Which UK Lenders Accept Applicants on Probation?
Around half of UK mortgage lenders will consider applicants on probation. The key is a signed permanent contract — most lenders care less about elapsed weeks than about contract stability.
Data refreshed 2026-07-15. Information only — not advice.
Your situation
High Street Lenders
- Barclays— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Clydesdale Bank— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Halifax— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- HSBC— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Nationwide— Up to 95% LTV, min 1 month in role
- The Co-operative Bank— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- TSB— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Virgin Money— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
Building Societies
- Accord Mortgages— Up to 99% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Bath Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 1 month in role
- Dudley Building Society— Up to 90% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Earl Shilton Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Ecology 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)
- Family Building Society— Up to 80% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Hanley Economic Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Hinckley & Rugby Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Mansfield Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Market Harborough Building Society— Up to 80% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Monmouthshire Building Society— Temporarily paused — not accepting new residential applications while they upgrade their systems. Previously: Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Newbury Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Nottingham Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Principality Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Saffron Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Teachers Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Vernon Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- West Bromwich Building Society— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
Specialist Lenders
- Aldermore— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Atom Bank— Up to 95% LTV, min 1 month in role
- Foundation Home Loans— Up to 90% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Gatehouse Bank— Up to 80% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Kensington Mortgages— Up to 95% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Keystone Property Finance— Up to 80% LTV, no minimum employment length
- Norton Home Loans— Up to 80% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Perenna— Up to 95% LTV, min 3 months in role
- Tandem Bank— Up to 90% LTV, min 1 month in role
- Together— Up to 75% LTV
- Vida Homeloans— Up to 97% LTV, min 3 months in role
- West One Loans— Up to 97.5% LTV, min 3 months in role
Why some lenders say no
- Some lenders require probation to be complete before applying.
- Smaller building societies without manual underwriting often auto-decline.
- Lenders with automated decisions rarely read the context a manual underwriter would.
Related reading: Mortgage on probation — full guide · Changing jobs during a mortgage application
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Run My Affordability CheckFrequently asked questions
Does the length of probation matter?
Less than applicants often assume. Most lenders care more about a signed permanent contract than the number of elapsed weeks.
Can I apply before my start date?
Several lenders accept applications up to 3 months before the start date on the strength of a signed contract. Halifax, Nationwide, Barclays and Santander are commonly used.
Does industry-change affect probation?
It can. Lenders read industry-continuity alongside probation. Moving from retail to IT during probation is higher-risk than moving between two IT roles.
What if my probation has a break clause?
Most lenders treat a signed permanent contract with standard notice as acceptable. Short notice periods or fixed-term probation terms may narrow the lender pool.
