Criteria Lookup

We’re a clean credit lender. We won’t lend to any applicant who has ever:

• been bankrupt
• been subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
• owned a previous property which has been taken into possession or who has surrendered voluntary possession to the lender.

We will not lend if, in the last 3 years, an applicant has had:

• a County Court Judgement (CCJ) registered or settled within this time, or has an outstanding CCJ registered outside the 3 years
• any arrears at all on a mortgage, fixed payment loan and/or rent
• more than two consecutive missed payments on credit and/or store cards.

We will not usually lend if the applicant has defaulted or settled a past defaulted account on any credit agreement in the last 3 years, or has an outstanding default.

Communications and mail order records can be ignored, unless the scale and/or frequency of missed payments indicate cause for concern.

As part of our underwriting process we must assess the applicant’s income, credit commitments and cost of living expenses to ensure their ability to pay.

We need confirmation of the applicant’s committed expenditure including credit cards, overdraft, loans, hire purchase, maintenance, school fees and child care. General household expenditure, for example food and utilities, are automatically accounted for in our affordability calculator.

Any mortgage (other than a formal Buy to Let mortgage) must be included in our affordability calculator.

To do this, you’ll need to:

1. calculate the cost of interest on the non redeemed balance at a nominal rate of 7.99%
2. enter the monthly equivalent cost in the monthly outgoings field of our affordability calculator.

Applicants obtaining ‘consent to let’ or a ‘let to buy’ loan must include this mortgage in the affordability assessment unless they can provide evidence of a mortgage offer which proves that the retained property is being remortgaged into a formal Buy to Let.

You can use our affordability calculator to estimate what your client may be able to borrow based on their income and financial commitments.

• The minimum age is 18
• The maximum age is 75 years for the eldest applicant at the expiry of the mortgage term.

• A ‘Back to Back’ transaction, where a property has been owned for less than 6 months, is not acceptable and will be declined.
• Assignable contracts are not acceptable and will be declined.

Check our 5 golden rules

• Residential mortgage clients only
• Must pass our credit score and meet our minimum income and loan size requirements*
• Income to support the loan must be paid in GBP
• Up to 90% LTV (including fees)
• Must meet our standard property criteria.

For further information please visit our Bespoke information. 

*The minimum loan size is £150,000 and the minimum income requirements are:
- Repayment mortgage: At least one applicant must earn £40,000
- Interest only mortgage: £50,000 for sole applicants and £75,000 for joint applicant

Builders’ incentives are accepted up to 5% of purchase price with no adjustment to the purchase price or loan. We don’t accept guaranteed rental income schemes.

For Help to Buy Equity Loan: Incentives including stamp duty and legal fees are accepted up to 5% of purchase price, with no adjustment to the purchase price or loan. Cash incentives including cashback or deposit are not accepted.

We’ll base our lending on the lower of the purchase price or value, except where the discount is at least 25% of the mortgage valuation. In these circumstances we’ll exclusively use the valuation figure.

We won’t accept any applications where the broker has a financial interest in the property being mortgaged. Put simply, the broker submitting the case can’t also be the buyer/owner.

The term contractors covers contractors trading as self employed, limited companies and contractors working through an umbrella firm. Contractors have the option to apply as self employed, requiring 3 years trading and 2 years income figures, or as employment type contractor.

Our contractor lending criteria:

• Maximum 90% LTV, exclusive of fees
• Applicants must have a minimum gross contracting income of £50,000pa for the contractor (not the household)
• Affordability is based on 80% of gross contract income
• Where an applicant uses an umbrella company to manage their payroll, we'll assess their income based on the gross amount paid by the umbrella company. We're unable to accept the original contract value as it doesn't state any employee deductions or fees which we take into account. Please read 'Documents we'll need' to see what's required. 
• Minimum contracting period is 12 months in current occupation. The contract does not have to be with the same agency/employer
• Current contract is required for income assessment. This can be either the original or a certified copy. We will also need copies of all other contracts held in the past 12 months
• We will not accept contractors who have had cumulative contract gaps of 1 month or more in the last 12 months
• Eligible for Interest Only, subject to our interest only lending criteria
• We won’t lend to Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contract workers under our contractor criteria. But we will consider them under our self employed income criteria.

We will not normally accept applications from applicants with a criminal record unless the conviction is for a minor traffic offence, or is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

We will not normally lend if the applicants have unsecured debt (excluding student loans) in excess of 50% of their assessable gross annual income, even if this will be repaid in whole or part before completion. Cases with a lower debt to income ratio may still be referred for individual underwriter assessment.

Applicants with diplomatic status in the UK are not acceptable.

Payment by Direct Debit mandate is compulsory for all loan types.

When a full application has been submitted, visit the ‘Actions’ tab in our online application system to see which documents are needed for assessment.

You'll need to certify all documents when you upload them. You can do this online.

If we need any additional documents we'll let you know.

Proof of identity	We need proof of ID to help protect against fraud. Anti Money Laundering regulations (AML) require us to check the names and addresses of all our customers. We'll attempt to do this electronically, but if this fails then each applicant must supply 1 document as proof of identity.
Proof of residency	If the applicant isn't on the Voters' Roll, proof of residency will be needed for all the addresses resided at within the past 12 months.
Proof of income	Employed	Latest 3 months’ payslips Or Last P60 and latest month’s payslip Or Employer’s reference - we'll only ask for this if either of the above aren't available.
	Contractors	If the contract is arranged directly with the client or via an agency, with no umbrella company involved: Original or certified copy of the current contract and all other contracts held in the past 12 months. Or If the contract is arranged with the client via an umbrella company: Contract between the end client and the umbrella company (unless the contract is arranged via an agency, where it will be between the agency and umbrella company but may also detail the contractor and the end client) Contract between the umbrella company and the contractor Latest 3 months payslips from the umbrella company and the corresponding umbrella invoice reconciliation statements, and Latest bank statement(s) evidencing pay.
	Self employed       Or A company Director with a shareholding of 25% or greater	Latest 2 years’ SA302s supported by the latest 2 years’ Tax Year Overviews and the latest month’s business bank statement. Our underwriters may request additional information to support the application at their discretion.
	Pension	Evidence of pension income (e.g. P60, or former employer’s confirmation of pension).
Bank statements	Employed/Contractor/Pension (Includes company Directors with a shareholding of 25% or greater)	1 full month’s statement will be required for the account which the applicant’s wage/salary/contracting income/pension is paid into. Any statement provided must be no older than 3 months. If the applicant’s income is not credited directly into a bank account, then we may not be able to assist with the mortgage application.
	Self employed	1 full month’s statement will be required for the applicant’s business bank account. If the applicant does not hold a separate business account, then 1 full month’s statement for their personal account will be required. Any statement provided must be no older than 3 months.
Proof of repayment strategy (Only applies to interest only mortgages)	If the applicant is applying for an interest only mortgage, you will need to submit a completed ‘Repaying your interest only mortgage’ form and the appropriate supporting documents. We only accept the sale of this mortgaged property as the repayment strategy. This will be verified by an underwriter to ensure that it's credible. You can find this form on our Forms and Guides page.

 

All of our lending criteria is applicable to existing customers with some minor exceptions.

A sponsor is a close relative, normally a parent or step parent of any applicant, who is added as a co-borrower.

First Start products are available up to 95% LTV (including fees). Subject to meeting the following criteria:

• Maximum loan of £500,000 (including fees)
• Maximum of 4 applicants (however, only the income of the sponsor and the highest earning applicant will be assessed)
• The sponsor’s minimum assessable income must be at least £30,000
• The highest earning applicant must have a minimum assessable income of at least £20,000
• Maximum age for sponsor at application is 60, and must not exceed 80 years old at the end of term
• Where term extends into retirement please refer to our Lending into Retirement criteria
• Purchases only
• Repayment only
• The sponsor must be a residential owner occupier living in the UK
• The monthly payments need to come from 1 account
• Applicants cannot own any other property at the time of completion. This doesn’t apply to the sponsor whose mortgage commitments are included in the affordability assessment.

You can choose if the property is owned by the applicant(s) only or jointly by the applicant(s) and the sponsor. If the property to be owned is in the name of the applicant(s) only, then the sponsor, as a condition of the mortgage Offer, must receive independent legal advice in respect of the transaction before completion.

The sponsor and applicant(s) are jointly and individually liable for the total mortgage.

See how much your client could borrow using our First Start Calculator. 

• Funds from this scheme are an acceptable source of deposit. The monthly repayment must be included in the affordability calculation as a commitment.
• For first purchases a copy of the Personal Information Note supplied to the applicant will be required to evidence deposit. For movers or remortgages the applicant’s payslip will be required to evidence the monthly loan outgoing.
• For applicants who hold a Long Service Advance of Pay (LSAP), the payment must be included as an outgoing in the affordability calculation if continuing after completion.
• Forces Help to Buy cannot be used as a deposit on 95% LTV products or in conjunction with any other Help to Buy scheme
• Applicants using FHTB can’t have an interest in any other property.

We require confirmation that the applicant has the right to live and work in the UK. The applicant will need to have resided in the UK for long enough to ensure we have a meaningful credit score and employment history, this is normally a minimum of 3 years.

The following applicants can apply up to our maximum LTV:

• Irish Nationals.
• EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘settled status’.
• Non EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘indefinite leave to remain’.
• Applicants who are born outside of the UK but who have received UK naturalisation.

The following applicants can apply up to 75% LTV:

• EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘pre-settled status’.
• Non EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with limited rights to work/remain in the UK. Only Innovator, and Global Talent visas (previously Tier 1), Skilled Worker visas (previously Tier 2) and Ancestral Visas are acceptable. The underwriter will need to be satisfied that there is an adequate period of time remaining on the visa to warrant the granting of a long term loan.

Further advance applicants must meet certain criteria:

• Minimum loan size - £5,000
• Maximum loan size - £1,500,000 (total mortgage including further advance)
• Term - 2 years minimum (or product duration). The further advance term can be longer than the main mortgage. The charge on the property will not be released until the further advance term has finished
• Minimum income - £20,000 gross for the household (paid in £GBP)
• Self employed - Must have been trading for 3 years but only the last 2 years' figures will be used
• Reasons for borrowing - applicants can borrow funds to raise additional capital to fund most legal purposes, provided the capital is not used for:
  • business or speculative purposes
  • payment of tax
  • gambling debts
  • a timeshare.

Raising capital to fund a deposit or outright purchase of a Buy to Let is not considered a business purpose.

Debt consolidation loans will be considered subject to a maximum loan to value of 75% and individual assessment by our underwriters.

A solicitor may occasionally be required to act. Your customer is able to choose their own solicitor. You can check if the solicitor is on our panel using our Solicitor Search tool.

Repayment options - Capital Repayment, Interest Only, or combination of the 2, subject to any Interest Only balance having a suitable Repayment Strategy and meeting Interest Only criteria. 

Total Loan to Value (LTV) limits:

Maximum loan size	Maximum LTV
<£500,000	90% plus fees
£500,001 - £750,000	85% plus fees
£750,001 - £1,000,000	80% plus fees
£1,000,001 - £1,500,000	70% plus fees

 

• Property - for new build or newly converted properties, the LTV is limited to 85% for houses and 80% for flats. We define a new build property where either the house or flat was sold or first registered (for Leasehold) for the first time in the last 12 months.
• Valuation of property - loans less than £20,000 with a total LTV less than 75% (based on a house price index) may not require a physical valuation of the property. Anything other than this will need a property revaluation (see fee scale below).
• Where the last recorded Bank of Ireland UK panel valuation was more than 10 years ago, a standard valuation will be required. Please refer to the relevant criteria section. This will be assessed upon application.

Revaluation fee scale:

Property value	Fee
£0 to £125,000	£135
£125,001 to £300,000	£175
£300,001 to £600,000	£245
£600,001 to £1,000,000	£325
£1,000,001 to £1,600,000	£425

• Affordability - please call our enquiry line on 0345 266 8928* for a calculation
• Adverse credit/payday loans - refer to the relevant criteria sections
• All applications are subject to credit score, valuation and underwriting.

We don’t offer guarantor loans on our standard products. 

We’ll consider joint borrower/sole proprietor applications on our First Start products. You can find out more on our First Start Information page.  

• Maximum 85% LTV and 80% LTV for flats (fees may be added)
• Based on minimums of 5% deposit and 10% equity loan
• Purchases only
• Repayment only
• Eligible new build properties only
• The applicant cannot own any other property at time of completion. This includes any investment property.
• We do not accept Forces Help to Buy as a source of deposit under this scheme.
• Equity Loan deduction (3% per annum affordability deduction based on equity loan balance)

 You can find more details on the country specific scheme rules below.

We will verify income on every application. We’ll only accept income contracted and paid in £GBP for our affordability assessment. This income must be subject to UK Income tax and National Insurance contributions.

For new clients

For repayment mortgages a minimum household income of £20,000 per annum is required.

Interest only or part and part is only available where 1 applicant earns in excess of £50,000 per annum or joint income exceeds £75,000 per annum (where neither applicant fulfils the individual income requirement of £50,000).

For existing customers moving home

For Port and Mover applications a minimum household income of £20,000 per annum is required. Exceptions may be considered for existing customers who do not require additional borrowing.

Additional borrowing on interest only is only available where 1 applicant earns in excess of £50,000 per annum or joint income exceeds £75,000 per annum (where neither applicant fulfils the individual income requirement of £50,000).

The following is applicable to both new and existing customers:

Inter family sales are generally acceptable, subject to confirmation that the vendor will not reside in the property after completion.

We'll consider joint borrower/sole proprietor applications through our First Start product. You can find more information on our First Start Information page.  

We can't consider joint borrower/sole proprietor applications on our standard products.

If stated in the Offer of Loan, Bank of Ireland UK will pay the basic legal fees for the work involved in a standard property purchase.

This offer of Fees Assisted Conveyancing does not include:

• Costs a solicitor must pay to a third party such as a local authority or other search fees
• Stamp Duty Land Tax
• Indemnity insurance for defective title
• Registration fees payable to the Land Registry.

The offer also does not include the charge, plus VAT, payable to the solicitor to deal with the settlement of any Stamp Duty Land Tax and the submission of the Stamp Duty Land Tax form or the cost of any associated sale. The solicitor will provide you with full details of this charge and the third party costs. These fees, along with the legal fees for any additional legal work that the solicitor carries out are payable by the applicant.

If the purchase does not complete the applicant will not have to pay for the standard conveyancing work carried out but will have to pay any third party costs already paid by the solicitor.

For property purchases in Scotland:

Please contact us for details of our nominated solicitor when obtaining the Approval in Principle. If the applicant chooses not to use our nominated solicitor they will be liable for the legal costs.

More information about legal fees can be found in our Standard Legal Fees document.

If stated in the Offer of Loan, Bank of Ireland UK will pay for the standard legal fees and disbursements (excluding additional work) for remortgages, providing the transaction is completed through our legal conveyancing partner. The law firm appointed by our legal conveyancing partner is instructed to act for us only. Bank of Ireland UK will not pay for charges relating to additional work outside the scope of a standard remortgage transaction.

Please be aware – if your applicant wishes to arrange their own legal representation they’ll be responsible for all legal costs and disbursements incurred.

For all remortgage cases there are some additional administration fees which aren’t covered by Bank of Ireland UK:

• Further valuation reports
• Related legal services
• Transfer of equity
• Deed of postponement
• Deed of grant
• Deed of variation
• Merger of freehold or leasehold title
• Leasehold supplements
• Change of name
• A telegraphic transfer fee of £30 + VAT is payable where the law firm is required to redeem an existing loan or send any surplus funds to your applicants
• Local searches for loans over £1,000,000
• Any cases where an exceptional amount of work is required to correct a defective title
• For remortgage cases on leasehold properties there may be an additional legal fee which isn’t covered by Bank of Ireland UK
• A leasehold supplement fee of £95 + VAT may be applicable where a full leasehold title check is necessary.

Additional legal fees

Additional fees may be charged for additional work and services required over and above the standard legal work in a fees assisted remortgage case. The law firm will discuss your applicants’ requirements with them and obtain their consent to proceed before any such fees are incurred.

More information about legal fees can be found in our Standard Legal Fees document.

Where term extends into the applicants retirement the following criteria will apply.

Where retirement is less than 10 years away:

• Details of both current income and anticipated retirement income will need to be proven
• The lower of the current income or anticipated retirement income is used for affordability purposes.

Where retirement is 10 years or more away:

• Current income is to be used for affordability purposes
• Evidence of existence pension contributions must be provided.

The following limits apply to both purchases and remortgages. Please note the minimum loan size is £25,001.

Applicants borrowing above 90% LTV - please also see the 'Loan to value limits (Residential) - borrowing above 90% LTV' section.

Loan Size	Maximum LTV
£25,001 - £500,000	95% including fees (purchases only)
£25,001 - £500,000	90% plus fees
£500,001 - £750,000	85% plus fees
£750,001 - £1,000,000	80% plus fees
£1,000,001 - £1,500,000	70% plus fees

• Maximum 95% LTV (including fees).
• Repayment only.
• Purchases only.
• Maximum loan £500,000 (including fees).
• At completion, applicants must not hold an interest in another residential property that's owner occupied.
• Not available to contractors.
• Standard property considerations.
• Please also see our 'First Start' section.
• Further limits apply for newly built properties. 

Please check the individual product details as some products may have a higher minimum loan amount.

• Purchases - maximum 85% LTV and 80% LTV for flats
• Eligible new build properties have been built or converted within the last 12 months and are subject to a first sale, even if previously occupied.

If your client has an application with us and their purchase falls through, send us a New Property Details Form for a change of property.

By applying for a new property, your client's case will be reassessed by one of our underwriters. This means we may ask you for additional information. Our decision to lend may also be affected if there is a change in their circumstances or the new property isn’t considered suitable.

The maximum number of applicants is 4. We will only use the income of the 2 highest earners but assess all applicants' ability to pay.

Our offer of loan is valid for a period of 6 months from the date of the offer for both purchases and remortgages, unless stated otherwise in the offer document.

If completion has not taken place within 6 months, an offer extension can be considered. This will be subject to a full reassessment of the application by an underwriter, including assessment against our current criteria, reverification of income and a revaluation of the security which the applicant will be charged for. A new product may need to be selected from our current range.

We will consider applications from applicants on parental leave. We’ll independently obtain an employer's reference to give length of employment, confirmation of full parental benefits and that the applicant intends to return to work and on what date. We’ll need to be satisfied of the affordability of the loan during the period of reduced household income so we may request evidence of savings. We may also need confirmation of any childcare costs on their return to work.

We will not normally lend if any applicant has taken out a payday loan in the last year. Applicants with payday loans taken out more than 1 year ago will be assessed individually to make sure affordability can be demonstrated.

If your client is looking to move, you could help them port their rate to a new property or take out a new loan with us.

Please see our Porting and Moving page for more information on how you can help your clients.

We can consider an application for an applicant within their probationary period as long as their employment has been continuous. The reason for leaving their previous employment must be established, or where the applicant’s employment is the first appointment, we’ll need confirmation of what they did previously.

You can apply for a product transfer if:

• your customer's account number starts 80 and is 10 digits
• your customer is applying for a product from the same brand they initially applied through
• the mortgage amount, term and repayment method are staying the same
• you only need 1 offer and do not require a revaluation of the property
• the mortgage is outside any Early Repayment Charge (ERC) period, or has 4 months or less remaining on the ERC period
• your customer is not residing in the property for Buy to Let mortgages
• your customer is residing in the property for residential mortgages, unless in the armed forces
• your customer is not in arrears or in a concessionary period on their mortgage
• the remaining mortgage term exceeds the chosen product by at least 6 months.

To view our products or apply visit our product transfer page.

To help protect against fraud, Anti Money Laundering Regulations (AML) require us to check the names and addresses of all our customers.

We’ll attempt to do this electronically. If this fails, each applicant must supply 1 item from the Proof of identity list and 1 item from the Proof of occupancy list.

The same document cannot be used to verify both their identity and their residency.

Proof of identity:

Driving licence	Auto requested if applicant has failed AML check	Includes following: Current full old-style UK driving licence (paper version) - not more than 51 years old Current Full UK/EU/USA/Canada/Australia photo card driving licence - not more than 10 years old Current Provisional UK Photo card driving licence - not more than 3 years old.
DWP / Benefits agency Letter		Correspondence from the DWP/Benefits Agency/Social Insurance documents/Disability allowance book /Disability pension book/ROI Pension book dated within the last 13 months.
EU National ID Card		EU National Identity Card (photographic) which must be valid and in date.
NI Electoral Office ID		Identity card issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (NI only).
HMRC correspondence		HM Revenue & Customs/Revenue Commissioners correspondence e.g. Tax coding notice dated within the last 13 months (note: P60s & P45s are not acceptable).
Passport		Full current signed valid Passport, not more than 10 years old.

Proof of occupancy:

Bank statement	Auto requested if applicant has failed AML check and has not been found on Voter's Roll for all residential addresses for past 12 months	Original or certified copy of Bank/Building Society/Credit Union statement*, dated within the last 6 months. If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain Bank/ Building Society logo, date, full name and address.
Credit card statement		Original or certified copy of statement*, dated within the last 6 months. If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain Bank/ Building Society logo, date, full name and address.
DWP / Benefits agency Letter		Correspondence from the DWP/Benefits Agency/Social Insurance documents/Disability allowance book /Disability pension book/ROI Pension book dated within the last 13 months.
HMRC correspondence		HM Revenue & Customs/Revenue Commissioners correspondence e.g. Tax coding notice dated within the last 13 months (note: P60s & P45s and internet copies are not acceptable).
Local Authority correspondence		Council Tax bill (internet copies are not acceptable).
ROI Government document		Document posted from Government body in ROI dated within the last 6 months (for use in NI only).
Solicitor house purchase letter		Letter from solicitors confirming recent house purchase within the last 6 months.
Utility bill		For example, gas, electricity, water, telephone (not mobile), Cable services, Satellite TV* e.g. Sky, original statement dated within the last 6 months (not 'dongle' contracts). If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain company logo, date, customer’s full name and address.

 

Please be aware:

• Documents being used to prove residency don’t need to show the full name, but initials must match
• The address must match against the application form
• *Statements downloaded from the internet (e-statement) can only be accepted if Proof of Identity is provided either by Passport, UK driving licence or EU ID card. An e-statement must be printed as a PDF document, not an excel download. It must contain the bank name and logo, date, full name and address. If it's used along with a driving licence, the addresses must be the same.

You can securely upload and certify documents for assessment via our online application system.

Property description	Criteria
New build house/1st sale	Acceptable (maximum 85% LTV).
New build flat/1st sale/1st registration of lease (including new conversions)	Acceptable (maximum 80% LTV).
Former council/MOD	Acceptable subject to being 4 storeys or fewer with no open deck access.
Shared ownership	Not acceptable on purchases. Remortgages for final staircasing only.
Shared equity property	Not acceptable on purchases. Remortgages for purchase of final equity share only.
Flats above commercial property/mixed user developments	Acceptable up to 95% LTV, where: a) In a development with 6 or more storeys and built after the year 2000 b) Commercial use is confined to the ground floor and not detrimental to future saleability. Otherwise maximum 75% LTV Flats in or above suburban shopping centre/parades or on a high street are not acceptable. (This includes flats adjacent to or near commercial users. Such as out of town retail parks, fast food outlets, car repair workshops/garages etc. Where the flat is near to or above a commercial unit, it must be in a prime location. Secondary/other locations are not acceptable. Shared access with the commercial unit is not acceptable. Access must be from the front of the property. If you’re in any doubt as to the proposed security please speak to your BDM or call our intermediary enquiry line. Where the flat is considered acceptable we will only consider flats above: Class A1 (retail etc.) Class A2 (financial services etc.).
Flats in high rise developments	Can be considered. For properties over 10 storeys, please contact us with details of the property prior to submission for a decision in principle.
Flats converted from former office, industrial buildings and ex local authority blocks	Not acceptable.
Studio flats	Not acceptable.
Holiday homes	Not acceptable.
Pied a terre	Can be considered on an individual case basis.
Properties with part commercial use in the title	Not acceptable.
Properties less than 10 years old	Must be covered by an approved new home warranty scheme or Professional Consultants Certificate from a suitably qualified individual. Please see ‘New build property warranties’ section for acceptable warranties.
Properties outside mainland UK	Not acceptable with the exception of the following Isle of Wight, Anglesey, Skye, Bute, Lewis & Harris, Mainland Orkney, Mainland Shetland, Arran, Mull, Islay, Whalsay, Yell, South Ronaldsay, West Burra, Tiree and Unst.
Freehold flats	Not acceptable.
Leasehold terms of less than 85 years at the start of the mortgage	Not acceptable.
Onerous lease terms	Not acceptable. For any property built post 2000, it will be considered to have onerous leasehold term (from when the property was built) is less than 125 years. The maximum ground rent at the beginning of the lease cannot exceed 0.1% of the property value or £500 per year (whichever is higher). The ground rent must remain reasonable at all times during the lease term, with unreasonable multipliers not allowed. Please contact us for more information.
Properties with occupancy restrictions	Not acceptable.
Properties being acquired under assignable contract	Not acceptable.
Properties with communal heating, hot water or other services where the property is not individually metered	These are generally not acceptable. But in prime locations, particularly within London, unmetered systems may be acceptable. Please speak to your BDM before submitting the application.
Properties with solar panels	Can be considered on an individual case basis, please contact us prior to submission.
Overhead power lines	Properties where high power lines pass over the site are not normally acceptable.
Minimum floor area	The minimum acceptable floor area for a property is 30 square metres.
Property with land/smallholding	We will not usually lend on smallholdings. For properties with more than 10 acres or separate fields, please contact us prior to submission. We will not lend on working farms or houses which connect to, or through, working farms.
Properties with 2 kitchens	Can be considered on an individual case basis, please contact us prior to submission.
Listed buildings	Acceptable.
Maximum property value	£4,000,000

We’ll only lend on a maximum of 2 properties within the same exact postcode.

Construction Type	Criteria
Traditional construction	Houses must be of solid or cavity construction incorporating the materials brick, concrete block or stone. Render and tile hung finishes in addition to the above are considered traditional and acceptable.
Period properties of cob	Period properties of cob (mud and straw) construction may be acceptable provided roofs are thatched. They will be considered on their merits, depending on the comments made by the mortgage valuer. The term ‘period property’ will normally be applied to a building built before 1850. For other roof types please contact us prior to submission.
Single skin/ half brick thick walls	Single skin/half brick thick walls are only acceptable in older properties where the walls are within single storey structures and contain non-habitable rooms. Any single skin wall structure above single storey is normally unacceptable.
Roofs	Roofs should normally be pitched and covered with tiles or slates (including artificial slates), or thatched.
100% flat roof	100% flat roofs on houses can be acceptable if the property is of traditional construction and the valuer confirms saleability and acceptability to other lenders. 100% flat roofs on flat developments are generally acceptable.
Modern timber frame	Modern post 1970 (post 1950 in Scotland) factory made timber frames are generally acceptable provided the properties have a conventional outer cladding of brick, rendered block or reconstructed stone. Post 2000 flat developments with timber cladding will be considered on their merits subject to not being more than 4 storeys.
Period timber frame housing	Historic hardwood timber frame housing is acceptable, being period properties (usually) built between 1300 and 1800. Period timber frame properties normally clad in stone/brick/lath and plaster are acceptable. As are those clad in clap board or weather board, providing that the Valuer confirms this is common to the locality and constructed prior to 1900.
Pre reinforced concrete construction	Properties listed as defective under the Housing Defects legislation are not acceptable if unrepaired. Repairs must be licensed by PRC Homes Ltd. Repair schemes that predate PRC Homes Ltd schemes will only be acceptable where a PRC Licence Scheme number was later granted.
Steel frame construction	Steel framed houses built in 1984 or later and which are conventionally clad in brick or rendered block work are acceptable. Steel framed houses built before 1984 and which are conventionally clad in brick or rendered block work are acceptable subject to a satisfactory Structural Engineer's report. Unconventionally clad steel framed houses are unacceptable irrespective of their age.
No fines/easy form	Only 2 storey structures are usually acceptable (3 storey in Scotland). Any evidence of cracks must be referred to a Structural Engineer and where appropriate, carbonation test will be required. ‘Easiform’ construction built prior to 1940 must be referred to a Structural Engineer. Acceptability is dependent on continued market demand.
Large panel systems	Houses not acceptable. Flats may be considered if constructed after 2000 on an individual case basis.
Cross wall/curtain wall	These types are generally acceptable providing the party walls are of conventional construction. This type of construction in conjunction with a flat roof is normally unacceptable unless the valuer can confirm that an established demand for these properties exists and that they are generally mortgageable. Cross wall is only acceptable where party walls are of masonry.

Transactions where the borrower is purchasing through a Property or Investment Club are not acceptable.

We will lend for auction purchases in principle. To be acceptable the property must meet our minimum requirements for both condition and title. The applicant should ensure there is adequate time to process their application before legal completion.

We normally require applicants to have a minimum of 3 years’ UK residency prior to application to ensure we have a meaningful credit score and employment history.

We do not offer partial retentions. Lending will be based on either:

• current valuation with no retention, or;
• after works valuation with a full retention.

We accept pitched roofs covered with thatch, slates or standard/artificial tiles. Thatched roofs must have specialist insurance cover in place.

Use our Solicitor search tool to find an acceptable law firm to complete the mortgage transaction. Instructing a firm of solicitors/licensed conveyancers from our approved panel means they’ll act for both Bank of Ireland UK and your client. This will keep costs down and save time.

If your client wants to use a firm that isn’t on our panel, we’ll appoint our own firm to complete the legal work on our behalf. This is known as ‘Separate Representation’. The work required by both law firms must be submitted prior to completion taking place. This means the transaction:

• Can take longer to complete than using only one firm (from our approved panel)
• Could cost your client more, as they'll have to pay two sets of legal fees.

 

Proof of deposit may be requested at our underwriter’s discretion.

The following are acceptable sources of deposit:

• equity from sale of property
• savings
• family gift
• inheritance
• capital raising on another property
• forces Help to Buy.

Unacceptable sources of deposit are:

• personal loans
• funding from credit cards
• income from cryptocurrency trading
• vendor/builder cashback without additional minimum deposit from an acceptable source.

• The maximum term is 35 years
• The minimum term is 5 years (or term of promotional period for existing customers moving home).

Where we are approached by an applicant with a request to accept a retype, consideration will only be given in the following circumstances:

• Valuation must have been carried out within the past 4 weeks (12 weeks for a Scottish purchase)
• The valuer who carried out the original report must be on Bank of Ireland UK’s panel for the postcode in which the property is located
• The previous valuation must have been carried out for another lender
• A copy of the valuation report must be provided to Valuation Services before any retype can be agreed
• The requested retype must be for the same applicant
• It must also be for the same product type
• The valuation fee will be the agreed panel fee. This is non-refundable once the valuation has been completed.

Vendor paid deposits for second hand properties will be deducted from the gross purchase price to give a true net purchase price. Our maximum LTV lending will be based on this lower sum.

Where an appeal against a valuation is requested we’ll need evidence of 3 transactions of similar properties (comparables) to be submitted within 14 working days from the date you were aware of the valuation.

Where appealing both rent and capital values, we’ll need 3 comparables for each.

These should be completed sales or lettings within the last 6 months of similar properties and locations, ideally in the same postcode.

The following information will need to be provided for each comparable item*:

• Full address (i.e. house or flat number and postcode)
• Details of who sold or let the property
• The agreed sale price or rent
• Date of the transaction
• Source of information.

You may want to speak to your Business Development Manager for guidance if you are looking to challenge a valuation decision.

*We don’t accept links to web adverts. Estate Agent letters, automated valuations, details of unsold/unlet properties and previous Valuer’s opinions aren’t considered appropriate evidence and will not be considered.

If a valuation report is received and the survey does not provide a current market value due to a recommendation that specialist reports are required, please be aware of the following:

• The application may still be declined even after the reports have been received if there is an issue with the property that does not meet our lending policy
• If there are any recommended works stipulated within the specialist reports, these works must be completed before we can proceed with the application

We’re a clean credit lender. We won’t lend to any applicant who has ever:

• been bankrupt
• been subject to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)
• owned a previous property which has been taken into possession or who has surrendered voluntary possession to the lender.

We will not lend if, in the last 3 years, an applicant has had:

• a County Court Judgement (CCJ) registered or settled within this time, or has an outstanding CCJ registered outside the 3 years
• any arrears at all on a mortgage, fixed payment loan and/or rent
• more than two consecutive missed payments on credit and/or store cards.

We will not usually lend if the applicant has defaulted or settled a past defaulted account on any credit agreement in the last 3 years, or has an outstanding default.

Communications and mail order records can be ignored, unless the scale and/or frequency of missed payments indicate cause for concern.

• The minimum age is 21
• The maximum age is 80 at end of mortgage term.

• A ‘Back to Back’ transaction, where a property has been owned for less than 6 months, is not acceptable and will be declined.
• Assignable contracts are not acceptable and will be declined.

Builders’ incentives are accepted up to 5% of purchase price with no adjustment to the purchase price or loan. We don’t accept guaranteed rental income schemes.

Unless specified below, our usual Buy to Let criteria also applies to Top Slicing.

We don’t accept concessionary purchase prices on Buy to Let applications.

We won’t accept any applications where the broker has a financial interest in the property being mortgaged. Put simply, the broker submitting the case can’t also be the buyer/owner.

To advise on CBTL mortgages you must be registered to do so. To find out more please search ‘FCA - Changes to Consumer Buy to Let mortgages’.

We will not normally accept applications from applicants with a criminal record unless the conviction is for a minor traffic offence, or is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

At least 1 applicant must be an owner occupier at the point of completion (with or without a mortgage).

Applicants with diplomatic status in the UK are not acceptable.

Payment by Direct Debit mandate is compulsory for all loan types.

When a full application has been submitted, visit the ‘Actions’ tab in our online application system to see which documents are needed for assessment.

You'll need to certify all documents when you upload them. You can do this online.

If we need any additional documents we'll let you know.

Proof of identity	We need proof of ID to help protect against fraud. Anti Money Laundering regulations (AML) require us to check the names and addresses of all our customers. We'll attempt to do this electronically, but if this fails then each applicant must supply 1 document as proof of identity.
Proof of residency	If the applicant isn't on the Voters' Roll, proof of residency will be needed for all the addresses resided at within the past 12 months.
Proof of income – only needed if applying for a Top Slicing mortgage	Employed	Latest 3 months’ payslips Or Last P60 and latest month’s payslip Or Employer’s reference - we'll only ask for this if either of the above aren't available.
	Contractors	Original or certified copy of the current contract and all other contracts held in the past 12 months.
	Self employed       Or A company Director with a shareholding of 25% or greater	Latest 2 years’ SA302s supported by the latest 2 years’ Tax Year Overviews and the latest month’s business bank statement. Our underwriters may request additional information to support the application at their discretion.
	Pension	Evidence of pension income (e.g. P60, or former employer’s confirmation of pension).
Bank statements	Employed/Contractor/Pension	1 full month’s statement will be required for the account which the applicant’s wage/salary/contracting income/pension is paid into. Any statement provided must be no older than 3 months. If the applicant’s income is not credited directly into a bank account, then we may not be able to assist with the mortgage application.
	Self employed (Includes company Directors with a shareholding of 25% or greater)	1 full month’s statement will be required for the applicant’s business bank account. If the applicant does not hold a separate business account, then 1 full month’s statement for their personal account will be required. Any statement provided must be no older than 3 months.
	Rental income	We need bank statements (dated within the last 3 months), showing the rental income received for all existing rental properties.
Proof of energy efficiency	An energy performance certificate (EPC) does not need to be provided but must be available showing a rating of A-E, or A-C if applying for a Green Buy to Let mortgage. The EPC can be checked here, or here for Scottish properties.

All Buy to Let properties must have an EPC of A-E available before the valuation is carried out, or A-C if applying for a Green Buy to Let mortgage. The EPC can be checked here, or here for Scottish properties.

In England and Wales only, we’ll also accept properties listed on the PRS Exemptions Register. We won’t accept applications if these conditions aren’t met.

All of our lending criteria is applicable to existing customers with some minor exceptions.

Buy to Let mortgages for tenants who are related to the customer are not acceptable and will be declined. We define a related person as:

• spouse
• civil partner
• parents
• grandparents
• siblings
• children, and grandchildren.

No prior Buy to Let experience is required, but at least 1 applicant must be an owner occupier at the point of application.

We require confirmation that the applicant has the right to live and work in the UK. The applicant will need to have resided in the UK for long enough to ensure we have a meaningful credit score and employment history, this is normally a minimum of 3 years.

The following applicants can apply up to our maximum LTV:

• Irish Nationals.
• EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘settled status’.
• Non EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘indefinite leave to remain’.
• Applicants who are born outside of the UK but who have received UK naturalisation.

The following applicants can apply up to 75% LTV:

• EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with ‘pre-settled status’.
• Non EU, EEA and Swiss Nationals with limited rights to work/remain in the UK. Only Innovator, and Global Talent visas (previously Tier 1), Skilled Worker visas (previously Tier 2) and Ancestral Visas are acceptable. The underwriter will need to be satisfied that there is an adequate period of time remaining on the visa to warrant the granting of a long term loan.

Further advance applicants must meet certain criteria:

• UK resident - All applicants must be UK residents
• Minimum loan size - £5,000
• Maximum loan size - £750,000 (total mortgage including further advance)
• Portfolio - Maximum total borrowing £2m. The total portfolio size is 3 Buy to Let mortgaged properties per applicant (either solely or jointly) across all lenders, including Bank of Ireland Group
• Term - 2 years minimum (or duration of product). The further advance term can be longer than the main mortgage. The charge on the property won’t be released until the further advance term has finished
• Income - No minimum income required
• Reasons for borrowing - Applicants can borrow funds to raise additional capital to fund most legal purposes, provided the capital is not used for:
  • business or speculative purpose
  • debt consolidation
  • payment of tax
  • overseas property (including timeshare)
  • gambling debts.

Raising capital to fund a deposit or outright purchase of a Buy to Let isn’t considered a business purpose.

A solicitor may occasionally be required to act. Your customer is able to choose their own solicitor. You can check if the solicitor is on our panel using our Solicitor Search tool.

• Residential home owner - your customer must be a residential home owner at the time of application (owned outright or subject to a mortgage)
• Repayment options - Capital Repayment, Interest Only or Combination of the 2, subject to any Interest Only balance having a suitable Repayment Strategy. Please refer to the Interest Only section of the criteria lookup tool
• Total Loan to Value (LTV) limit - Maximum loan of £750,000 and maximum LTV of 75%
• Valuation of property - A re-valuation will be required (see fee scale below) however where the last recorded Bank of Ireland panel valuation was more than 10 years ago, a standard valuation will be required. Please review the Valuation fees scale of charges. All Buy to Lets must have an EPC available with a rating of A-E before the re-valuation (or full valuation) is carried out. In England and Wales only, we’ll also accept properties listed on the PRS Exemptions Register.

Re-valuation fee scale:

Property value	Fee
£0 to £125,000	£135
£125,001 to £300,000	£175
£300,001 to £600,000	£245
£600,001 to £1,000,000	£325
£1,000,001 to £1,600,000	£425

 

• Affordability - Your customer’s ability to pay is assessed on the rental income (which must be received in GBP).

The rental income must be at least 145% of the monthly interest due, inclusive of any product fees added to the loan. This is calculated using the product rate plus 2.00% – subject to the following minimum rates:

Product	Minimum Interest Rate
Fixed rate for less than 5 years or a variable rate	5.5%
Fixed rate for 5 years or more	5.25%

• Adverse credit/payday loans - refer to the relevant criteria sections
• All applications are subject to credit score, valuation and underwriting.

We don’t offer guarantor loans on our Buy to Let product range.

Green Buy to Let mortgages are available for:

• properties with energy performance (EPC) ratings A-C
• purchases and remortgages
• ICR and Top Slicing.

Please check the EPC to make sure the property is eligible before submitting an application. This can be checked here, or here  for Scottish properties.

We don’t lend on holiday lets.

We don’t lend on properties that need an HMO licence or where there are more than 4 people named on the tenancy agreement. An HMO is a house in multiple occupation. There are different rules around properties that fall into the category of an HMO, such as the number of sharers and the size of the property. This can be confirmed with the relevant Local Authority.

Interest only or part and part is available. Confirmation of the repayment strategy is required and all repayment strategies must be held, valued and paid in £GBP.

If stated in the Offer of Loan, Bank of Ireland UK will pay the basic legal fees for the work involved in a standard property purchase.

This offer of Fees Assisted Conveyancing does not include:

• Costs a solicitor must pay to a third party such as a local authority or other search fees
• Stamp Duty Land Tax
• Indemnity insurance for defective title
• Registration fees payable to the Land Registry.

The offer also does not include the charge, plus VAT, payable to the solicitor to deal with the settlement of any Stamp Duty Land Tax and the submission of the Stamp Duty Land Tax form or the cost of any associated sale. The solicitor will provide you with full details of this charge and the third party costs. These fees, along with the legal fees for any additional legal work that the solicitor carries out are payable by the applicant.

If the purchase does not complete the applicant will not have to pay for the standard conveyancing work carried out but will have to pay any third party costs already paid by the solicitor.

For property purchases in Scotland:

Please contact us for details of our nominated solicitor when obtaining the Approval in Principle. If the applicant chooses not to use our nominated solicitor they will be liable for the legal costs.

More information about legal fees can be found in our Standard Legal Fees document.

If stated in the Offer of Loan, Bank of Ireland UK will pay for the standard legal fees and disbursements (excluding additional work) for remortgages, providing the transaction is completed through our legal conveyancing partner. The law firm appointed by our legal conveyancing partner is instructed to act for us only. Bank of Ireland UK will not pay for charges relating to additional work outside the scope of a standard remortgage transaction.

Please be aware – if your applicant wishes to arrange their own legal representation they’ll be responsible for all legal costs and disbursements incurred.

For all remortgage cases there are some additional administration fees which aren’t covered by Bank of Ireland UK:

• Further valuation reports
• Related legal services
• Transfer of equity
• Deed of postponement
• Deed of grant
• Deed of variation
• Merger of freehold or leasehold title
• Leasehold supplements
• Change of name
• A telegraphic transfer fee of £30 + VAT is payable where the law firm is required to redeem an existing loan or send any surplus funds to your applicants
• Local searches for loans over £1,000,000
• Any cases where an exceptional amount of work is required to correct a defective title
• For remortgage cases on leasehold properties there may be an additional legal fee which isn’t covered by Bank of Ireland UK
• A leasehold supplement fee of £95 + VAT may be applicable where a full leasehold title check is necessary.

Additional legal fees

Additional fees may be charged for additional work and services required over and above the standard legal work in a fees assisted remortgage case. The law firm will discuss your applicants’ requirements with them and obtain their consent to proceed before any such fees are incurred.

More information about legal fees can be found in our Standard Legal Fees document.

We’ll allow applicants to remortgage their current residential property to a Buy to Let and capital raise to help fund the purchase for their new main residence. Standard Buy to Let criteria applies whether applying with an ICR or Top Slicing product.

Unless we’re also processing the new residential mortgage application you must provide us with:

• Address and purchase price of the new residential property
• Amount of any mortgage borrowing being taken to facilitate the onward purchase, together with the monthly payment
• A breakdown of how funds are being used e.g. deposit, fees, improvements etc.

We’ll need to see a copy of the Offer of Loan prior to completion on the new residential purchase. We won’t release funds prior to the purchase of the new residence.

Properties intended to be let need a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with a rating between A-E (unless exempt). This must be in place at the time the valuation is carried out, if not, additional costs may be incurred and the application may be delayed.

We don’t offer limited company Buy to Lets.

Loan size	Minimum £25,001, maximum £750,000 per property for purchases and remortgages.
Maximum total borrowing	£2,000,000
Maximum LTV	75% LTV. Fees may be added to the loan.
Maximum portfolio size	The total portfolio size is 3 UK mortgaged BTL properties per applicant (either solely or jointly) across all lenders, including Bank of Ireland Group. Properties that are owned in the name of a limited company which an applicant is a director of, and applications in progress, should also be included.

 

If your client has an application with us and their purchase falls through, send us a New Property Details Form for a change of property.

By applying for a new property, your client's case will be reassessed by one of our underwriters. This means we may ask you for additional information. Our decision to lend may also be affected if there is a change in their circumstances or the new property isn’t considered suitable.

Our offer of loan is valid for a period of 6 months from the date of the offer for both purchases and remortgages, unless stated otherwise in the offer document.

If completion has not taken place within 6 months, an offer extension can be considered. This will be subject to a full reassessment of the application by an underwriter, including assessment against our current criteria, reverification of income and a revaluation of the security which the applicant will be charged for. A new product may need to be selected from our current range.

We will not normally lend if any applicant has taken out a payday loan in the last year. Applicants with payday loans taken out more than 1 year ago will be assessed individually to make sure affordability can be demonstrated.

If your client is looking to move, you could help them port their rate to a new property or take out a new loan with us.

Please see our Porting and Moving page for more information on how you can help your clients.

Private sales where no estate agent is acting are not acceptable.

You can apply for a product transfer if:

• your customer's account number starts 80 and is 10 digits
• your customer is applying for a product from the same brand they initially applied through
• the mortgage amount, term and repayment method are staying the same
• you only need 1 offer and do not require a revaluation of the property
• the mortgage is outside any Early Repayment Charge (ERC) period, or has 4 months or less remaining on the ERC period
• your customer is not residing in the property for Buy to Let mortgages
• your customer is residing in the property for residential mortgages, unless in the armed forces
• your customer is not in arrears or in a concessionary period on their mortgage
• the remaining mortgage term exceeds the chosen product by at least 6 months.

To view our products or apply visit our product transfer page.

To help protect against fraud, Anti Money Laundering Regulations (AML) require us to check the names and addresses of all our customers.

We’ll attempt to do this electronically. If this fails, each applicant must supply 1 item from the Proof of identity list and 1 item from the Proof of occupancy list.

The same document cannot be used to verify both their identity and their residency.

Proof of identity:

Driving licence	Auto requested if applicant has failed AML check	Includes following: Current full old-style UK driving licence (paper version) - not more than 51 years old Current Full UK/EU/USA/Canada/Australia photo card driving licence - not more than 10 years old Current Provisional UK Photo card driving licence - not more than 3 years old.
DWP / Benefits agency Letter		Correspondence from the DWP/Benefits Agency/Social Insurance documents/Disability allowance book /Disability pension book/ROI Pension book dated within the last 13 months.
EU National ID Card		EU National Identity Card (photographic) which must be valid and in date.
NI Electoral Office ID		Identity card issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (NI only).
HMRC correspondence		HM Revenue & Customs/Revenue Commissioners correspondence e.g. Tax coding notice dated within the last 13 months (note: P60s & P45s are not acceptable).
Passport		Full current signed valid Passport, not more than 10 years old.

Proof of occupancy:

Bank statement	Auto requested if applicant has failed AML check and has not been found on Voter's Roll for all residential addresses for past 12 months	Original or certified copy of Bank/Building Society/Credit Union statement*, dated within the last 6 months. If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain Bank/ Building Society logo, date, full name and address.
Credit card statement		Original or certified copy of statement*, dated within the last 6 months. If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain Bank/ Building Society logo, date, full name and address.
DWP / Benefits agency Letter		Correspondence from the DWP/Benefits Agency/Social Insurance documents/Disability allowance book /Disability pension book/ROI Pension book dated within the last 13 months.
HMRC correspondence		HM Revenue & Customs/Revenue Commissioners correspondence e.g. Tax coding notice dated within the last 13 months (note: P60s & P45s and internet copies are not acceptable).
Local Authority correspondence		Council Tax bill (internet copies are not acceptable).
ROI Government document		Document posted from Government body in ROI dated within the last 6 months (for use in NI only).
Solicitor house purchase letter		Letter from solicitors confirming recent house purchase within the last 6 months.
Utility bill		For example, gas, electricity, water, telephone (not mobile), Cable services, Satellite TV* e.g. Sky, original statement dated within the last 6 months (not 'dongle' contracts). If downloaded from the internet, the copy must contain company logo, date, customer’s full name and address.

 

Please be aware:

• Documents being used to prove residency don’t need to show the full name, but initials must match
• The address must match against the application form
• *Statements downloaded from the internet (e-statement) can only be accepted if Proof of Identity is provided either by Passport, UK driving licence or EU ID card. An e-statement must be printed as a PDF document, not an excel download. It must contain the bank name and logo, date, full name and address. If it's used along with a driving licence, the addresses must be the same.

You can securely upload and certify documents for assessment via our online application system.

Property description	Criteria
New build house/1st sale	Acceptable.
New build flat/1st sale/1st registration of lease	Not acceptable.
Former council/MOD/Former work houses	Acceptable.
Former council/MOD/Former work flats	Acceptable, subject to a minimum value of £90,000, 4 storeys or fewer with no open deck access.
Shared ownership and shared equity houses	Not acceptable.
Shared ownership and shared equity flats	Not acceptable.
Large properties	Properties which have the following are acceptable: 2 reception rooms and 3 bedrooms (or less) 1 reception room and 4 bedrooms (or less) A maximum of 4 sharers on a single assured shorthold tenancy A single family. Properties outside of this criteria could be deemed as a House in Multiple Occupation. Please get in touch before submitting an application so we can discuss the circumstances.
Flats above commercial property/mixed user developments	Flats in or above suburban shopping centre/parades or on a high street are not acceptable. (This includes flats adjacent to or near commercial users. Such as out of town retail parks, fast food outlets, car repair workshops/garages etc. Where the flat is near to or above a commercial unit, it must be in a prime location. Secondary/other locations are not acceptable. Shared access with the commercial unit is not acceptable. Access must be from the front of the property. If you’re in any doubt as to the proposed security please speak to your BDM or call our intermediary enquiry line. Where the flat is considered acceptable we will only consider flats above: Class A1 (retail etc.) Class A2 (financial services etc.).
Flats in high rise developments	Can be considered. For properties over 10 storeys, please contact us with details of the property prior to submission for a decision in principle.
Flats converted from former office, industrial buildings and ex local authority blocks	Not acceptable.
Studio flats	Not acceptable.
Holiday homes	Not acceptable.
Properties with part commercial use	Not acceptable.
Properties with part commercial use in the title	Not acceptable.
Properties less than 10 years old	Must be covered by an approved new home warranty scheme or Professional Consultants Certificate from a suitably qualified individual. Please see ‘New build property warranties’ section for acceptable warranties.
Properties outside mainland UK	Not acceptable with the exception of Isle of Wight, Anglesey, Skye, Bute, Lewis & Harris, Mainland Orkney, Mainland Shetland, Arran, Mull, Islay, Whalsay, Yell, South Ronaldsay, West Burra, Tiree and Unst.
Freehold flats	Not acceptable.
Leasehold terms of less than 85 years at the start of the mortgage	Not acceptable.
Onerous lease terms	Not acceptable. For any property built post 2000, it will be considered to have onerous leasehold term (from when the property was built) is less than 125 years. The maximum ground rent at the beginning of the lease cannot exceed 0.1% of the property value or £500 per year (whichever is higher). The ground rent must remain reasonable at all times during the lease term, with unreasonable multipliers not allowed. Please contact us for more information.
Properties with occupancy restrictions	Not acceptable.
Properties being acquired under assignable contract	Not acceptable.
Properties with communal heating, hot water or other services where the property is not individually metered	These are generally not acceptable. But in prime locations, particularly within London, unmetered systems may be acceptable. Please speak to your BDM before submitting the application.
Livework units	Not acceptable.
Properties with solar panels	Can be considered on an individual case basis, please contact us prior to submission.
Overhead power lines	Properties where high power lines pass over the site are not normally acceptable.
Minimum floor area	The minimum acceptable floor area for a property is 30 square metres.
Property with land/smallholding	We will not usually lend on smallholdings. For properties with more than 10 acres or separate fields, please contact us prior to submission. We will not lend on working farms or houses which connect to, or through, working farms.
Properties with 2 kitchens	Not acceptable.
Listed buildings	Acceptable.
Properties with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of A-E	Acceptable. In England and Wales only, we’ll also accept properties if they’re listed on the PRS Exemptions Register.
Maximum property value	£4,000,000

 

• The property must be in a good state of repair, however redecoration work is acceptable.
• We need to be satisfied the applicants can fund the deposit plus any minor repair costs.
• The property must be lettable within 60 days, and be suitable for resale within the owner occupier market.

We’ll only lend on a maximum of 2 properties within the same exact postcode.

Construction Type	Criteria
Traditional construction	Houses must be of solid or cavity construction incorporating the materials brick, concrete block or stone. Render and tile hung finishes in addition to the above are considered traditional and acceptable.
Period properties of cob	Period properties of cob (mud and straw) construction may be acceptable provided roofs are thatched. They will be considered on their merits, depending on the comments made by the mortgage valuer. The term ‘period property’ will normally be applied to a building built before 1850. For other roof types please contact us prior to submission.
Single skin/ half brick thick walls	Single skin/half brick thick walls are only acceptable in older properties where the walls are within single storey structures and contain non-habitable rooms. Any single skin wall structure above single storey is normally unacceptable.
Roofs	Roofs should normally be pitched and covered with tiles or slates (including artificial slates), or thatched.
100% flat roof	100% flat roofs on houses can be acceptable if the property is of traditional construction and the valuer confirms saleability and acceptability to other lenders. 100% flat roofs on flat developments are generally acceptable.
Modern timber frame	Modern post 1970 (post 1950 in Scotland) factory made timber frames are generally acceptable provided the properties have a conventional outer cladding of brick, rendered block or reconstructed stone. Post 2000 flat developments with timber cladding will be considered on their merits subject to not being more than 4 storeys.
Period timber frame housing	Historic hardwood timber frame housing is acceptable, being period properties (usually) built between 1300 and 1800. Period timber frame properties normally clad in stone/brick/lath and plaster are acceptable. As are those clad in clap board or weather board, providing that the Valuer confirms this is common to the locality and constructed prior to 1900.
Pre reinforced concrete construction	Properties listed as defective under the Housing Defects legislation are not acceptable if unrepaired. Repairs must be licensed by PRC Homes Ltd. Repair schemes that predate PRC Homes Ltd schemes will only be acceptable where a PRC Licence Scheme number was later granted.
Steel frame construction	Steel framed houses built in 1984 or later and which are conventionally clad in brick or rendered block work are acceptable. Steel framed houses built before 1984 and which are conventionally clad in brick or rendered block work are acceptable subject to a satisfactory Structural Engineer's report. Unconventionally clad steel framed houses are unacceptable irrespective of their age.
No fines/easy form	Only 2 storey structures are usually acceptable (3 storey in Scotland). Any evidence of cracks must be referred to a Structural Engineer and where appropriate, carbonation test will be required. ‘Easiform’ construction built prior to 1940 must be referred to a Structural Engineer. Acceptability is dependent on continued market demand.
Large panel systems	Houses not acceptable. Flats may be considered if constructed after 2000 on an individual case basis.
Cross wall/curtain wall	These types are generally acceptable providing the party walls are of conventional construction. This type of construction in conjunction with a flat roof is normally unacceptable unless the valuer can confirm that an established demand for these properties exists and that they are generally mortgageable. Cross wall is only acceptable where party walls are of masonry.

Transactions where the borrower is purchasing through a Property or Investment Club are not acceptable.

We will lend for auction purchases in principle. To be acceptable the property must meet our minimum requirements for both condition and title. The applicant should ensure there is adequate time to process their application before legal completion.

• The minimum property value is £60,000 (£40,000 for properties in Northern Ireland).
• The maximum property value is £4,000,000.

Purchases where the vendor is a building firm or development company in which the applicant has a financial interest are not acceptable.

Ability to pay is assessed on the rental income (which must be received in £GBP).

The rental income must be at least 145% of the monthly interest due inclusive of any product fees added to the loan.

This is calculated using the notional interest rate below (whichever is applicable):

Product	Notional interest rate
Fixed rate for less than 5 years or a variable rate	5.5%
Fixed rate for 5 or more years	5.25%

We normally require applicants to have a minimum of 3 years’ UK residency prior to application to ensure we have a meaningful credit score and employment history.

We accept pitched roofs covered with thatch, slates or standard/artificial tiles. Thatched roofs must have specialist insurance cover in place.

Sale and rent backs where the vendor is becoming the tenant upon completion are not acceptable and will be declined.

Transcripts are not permitted.

Use our Solicitor search tool to find an acceptable law firm to complete the mortgage transaction. Instructing a firm of solicitors/licensed conveyancers from our approved panel means they’ll act for both Bank of Ireland UK and your client. This will keep costs down and save time.

If your client wants to use a firm that isn’t on our panel, we’ll appoint our own firm to complete the legal work on our behalf. This is known as ‘Separate Representation’. The work required by both law firms must be submitted prior to completion taking place. This means the transaction:

• Can take longer to complete than using only one firm (from our approved panel)
• Could cost your client more, as they'll have to pay two sets of legal fees.

 

Proof of deposit may be requested at our underwriter’s discretion.

The following are acceptable sources of deposit:

• equity from sale of property
• savings
• family gift
• inheritance
• capital raising on another property.

Unacceptable sources of deposit are:

• personal loans
• funding from credit cards
• vendor/builder cashback without additional minimum deposit from an acceptable source.

	England & Wales		Scotland & Northern Ireland
	With Vacant Possession	With Tenant In Situ	With Vacant Possession	With Tenant In Situ
Purchases	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Remortgages	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tenanted Possession Restrictions	The existing tenancy must have commenced after 28 February 1997 and the existing tenant must not have resided in the property before the date of the agreement.		Scotland: Remortgages will only be considered provided the tenant has not been resident in the property 5 years earlier than the date of our offer.
			Northern Ireland: Remortgages will only be considered if the existing tenancy is a protected short hold agreement or an uncontrolled letting.
Tenancy Types	The tenancy mustn’t exceed 2 years in duration and must normally be written in 1 of the following formats: England & Wales: Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) Scotland: Private Residential Tenancy (Formerly Shorthold Assured Tenancy (SAT)) Northern Ireland: Protected Shorthold Agreement or Uncontrolled letting
	Maximum of 4 tenants on a single AST (or equivalent)
	Company/housing association lets are not acceptable.

• The maximum term is 35 years
• The minimum term is 5 years (or term of promotional period for existing customers moving home).

Vendor paid deposits for second hand properties will be deducted from the gross purchase price to give a true net purchase price. Our maximum LTV lending will be based on this lower sum.

Where an appeal against a valuation is requested we’ll need evidence of 3 transactions of similar properties (comparables) to be submitted within 14 working days from the date you were aware of the valuation.

Where appealing both rent and capital values, we’ll need 3 comparables for each.

These should be completed sales or lettings within the last 6 months of similar properties and locations, ideally in the same postcode.

The following information will need to be provided for each comparable item*:

• Full address (i.e. house or flat number and postcode)
• Details of who sold or let the property
• The agreed sale price or rent
• Date of the transaction
• Source of information.

You may want to speak to your Business Development Manager for guidance if you are looking to challenge a valuation decision.

*We don’t accept links to web adverts. Estate Agent letters, automated valuations, details of unsold/unlet properties and previous Valuer’s opinions aren’t considered appropriate evidence and will not be considered.

If a valuation report is received and the survey does not provide a current market value due to a recommendation that specialist reports are required, please be aware of the following:

• The application may still be declined even after the reports have been received if there is an issue with the property that does not meet our lending policy
• If there are any recommended works stipulated within the specialist reports, these works must be completed before we can proceed with the application