In this guide
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement typically runs for 5–6 years, and during that time a mortgage is largely off the table. But the moment it completes, a countdown that started years earlier begins to work in your favour: the IVA is recorded on your credit file for 6 years from its start date, not from completion. For many people, that means the IVA falls off their file within a year or so of finishing it.
This guide walks through what's realistic at each stage — during the IVA, in the first years after completion, and once it drops off your file — and the practical steps that make the biggest difference: deposit, timing, and getting your credit file telling the right story.
How an IVA sits on your credit file
When an IVA is approved it is recorded on the Individual Insolvency Register and on your credit file, dated from the start (registration) date. Like most adverse credit events in the UK, it remains visible for 6 years from that date, after which it is removed automatically.
Lenders weigh three things when they see it — what we call the three levers of adverse credit: severity (an IVA is one of the more serious events, below bankruptcy but above defaults and missed payments), recency(how long ago it started, and whether it's completed), and deposit(how much equity cushions the lender's risk). You can't change the first one. The second improves automatically with time. The third is the one you control — and a 15–25% deposit widens your choice dramatically at every stage. Our adverse credit timeline shows how the same logic applies to every type of credit event.
Can you get a mortgage during an IVA?
While the IVA is active, the honest answer is: rarely, and rarely sensibly. Most IVA terms require your supervisor's written consent before you take on new credit above a small threshold — and a mortgage is the largest credit most people ever take. Even with consent, very few lenders will consider an applicant in an active IVA, and those that might will typically want a large deposit and price the loan well above standard rates.
There's also an affordability problem: your monthly IVA payment is a committed outgoing, so any lender that does consider you will deduct it from your affordability calculation, shrinking the maximum loan. For almost everyone, the right move is to complete the IVA first, collect the completion certificate, and then plan the application around the timeline below.
After completion: the timeline that matters
Once the IVA is completed, lender options open in broadly three stages. Exact criteria vary between lenders and change over time, so treat these as the typical pattern rather than a promise:
From around 3 years since registration: specialist lenders — names like Pepper, Kensington, Precise, Aldermore, Bluestone and Vida commonly operate in this space — start to consider completed IVAs, usually wanting a 15–25% deposit. These lenders price by "adverse tiers": the longer ago the event, the cheaper the tier, so rates step down as the IVA ages.
At 4–5 years: near-mainstream options tend to appear. More lenders consider the case, deposit requirements soften, and the specialist tiers you qualify for carry smaller rate loadings.
At 6 years from the start date:the IVA drops off your credit file, and mainstream lenders become realistic. High-street, credit-scored lenders (Halifax-style scoring models) may accept older or satisfied events on score alone even before this point — but be aware that many application forms still ask "have you everbeen subject to an insolvency arrangement?". Answer honestly: some lenders disregard old, completed IVAs entirely, while others take a harder line regardless of age. This is exactly why two lenders can give wildly different answers on the identical history.
Worked example: the post-IVA timeline
Suppose your IVA started in June 2023 and ran five years, completing in 2028. Here's the indicative shape of your mortgage options at each milestone:
The post-IVA timeline at a glance
| Milestone | Indicative deposit | Lender pool |
|---|---|---|
| IVA active (2023–2028) | Very large, if at all | A handful at most; supervisor's consent needed |
| 3 years from start (2026, mid-IVA here — or post-completion for shorter IVAs) | 15–25% | Specialists begin considering completed IVAs, priced by adverse tier |
| Completion + certificate (2028) | 15–25% | Specialist choice widens; rates step down as the event ages |
| 6 years from start (2029) — off the file | 10%, sometimes less | Mainstream realistic; some forms still ask "have you ever…" |
Indicative only — criteria differ between lenders and change over time. The striking part: because the 6-year clock runs from the start date, a 5-year IVA may vanish from your file barely a year after you finish paying it.
Where are you on the timeline?
Free 2-minute check across 60+ UK lenders — see which ones fit your IVA dates, deposit and income today.
Start My Free CheckPaperwork and file errors worth fixing
Two documents-and-data jobs make a real difference to how smoothly a post-IVA application goes:
1. Get your certificate of completion. Your insolvency practitioner issues this when the IVA finishes, and lenders will ask for it. Then check all three credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) and confirm the IVA is actually marked as completed/satisfied— files are sometimes never updated, and an IVA that looks active is a far worse look than one that's clearly finished.
2. Check the dates on linked defaults. The debts inside your IVA should show default dates no later than the IVA's start date. A common file error is a creditor registering a default months or years into the IVA — which makes your adverse credit look more recent than it is and can push you into a worse pricing tier. You can dispute these with the credit reference agency, and it's one of the highest-value fixes available to a post-IVA applicant.
Which lenders consider a completed IVA?
The market splits into two camps. Specialist lenders (commonly Pepper, Kensington, Precise, Aldermore, Bluestone and Vida) publish adverse tiers based on time since the event — your IVA's age maps to a tier, the tier maps to a rate, and rates step down as it ages. High-street lenders that use credit scoring may accept an older or satisfied IVA purely on score, without a published rule — which means they can surprise you in either direction.
The result is that identical histories get wildly different answers: one lender declines, another quotes a loaded rate, a third offers something close to standard. We maintain a lender-by-lender breakdown of published IVA criteria — waiting periods, maximum LTVs and documentation requirements — on our IVA mortgage calculator page. See which lenders fit your timeline before you go anywhere near an application.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a mortgage during an IVA?
It is very difficult, but not strictly impossible. While an IVA is active you will usually need your IVA supervisor's written consent before taking on new borrowing, and the small number of lenders who might consider it typically want a large deposit and price accordingly. In practice, most people are far better off waiting until the IVA is completed before applying.
How long after an IVA can I get a mortgage?
Specialist lenders commonly start considering applications from around 3 years after the IVA was registered, usually with a 15-25% deposit. At 4-5 years more near-mainstream options tend to open up, and once the IVA drops off your credit file at 6 years from its start date, mainstream lenders become realistic — provided the IVA was completed and your credit conduct since has been clean.
What deposit will I need after an IVA?
It depends mainly on how long ago the IVA started. In the early window after completion, specialist lenders commonly want 15-25% — and the bigger the deposit, the wider the choice and the better the pricing. Once you pass the 6-year mark with clean credit since, deposits closer to standard levels (10% or sometimes less) become realistic with some lenders, though criteria vary widely.
Does the IVA disappear after 6 years?
It comes off your credit file 6 years after the IVA's start date, so a standard credit search will no longer see it. However, many application forms still ask 'have you ever entered an insolvency arrangement?' — and you must answer honestly. Some lenders disregard old, completed IVAs entirely; a few take a harder line regardless of age. Different lenders genuinely give different answers here.
Will I pay higher rates forever?
No. Specialist lenders price by adverse tiers, so rates typically step down as the IVA ages — the rate at 4-5 years out is usually noticeably better than at 3 years. Once the IVA is off your file and you qualify with a mainstream or credit-scored lender, you can often access standard products, and remortgaging from a specialist deal to a cheaper one later is a normal part of the journey.
See which lenders fit your IVA timeline
The single biggest mistake post-IVA applicants make is treating the market as one decision. It isn't. Each lender has its own view of an IVA at 3, 4, 5 or 7 years old, its own deposit rules and its own pricing tiers — and those views differ enough that checking one lender tells you almost nothing about the next. Mortgage Affordability runs your dates, deposit and income against 60+ UK lenders at once, so you can see who's realistic today and what changes at your next milestone.
Last updated: June 2026
