Article 3 of 9·Mortgages 6 min read
Getting a joint mortgage with friends
Most banks stop at two people on a mortgage. Some don't. Here's who lends to three or four buyers, how they add up your incomes, and the mistakes that get friend-group applications knocked back.
How many people can be on a mortgage?
Legally, up to four people in the UK can go on the ownership of a home.
In practice, most high-street banks are comfortable with two. A smaller group will take three or four. And some will count four people's incomes but only put two names on the loan.
This is why a mortgage broker matters far more for co-buying than for a normal purchase. The question isn't just 'what rate can I get' — it's 'who will lend to a group like ours at all'.
Indicative picture of lender appetite, not a guarantee. A broker will know who's saying yes this month.
How much you can actually borrow
Lenders usually offer around 4 to 4.5 times your combined income, then check you could still pay if rates went up.
Pooling incomes lifts your borrowing power a lot — but it's rarely straight multiplication. Plenty of lenders take 100% of the two biggest salaries and only part of the rest.
Debts hit everyone. One person's car finance or credit card balance reduces what the whole group can borrow. Clear what you can, and avoid taking on new credit in the six months before you apply.
People saving together
2
Each saving per month
£500
Years to a £40,000 deposit
3.3 yrs
Alone it would take
6.7 yrs
Simple illustration towards a £40,000 deposit. It ignores interest and rising prices.
The bit everyone should understand: joint and several
'Joint and several liability' sounds technical. What it means is simple and important: each of you is responsible for the whole mortgage, not just your slice.
If one person stops paying, the bank chases the others for the full amount — and everyone's credit record takes the hit.
You can soften this. Keep a shared emergency pot of three to six months' full mortgage payments, and put a missed-payments rule in your Deed of Trust so the people who covered the gap get paid back later.
Why friend groups get turned down
The usual reasons are boring and fixable: too many applicants for that lender's rules, patchy credit files, someone still in a probation period at a new job, not enough deposit once fees are counted, or four sets of paperwork that don't match.
Prepare as one unit. Everyone pulls their credit report early, you agree the deposit figures in writing, and you turn up to the lender with one clean story instead of four different ones.
- 1
Everyone checks their credit file
Free from the main agencies. Fix errors now — they take weeks to correct.
- 2
Pay down what you can
Credit cards and car finance shrink the whole group's borrowing power.
- 3
No new credit
No phone upgrades on finance, no buy-now-pay-later, nothing new for six months.
- 4
Agree the deposit in writing
Exact figures from each person, including who's covering fees.
- 5
Talk to a broker early
They'll tell you which lenders take three or four buyers before you fall in love with a house.
Quick check — 4 questions
Every answer is in the article above. Get 3 of 4 right to complete the quiz — sign in to save your score.
1. How many people can legally be on the ownership of a UK home?
2. Roughly what income multiple do lenders usually offer?
3. What does 'joint and several liability' mean in practice?
4. Which move helps a friend-group application in the six months before you apply?
Talk this through with the community
Nothing here is advice for your situation. Bring your questions to other locked-out buyers working through the same decisions.
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