Mortgages: how much can you afford to borrow?

One of the first things you have to work out when you’re buying a house is how much you can afford to borrow.

It’s a crucial part of the process as it’ll determine your overall budget and what home you can actually buy.

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Lenders want to know your earnings

Now, there’s a few things to consider when it comes to how much you can borrow to buy a home.

The first thing we usually look at is our income – and that can be just your earnings if you’re buying alone or joint earnings if you’re buying a home with someone else.

You can usually get a mortgage that’s between four and four-and-a-half times your income but in reality they can be anything from three-and-a-half to six times your income. 

If you’re getting a joint mortgage with another person, this is based on your combined income.

So say you earn £40,000 a year. You could potentially borrow up to £180,000. And if your partner’s salary was £50,000, your total combined mortgage could be as much as £405,000. 

However, remember, the more you borrow, the larger your monthly repayments will be.

Income multiples aren’t guaranteed

You might be offered less if the lender thinks you won’t be able to afford the repayments. This could be because a lender will assess your affordability before deciding how much to offer you. This includes looking at things like your credit score, if you have high outgoings or lots of debt. 

Or you could be turned down for a mortgage altogether if you don’t meet the lender’s eligibility requirements. 

Now, what we have seen recently is some lenders relax their affordability rules so that people can borrow more. 

And in July 2025, the Bank of England recommended that lenders could be given more flexibility when it comes to offering a higher loan to income ratio.

At the moment, just under 10% of new mortgages offer borrowers more than 4.5 times their income. But the Bank of England says it’s happy for banks and building societies to increase this to 15% – or about 36,000 new mortgages.

These rules aren’t in place yet, but we’ll be sure to update you if things change.

Next up there might be ways to boost what you can afford, for example, if you’re a first time buyer or a professional, which I’ll explain more about later. 

Plus there’s the Lifetime ISA, which as well as interest or investment returns also offers a 25% Government bonus up to £1,000 a year. The money in a LISA can only be used towards your first property or retirement.

Try our mortgage affordability calculator

But how can you actually work out what you might be able to get based on your salary? The easiest way is to use a mortgage affordability calculator.

We’ve recently partnered with mortgage broker Tembo to make it easier and more affordable for Be Clever With Your Cash readers to get mortgages. 

And as part of that partnership, we’ve got a number of handy tools on the website, including our own mortgage affordability calculator, to help you get started. 

This calculator is great because you can get an estimate for how much you can borrow in minutes, based on just a few details. And if you need further help or advice, you can get in touch directly with Tembo. This service is worth up to £499 but free when you go via Be Clever With Your Cash and end up taking out a standard mortgage.

For a full demo of how the calculator works, you can watch our video over on Youtube.

Consider your outgoings

Once you’ve got your estimate from the calculator, you’ll need to consider how much you can actually afford to repay each month. 

If you use a mortgage broker, or if you go directly to a lender, you’ll be put through affordability checks but it’s a good idea to have a think about how much you can comfortably pay. 

Remember, the mortgage repayments will be on top of all your other bills including energy, council tax, insurance, broadband, food. If you’re buying a leasehold property, you’ll also need to consider the service charge and management fees. 

Plus, you may have debts you need to repay and it’s a good idea to ensure you can still put aside money into your savings.

With the lender’s affordability checks, they’ll want to see how much you earn versus how much you spend. 

They’ll then decide whether they think you afford the mortgage repayments at the rate offered – and if rates were to rise. 

Let’s not forget what happened after the disastrous mini-budget in September 2022. 

Mortgage rates soared to a peak of 6.65% adding hundreds of pounds a month to many homeowners’ repayments. 

Lenders will see all your spend

Lenders will also want to see what you spend your money on – where you can cut back, like with subscriptions or gym memberships, and where you might not be able to, like with childcare.

When we talk about income, the lender will consider your earnings from work, plus any benefits you might receive and any income from other sources, such as dividends from investments or money from a pension or property.

If we’re considering outgoings, your lender will take into account your living expenses, like bills, transport costs and what you spend on food, debt repayments, childcare and how much you spend on enjoying yourself. 

That’s not to judge your lifestyle, as I said before it’s more to find out where you could afford to cut back if rates increase in the future. 

However, some types of spend might worry the lender, like gambling. So if you’re partial to placing bets, it’s best avoided in the months before applying for a mortgage. 

You’ll fill these figures in on a form, but in case you’re thinking about tweaking those figures in your favour, don’t. You could be asked to back yourself up with bank statements and pay slips to prove your income and outgoings.

Important

*Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Be Clever With Your Cash may receive a payment from Tembo Money if you complete a mortgage through the link provided. This will not affect the amount you pay for the service.

This broker fee discount of up to £499 is applicable for standard mortgages and remortgages only, more complex cases including guarantor, buy-to-let, adverse credit, and equity transfer may be liable for a fee. The fee you are required to pay will be clearly outlined by your adviser prior to an application being submitted on your behalf. The offer does not cover any other potential fees that may arise during the mortgage process.

Tembo Money Limited (12631312) is a company registered in England and Wales with its registered office at 18 Crucifix Lane, London, SE1 3JW. Tembo is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the registration number 952652. Tembo Money was awarded Best Mortgage Broker at the British bank awards in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Rates are not guaranteed and may change by the time you come to apply. Eligibility criteria may vary by lender.

Our calculator is only an estimate of how much you are able to borrow and does not constitute mortgage advice