Leeds Building Society enhances its affordability assessment to put homeownership within reach of more people
- The UK’s fifth largest building society is making improvements in the way it assesses how much borrowers can afford to repay in an effort to increase home ownership.
- The Society will reduce affordability stress testing rates by up to 1.24%[1] to lend up to £34,000 more[2] to a typical borrower.
- The changes will benefit borrowers taking owner-occupier mortgages[3], especially first-time buyers and those looking to remortgage with the Society.
- This comes as the lender makes improvements to its broker affordability calculator.
Leeds Building Society is making changes to the way it assesses a borrower’s affordability by reducing stress testing rates by up to 1.24%[4], following clarification from the FCA about stress testing rules. This move supports its purpose of putting homeownership within reach of more people, generation after generation.
The changes from tomorrow (Friday, 27th June), will benefit borrowers buying their first house, moving up the property ladder, or remortgaging their existing home. Typical applicants will be able to borrow between £9,000 and £34,000[5] more following these changes.
This is the latest action from the mutual to support borrowers, following the launch of its Income Plus mortgage range which allows first-time buyers with a minimum household income of £40,000 to borrow up to 5.5 times their earnings.
As a mutual with 150 years’ heritage, the society will continue to lend in a responsible way, using a range of criteria and underwriting checks while supporting more people to fulfil their home ownership goals.
Typical borrower scenarios[6]:
| Income | Previous max loan[7] | New max loan[8] | Variance | |
| Single first-time buyer | £38,000 | £175,000 | £184,000 | £9,000 |
| Family of three buying their first home | £80,000 (joint) | £343,000 | £359,000 | £16,000 |
| Single applicant stepping up the ladder | £44,000 | £175,000 | £195,000 | £20,000 |
| Family of three moving up the ladder | £76,000 (joint) | £331,000 | £341,000 | £10,000 |
| Single applicant with two children – remortgaging | £75,000 | £300,000 | £334,000 | £34,000 |
Andy Moody, Chief Commercial Officer at Leeds Building Society, said:
“We welcome the recent clarification on lending rules by the FCA which will allow us to support more people onto and up the property ladder and support the government’s plan for growth.
“Stress testing requirements have unduly held some borrowers back from achieving their home ownership aspirations, so we are pleased to be able to lend up to £34,000 more to our customers as a result of these changes in affordability assessments.
“We continue to implement prudent affordability checks to allow us to continue lending responsibly, as we have done for the past 150 years.”
The improved affordability calculator can be found on Leeds Building Society’s intermediary
[1] In comparison to rates on 29th May 2025.
[2] Based on a single applicant earning £75,000 with two children, remortgaging on a 2-year fixed 25-year term with Leeds, compared to 29th May 2025. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
[3] Excluding the Society’s Income Plus mortgage range aimed at first-time buyers, and direct-to-consumer mortgages.
[4] In comparison to rates on 29th May 2025.
[5] Based on typical mortgage scenarios outlined in the table below, and factoring in the loan-to-income caps in place for responsible lending. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
[6] Based on typical applications to the Society since December 2024. These examples are illustrations only and mortgage affordability is assessed on an individual basis.
[7] Based on stress rates in place on 29th May 2025. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
[8] Based on new stress rates live from 27th June 2025. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.