Santander UK has announced improvements to its Loan to Income thresholds from 12 August, enabling borrowers to potentially access thousands more when applying for a mortgage.
The updates, which come in response to the amended loan to income rules announced by the Treasury in July 2025, will mean that customers earning:
• Less than £45,000 can access 4.45x their income across all LTV levels
• Between £45,00 and less than £100,000 can access 5x their income on all LTVs up to and including 90%, and 4.45x on 95% LTV
• £100,000 or more, can access 5.5x their income on all LTV up to and including 90%, and 4.45x on 95% LTV1
Customers looking to remortgage to Santander, across all LTV levels, can also access 5.5x their income.
As a result of the changes, Santander calculates that customers will potentially be able to access thousands more, for example:
Example 1 – Joint applicants – Capital and Interest loan, 25-year term
| Equity/ Deposit | Dependants | Income | Borrowing available pre 12 Aug* | Borrowing available from 12 Aug* |
| £80,000 | 2 | App 1 = £75,000 App 2 = £50,000 | £556,500 | £687,500 |
Example 2 – Single applicants – Capital and Interest loan, 25-year term
| Equity/Deposit | Dependants | Income | Borrowing available pre-12 Aug* | Borrowing available from 12 Aug* |
| £30,000 | 0 | App 1 = £75,000 | £267,000 | £300,000 |
Example 3 – Remortgage, no additional borrowing – Capital and Interest loan, 23-year term
| Equity/Deposit | Dependants | Income | Borrowing available pre-12 Aug* | Borrowing available from 12 Aug* |
| £30,000 | 1 | App 1 = £40,000 App 2 = £35,000 | £391,000 | £408,000 |
*The above are illustrative examples only. The actual borrowing available will depend on a variety of affordability factors, including LTV limits, and a customer’s individual outgoings.
David Morris, Head of Homes at Santander UK, said: “The recent changes to the loan to income rules mark the latest in a series of affordability improvements in what is quickly becoming the “year of the buyer”. We’re pleased to reflect these changes in our policies which, when coupled with our recent changes to affordability and a record number of properties coming to the market, will hopefully help more would-be buyers access the money they need to buy a home of their dreams.
“We’ll continually look at where we can enhance and improve our lending policy to help buyers right across the board.”
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Notes to editors:
1) Pre-Tuesday 12 August, customers earning:
• below £45k could access 4.45x their income across all LTV levels
• below £100,000, could access 5x their income on all LTVs up to and including 85%, and 4.45x on 90-95% LTV
• £100,000 or more, could access 5.5x their income on all LTV up to and including 75%, 5x on all borrowing more than 75% up to an including 85% LTV and 4.45 times on borrowing more than 85% LTV.
2) Pre-12 August, customers looking to remortgage to Santander could borrow 5.5x income up to and including 85% LTV, and 5x income on all lending above 85% LTV.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. The bank serves its customers via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the FCA and the PRA in the UK. Santander UK plc customers’ eligible deposits are protected by the FSCS in the UK.
Banco Santander (SAN SM) is a leading commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization. The group’s activities are consolidated into five global businesses: Retail & Commercial Banking, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate & Investment Banking (CIB), Wealth Management & Insurance and Payments (PagoNxt and Cards). This operating model allows the bank to better leverage its unique combination of global scale and local leadership. Santander aims to be the best open financial services platform providing services to individuals, SMEs, corporates, financial institutions and governments. The bank’s purpose is to help people and businesses prosper in a simple, personal and fair way. In the first half of 2025, Banco Santander had €1.3 trillion in total funds, 176 million customers, 7,700 branches and 204,000 employees.