The lender will now accept court order child maintenance payments and foster income as part of a customer’s income.

On child maintenance, the lender said that this would be accepted if the child is under 13 years old at the point of application.

Regarding foster income, the company said it would accept 24 months of history but added that this would need to be keyed in as self-employed.

Customers with less than six months of employment history can be accepted if this is due to a career break or parental leave.

Charles Morley, director of mortgage distribution at Metro Bank, said: “Family finances and income streams have become more complicated in recent years and, after listening to broker feedback we’re really excited to introduce these enhancements.

“We hope that by widening the criteria we can help more families take that necessary first or next step on the property ladder.”

Earlier this year, NatWest confirmed that it would buy Metro Bank’s mortgage portfolio for £2.5bn.

Metro Bank at the time said the move was “in line with Metro Bank’s strategy to reposition its balance sheet for higher risk-adjusted returns on regulatory capital”.