Joint mortgages
There’s strength in numbers when it comes to your mortgage prospects, with over 55% of customers opting to apply for a joint mortgage*. It’s possible for two, three or four prospective homeowners to combine their buying power to get a mortgage that works for everyone.
Here’s how our experts can help you and your fellow applicants find a mortgage deal to suit you all…
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Last reviewed by John Fraser-Tucker on 12 March 2025
What is a joint mortgage?
A joint mortgage is simply one that you take on with at least one other person, but some lenders allow up to four people to buy jointly together.
This can aid affordability and help you to get onto the property ladder sooner than trying to buy your own home individually.
How does a joint mortgage work?
It works in exactly the same way as any other mortgage - but all parties involved will need to agree to the mortgage terms and sign the ownership documentation, accepting responsibility for their role in the mortgage.
As each borrower is jointly liable for the mortgage payments, it’s important you trust that the person or people you buy with are going to pay their share!
All parties involved will need to qualify for the mortgage, although income is generally combined, which can make the affordability easier to meet. However, it’s worth noting that one applicant’s credit score will impact the others’ either positively or negatively.
Different types of joint mortgage
You don’t have to own equal shares of the property or put down the same deposit amount when you buy together. The legal ownership of a jointly owned property can be split in different ways, depending on what suits the applicants.
Joint tenants
Mortgage repayments are shared equally amongst all parties, so this option is usually best for couples. Decisions on remortgaging or selling the property must be reached jointly, however, if one or more parties leave the mortgage, the remaining applicants become responsible for it. This can be problematic if they’re unable to afford to keep up with the payments.
Tenants in common
Ownership can be divided as preferred, there is no need for all owners to have equal shares. This could work better for friends, especially if you are all contributing to the property in different amounts. This also means that shares can be sold separately and that each party can leave their stake in the mortgage to whomever they wish in their will. It doesn’t need to be another of the owners, and their choice doesn’t require approval from the other owners.
Transfer of equity
A transfer of equity allows you to add another person to your property’s title deeds. You’ll need to get consent from your mortgage lender as this also means that the other party is legally liable for any mortgage on the property.
While transfer of equity isn’t technically a type of joint mortgage, it’s useful to know about if you already own a home but want to divide ownership between you and someone else.
What is a Declaration of Trust?
A Declaration of Trust is a document that lays out the above agreement in legal terms, which all owners must sign. This usually details who owns and pays what percentage of the mortgage, who must agree upon a sale, and how any proceeds are to be split.
“Working with a broker can help you get to grips with the different types of joint mortgages and which might be the best fit for you. We’ll discuss your options and some of the key things you need to take into consideration when buying together. This kind of thing can feel awkward to talk about sometimes, but having a broker to facilitate your mortgage conversations can make it all much more straightforward.”
Emily Smith, Mortgage Expert
Who can get a joint mortgage?
Most people think of couples when it comes to joint mortgages, but it’s actually possible to buy a property with anyone you like, including family and friends.
This can be both for residential or investment purchases, so allows for business partners to jointly own a buy-to-let property, for example.
At Mojo Mortgages, we can help you get a joint mortgage deal to suit everyone involved.
It’s becoming increasingly common for homeowners to buy a property together. Over the last 5 years, we’ve seen a 12% increase in the proportion of joint applicants looking to get a mortgage.
How much can you borrow with a joint mortgage?
Usually more than you’d be able to on your own, assuming the other applicant(s) have some form of income. This is because lenders are typically willing to consider at least 2 applicants’ income for a joint mortgage application - and some even consider up to 4.
How much you’ll be able to borrow when buying a house together will depend on your income, the size of your deposit and the financial circumstances and credit history of all parties.
Most lenders offer around 4.5 times your annual income in their loan calculation for a single applicant mortgage. When there are multiple applicants, some lenders offer 4.5 times the combined income of all applicants. Others offer a variation on that. For example: 4.5 times the highest applicant’s income, plus the second applicant’s income.
It’s worth noting that some lenders allow 3 or 4 applicants to buy a property together, but will only consider the income of the 2 highest earners in their loan calculation.
Want to find out how much you could afford?
Use our joint mortgage calculator to work out how much you could borrow and how much it might cost you each month.
Average mortgage size for a couple vs buying solo
There was a 39% difference in mortgage size between solo and joint homebuyers in 2024, with the average joint applicant looking for almost £100,000 more than a solo buyer.
However, the gap seems to be closing due to the average solo homebuyer opting to borrow more in recent years - back in 2022, there was almost a 50% difference between the amount a solo or joint applicant wanted to borrow!
Year | Average solo applicant mortgage size | Joint applicant mortgage size | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | £216,160 | £279,159 | £62,999 (25%) |
2024 | £185,439 | £275,887 | £90,448 (39%) |
2023 | £161,735 | £246,564 | £84,829 (42%) |
2022 | £158,999 | £261,332 | £102,333 (49%) |
2021 | £162,715 | £238,333 | £75,507 (38%) |
2020 | £153,802 | £240,988 | £87,186 (44%) |
What are the pros and cons of having a joint mortgage?
Pros
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Affordability - The deposit requirement and repayments can be split with others, and multiple incomes can help you qualify for the loan and get onto the property ladder sooner
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Buying power - Aside from reducing pressure on each individual, sharing the responsibility for the mortgage can allow you to borrow more, and therefore buy a larger, or more suitable home
Cons
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Vulnerability - All applicants must qualify, so those with poor credit could impact the other applicants
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Risk - Do you trust that the other applicants will maintain their share of the expense and would you be able to afford it if they decided that they no longer wanted to be on the mortgage?
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Division of assets - this can be more complex when there are multiple owners, whether it’s dividing up the proceeds of sale, or when any of the owners pass away
Top three things to consider when buying together
Joint mortgage FAQs
It’s pretty common for one party to bring a larger deposit to the table. However, it’s important to structure your ownership properly to avoid things becoming unfair if you were to sell the property and divide your assets up in the future.
This is when your Declaration of Trust comes in handy! If you’re contributing different deposit amounts, a Declaration of Trust will protect your investments. It details each person’s share, how proceeds are divided if the property is sold and what will happen if one person wants to sell their share of the property.
You won’t get any preferential rates simply by choosing a joint mortgage. However, applying with another person can sometimes help you access more competitive rates. This depends on several factors such as:
Higher combined income
Two applicants typically have more financial stability than one so, if your combined income is higher than it would be applying separately, lenders may see you as lower risk.
Lower loan-to-value ratio
The deposit size for joint applicants was, on average, 36% higher than solo applicants in 2024. A larger deposit size can give joint applicants the edge when it comes to accessing a lower loan-to-value mortgage which often unlocks more competitive rates.
It’s possible to take out a joint mortgage with your children to aid their affordability in buying their first home, and there are a few products that lenders offer to enable you to do so:
Guarantor mortgages - where you help them meet affordability and agree to pay if they can’t
Family assisted mortgages - where you can use your savings or an asset as their deposit
Joint borrower sole proprietor mortgages - where you help them to meet affordability requirements, but do not appear on the property deeds
There are a couple of options but, ultimately, it depends on the type of joint mortgage you have. If you have a joint tenant agreement, you both own equal shares of the property whereas if you have a tenants in common agreement you own separate shares which often reflect different deposit contributions so one person may own a much larger share of the property.
Generally when people in a relationship split a mortgage, one would need to buy the other out and the other would stay in the property and pick up the remaining mortgage. However, it’s also common for both parties to sell the property, repay the mortgage and split any remaining equity.
Another option is to keep the property and co-own it, potentially renting it out to cover the mortgage payments (though this may require a “consent to let” from your mortgage lender).
You’ll be eligible to apply for a joint mortgage whether you’re both first-time buyers, one of you is a first-time buyer or you’ve both owned properties before.
Last year, 9% of joint mortgage applicants were first-time buyers so it’s certainly not uncommon.
However, it’s worth considering that if one party is a first-time buyer but the other isn’t, it can affect eligibility for some first-time buyer benefits:
Stamp Duty - first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland get Stamp Duty relief but you won’t be eligible for this if the person you’re buying with isn’t a first-time property owner
Lender deals - some lenders may offer lower deposit options for first-time buyers, though you may not qualify for these deals if only one of you is a first-time buyer
However, if you have a Lifetime ISA, you will still be able to benefit from the 25% bonus the government will add to your savings - as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria.
In some cases, yes, but this can be more difficult to come across. For example, a JBSP mortgage allows a joint buyer to assist with the mortgage but not live at the property. It might also be possible in the case of military families. However, most lenders prefer all applicants to live at the property when it comes to residential purchases.
Most joint mortgages are taken out by 2 people, but it’s also possible to get a mortgage with 3 or 4 applicants with some lenders.
Getting any mortgage will affect your credit report. The mortgage loan amount will be factored into your debt-to-income ratio, and all mortgage payments will be reported to credit reference agencies so any late or missed payments can have a detrimental effect on your score.
Buying with someone else can impact your credit report further. That’s because, when you take out a joint mortgage, the other person will be financially linked to you and will appear on your credit report. So their financial behaviours can directly affect your credit score.
Yes, if one person can afford to pay the mortgage on their own. Mortgage lenders look at the combined affordability of both applicants to determine how much they will be able to lend, rather than individual contributions.
You won’t need a larger minimum deposit than a solo applicant. This is typically 5%, though the larger deposit you’re able to provide, the lower loan-to-value mortgages you’ll be able to access. This could help you to qualify for more competitive interest rates.
Typically speaking, the difference between a solo and a joint deposit is a whopping 31%, with joint applicants putting down a £56,250 deposit on average last year.
*Data shown is from Mojo Mortgages' own customer records, covering the period from January 1 2024, to December 31 2024.