducing two loan-to-income (LTI) multiple caps. Applicants with a gross income of less than £50,000 and borrowers with income boosters will be able to access a 4.49x LTI cap. According to Gen H’s criteria, income boosters are people who are added to a mortgage to improve a borrower’s borrowing power.

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This has brought Gen H in line with the wider market, and other LTI caps remain unchanged.

Pete Dockar (pictured), chief commercial officer at Gen H, said: “The volatility that has characterised the interest rate environment over the last year has a lot of customers searching for stability. 

“For many, a longer fixed interest term is just the thing. That’s what makes this change so positive – customers can find the longer-term peace of mind they’re hoping for without sacrificing affordability.” 

Earlier this month, Gen H made a series of mortgage rate reductions to better support borrowers.