Which Lenders Accept Ex-Council & High-Rise Flats?
Ex-council flats and high-rise blocks are mortgageable — but the lender pool is narrower than for a standard flat, and storey caps, construction type and fire-safety evidence decide who will lend. Here are the full lender lists, built from published criteria. Last reviewed August 2026.
Quick answer
Of the lenders in our criteria dataset that publish a position, 56 accept ex-council flats, 18 consider them case-by-case and 11 decline them. High-rise flats look similar: 54 accept, 27 refer, 11 decline. The catches are storey caps (published limits range from 5 to 12 floors where they exist), non-standard construction such as LPS concrete panels, and fire-safety evidence on clad buildings.
Why these flats are treated differently
Lenders' concerns are about resale value and construction, not the fact a council once owned the property:
- Saleability — valuers consider how easily the flat would resell; blocks with low private ownership or in weaker markets get marked down or declined.
- Construction — many ex-council high-rises use non-standard methods, notably LPS (Large Panel System) concrete panels, which some lenders exclude or refer.
- Height — some lenders publish a maximum storey count, others have no cap but require a lift; deck-access and balcony-access designs draw extra scrutiny at some names.
- Fire safety — cladding and EWS1 requirements apply to taller buildings regardless of ownership history, and most lenders treat clad buildings as case-by-case.
Ex-council houses are far less contentious — almost every lender that takes ex-local-authority property accepts the houses; it's the flats, and especially flats in tall blocks, where criteria bite.
Lenders that accept ex-council flats
49 UK lenders on our panel consider ex-local-authority flats. Criteria as published; always indicative — check your own case.
| Lender | Type | Details | Min deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Ireland | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Clydesdale Bank | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Halifax | High-street | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| HSBC | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Metro Bank | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| NatWest | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| TSB | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Virgin Money | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Bath Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Buckinghamshire Building Society | Building society | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Cambridge Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Chorley Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Darlington Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV (80% for London/M25 remortgage) | 5% |
| Earl Shilton Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Leeds Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Monmouthshire Building Society | Building society | Temporarily paused — not accepting new residential applications while they upgrade their systems. Previously: Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Newcastle Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Nottingham Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Penrith Building Society | Building society | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Principality Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Saffron Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Skipton Building Society | Building society | Up to 100% LTV | 0% |
| Stafford Railway Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Tipton & Coseley Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Aldermore | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Atom Bank | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| CHL Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Fleet Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Foundation Home Loans | Specialist | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Gatehouse Bank | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV, case-by-case | 20% |
| Hodge Bank | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| InterBay | Specialist | Up to 85% LTV | 15% |
| Kensington Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Keystone Property Finance | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Legal & General Home Finance | Specialist | Up to 60% LTV | 40% |
| Lendco | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| LiveMore | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Molo Finance | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Norton Home Loans | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Pepper Money | Specialist | Up to 85% LTV (75% above £750k) | 15% |
| Perenna | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Skipton International | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Tandem Bank | Specialist | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| The Mortgage Lender | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Together | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| United Trust Bank | Specialist | Up to 85% LTV | 15% |
| Vida Homeloans | Specialist | Up to 97% LTV | 3% |
| West One Loans | Specialist | Up to 97.5% LTV | 2.5% |
| Zephyr Homeloans | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
For the question-and-answer version of this list, see which lenders lend on ex-local-authority flats.
Lenders that accept high-rise flats
69 UK lenders on our panel consider high-rise flats — most require a lift, and some cap the floor count.
| Lender | Type | Details | Min deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of Ireland | High-street | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Barclays | High-street | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Clydesdale Bank | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Halifax | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| HSBC | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Metro Bank | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Nationwide | High-street | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| NatWest | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| The Co-operative Bank | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| TSB | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Virgin Money | High-street | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Bath Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Beverley Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Buckinghamshire Building Society | Building society | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Cambridge Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Chorley Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Coventry Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Cumberland Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Darlington Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV (80% for London/M25 remortgage) | 5% |
| Dudley Building Society | Building society | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Earl Shilton Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Ecology Building Society | Building society | Green-gated lending only — every product requires the property to meet ecological/EPC criteria; LTV varies by product (Eco Home/Green Renovation 80%, Renovation 90%, Shared Ownership 95% of share) | 20% |
| Family Building Society | Building society | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Furness Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Hanley Economic Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Harpenden BS | Building society | Up to 80% LTV, case-by-case | 20% |
| Hinckley & Rugby Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Leeds Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Leek Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Loughborough Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Mansfield Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Market Harborough Building Society | Building society | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Marsden Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Monmouthshire Building Society | Building society | Temporarily paused — not accepting new residential applications while they upgrade their systems. Previously: Up to 95% LTV, case-by-case | 5% |
| Newcastle Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Nottingham Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Penrith Building Society | Building society | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Principality Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Progressive Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Saffron Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Scottish Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Skipton Building Society | Building society | Up to 100% LTV | 0% |
| Stafford Railway Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Suffolk Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Teachers Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Tipton & Coseley Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Vernon Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| West Bromwich Building Society | Building society | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Aldermore | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| CHL Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Fleet Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Foundation Home Loans | Specialist | Up to 90% LTV | 10% |
| Hodge Bank | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| InterBay | Specialist | Up to 85% LTV | 15% |
| Kensington Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Keystone Property Finance | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Legal & General Home Finance | Specialist | Up to 60% LTV | 40% |
| Lendco | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| LendInvest | Specialist | Up to 90% LTV, case-by-case | 10% |
| Norton Home Loans | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
| Perenna | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Precise Mortgages | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| Skipton International | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| The Mortgage Lender | Specialist | Up to 95% LTV | 5% |
| The Mortgage Works | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV, case-by-case | 20% |
| Together | Specialist | Up to 75% LTV | 25% |
| Vida Homeloans | Specialist | Up to 97% LTV | 3% |
| West One Loans | Specialist | Up to 97.5% LTV, case-by-case | 2.5% |
| Zephyr Homeloans | Specialist | Up to 80% LTV | 20% |
Question-and-answer version: which lenders lend on high-rise flats.
Both verdicts side by side, lender by lender
Built directly from our lender criteria dataset (99 residential lenders, last verified 24 June 2026) — not a hand-picked sample. 85 lenders publish a position on ex-council flats and 92 on high-rise flats. Where the dataset holds a numeric storey cap it is shown; an empty cap does not mean no limit — many lenders decide height case-by-case through the valuer.
| Lender | Ex-council flat | High-rise flat | Storey cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accord | Refer | Refer | — |
| AIB | Refer | Yes | — |
| Aldermore | Yes | Refer | — |
| Atom Bank | Refer | Yes | — |
| Bank Of Ireland | Not published | Yes | — |
| Barclays | Yes | Refer | — |
| Bath BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Beverley BS | No | Refer | — |
| Bluestone | Refer | Refer | — |
| Buckinghamshire BS | Refer | Refer | — |
| Cambridge BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Castle Trust | Refer | Refer | — |
| Central Trust | Not published | Yes | — |
| CHL Mortgages | Yes | Yes | — |
| Chorley BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Clydesdale | Yes | Yes | — |
| Co Operative Bank | Yes | Refer | 10 floors |
| Coutts | Refer | Refer | — |
| Coventry BS | Refer | No | — |
| Cumberland BS | Yes | No | — |
| Cynergy | Refer | Refer | — |
| Darlington BS | Refer | Yes | — |
| Dudley BS | Refer | Refer | — |
| Earl Shilton BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Ecology BS | Not published | Refer | — |
| Family BS | No | Yes | — |
| Fleet | Yes | Not published | — |
| Foundation | Yes | Yes | — |
| Furness BS | No | No | — |
| Gatehouse | Yes | Yes | — |
| Generation Home | Yes | Yes | — |
| Halifax | Refer | Refer | — |
| Hanley BS | No | No | — |
| Harpenden BS | Not published | Refer | — |
| Hinckley Rugby BS | Refer | Yes | — |
| Hodge | Yes | Yes | — |
| HSBC | Yes | Refer | — |
| Interbay | Refer | Refer | — |
| Kensington | Yes | Yes | — |
| Keystone | Yes | Yes | — |
| Landbay | Yes | Yes | — |
| Leeds BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Leek BS | No | No | 12 floors |
| Lendco | Yes | Not published | — |
| Lendinvest | Not published | Yes | — |
| LG Home Finance | Yes | Refer | — |
| Livemore | Yes | Refer | — |
| Loughborough BS | No | No | — |
| Mansfield BS | No | Yes | — |
| Market Harborough BS | Refer | Yes | — |
| Marsden BS | No | Yes | — |
| Melton BS | No | Yes | — |
| Metro Bank | Yes | Yes | — |
| MFS | Not published | Yes | — |
| Moda | Yes | Yes | — |
| Molo Finance | Yes | Yes | — |
| Nationwide | Yes | Yes | — |
| Natwest | Yes | Yes | — |
| Newbury BS | Not published | No | — |
| Newcastle BS | Yes | Refer | — |
| Norton | Yes | Yes | — |
| Nottingham BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Paragon | Yes | Yes | — |
| Penrith BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Pepper | Yes | Yes | — |
| Perenna | Yes | Yes | — |
| Precise | Refer | No | — |
| Principality | Yes | Yes | — |
| Progressive BS | Yes | No | — |
| Rely | Yes | Yes | — |
| Roma Finance | Yes | Yes | — |
| Saffron BS | Yes | Refer | — |
| Santander | Yes | Yes | — |
| Scottish BS | Yes | Refer | — |
| Shawbrook | Yes | Yes | — |
| Skipton | Yes | Yes | — |
| Skipton International | Refer | Refer | — |
| Stafford BS | Yes | Refer | — |
| Suffolk BS | No | Refer | — |
| Swansea BS | Yes | Yes | — |
| Tandem | Not published | Refer | — |
| Teachers BS | Yes | No | 6 floors |
| The Mortgage Lender | Yes | Yes | — |
| The Mortgage Works | Yes | Yes | — |
| Tipton Coseley BS | Not published | Yes | — |
| Together | Yes | Refer | — |
| TSB | Yes | Yes | — |
| UTB | Yes | Yes | — |
| Vernon BS | No | No | — |
| Vida | Yes | Yes | — |
| Virgin Money | Yes | Yes | — |
| West Brom | Yes | Yes | 5 floors |
| West One | Refer | Refer | — |
| Zephyr | Yes | Yes | — |
“Refer” means the lender considers these flats case-by-case — usually subject to the valuer's comments on saleability, construction and the block — not a decline. Sourced from our lender criteria dataset, generated 8 August 2026, criteria last verified 24 June 2026.
Fire safety, cladding and the EWS1 question
For taller blocks — ex-council or not — fire safety is often the deciding factor rather than the flat itself. Where a building has cladding, most lenders assess it case-by-case: some will want an EWS1 assessment with a passing rating, and many now accept alternatives such as a leaseholder deed of certificate or evidence the building is in a government remediation scheme. Roughly 40 lenders on our panel will consider clad buildings on that basis. The full list and the evidence each accepts is on our cladding and EWS1 lender answer, and the wider background is covered in why some properties are “unmortgageable”.
Tips for ex-council and high-rise applications
- Find out the construction type before you offer — ask the seller or managing agent whether the block is standard build or LPS/precast panel. It changes the lender pool completely.
- Count the storeys and check for a lift. If the block is over 5 storeys, rule out the lenders with published caps before applying.
- Ask about private ownership levels in the block — several lenders want a majority (or at least a healthy share) of flats privately owned.
- For clad buildings, gather the fire-safety paperwork early: an EWS1 if one exists, the leaseholder deed of certificate, or remediation-scheme evidence.
- Expect 'refer' rather than instant answers — these cases commonly hinge on the valuer's comments, so build extra time into the purchase.
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Start My Free CheckRelated guides
Unmortgageable Properties
Why lenders decline certain properties and your options.
Property Types Lenders Accept
Flats, non-standard construction, ex-local authority and more.
Property Surveys
Level 1, 2 and 3 surveys — what they cover and cost.
Down Valuations
What to do when the surveyor values below your offer.
