Last updated: September 2026
That is exactly what guarantor mortgages are for. A parent, grandparent or other close family member backs your mortgage with their income, their savings or their own home, and that extra support gives the mortgage lender the comfort it needs to say yes. I have helped a lot of families do this over the years, and when it is set up properly it can be the difference between renting for another five years and getting the keys this year.
This guide explains how guarantor mortgages work in 2026, the different types you will come across, who can be a guarantor, the risks involved for everyone, and the lenders that still offer them. If you would rather just talk it through, our advice is fee free for most cases and we are happy to look at your situation with no obligation.
A guarantor mortgage is a home loan where someone other than the buyer, usually a family member, agrees to support the mortgage. The guarantor promises the lender that if you cannot make your mortgage repayments, they will. In return, the lender is prepared to lend you more than it would on your income alone, or lend with a much smaller deposit.
The idea has been around for a long time. What has changed is how lenders do it. The traditional version, where a parent simply signs a guarantee to cover the monthly payments, is far less common than it used to be. Most mortgage lenders now prefer arrangements that give them something more concrete, such as the guarantor's savings held as security, a legal charge over the guarantor's property, or the guarantor joining the mortgage as a named borrower.
So when people ask me about guarantor mortgages today, what they usually end up with is one of three things: a family springboard style mortgage backed by savings, a mortgage backed by the equity in a parent's home, or a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage where a parent's income is added to yours. They all do the same basic job. The right one depends on what your family can offer and what you are trying to solve.
Every lender runs its own version of guarantor mortgages, but the pattern is the same. You apply for the mortgage in your name, the lender checks your income, outgoings and credit history, and then it looks at the support your guarantor is offering. If your own figures fall short, the guarantor's income, savings or property fills the gap.
Here is how the responsibilities usually split between the two of you.
A family member puts a lump sum, often 10% of the purchase price, into a linked savings account. The lender holds it as security for a set period, then hands it back with interest if the mortgage payments have been kept up.
The guarantor offers some of the equity in their own home as security. The lender takes a legal charge over part of that property, which means their home could be at risk if the borrower defaults and the debt is not repaid.
The guarantor joins the mortgage as a borrower so their income counts towards affordability. This is how a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage works, and it is now the most common way a parent helps with borrowing power.
The guarantor signs a deed promising to cover the payments if you cannot. A few building societies and specialist lenders still offer this, but you will find far fewer options than there were ten years ago.
Lenders that offer guarantor mortgages want the guarantor to be a close family member, usually a parent, step parent or grandparent. Some will accept a brother, sister, aunt or uncle, and a handful will consider other relatives. Friends are rarely accepted. Beyond the relationship, this is what lenders tend to look at.
Lenders set a maximum age at the end of the mortgage term, and it varies a lot from one lender to the next. If your guarantor is in their sixties, some lenders will want the guarantee to fall away sooner, or will look closely at their pension income. This is one of the areas where lender choice really matters.
A guarantor needs genuine financial stability. For an income based arrangement, the lender works out whether they can afford their own outgoings and your mortgage if needed. For a savings backed deal, they need the cash available and must be happy for it to be locked away. For a property backed deal, they need enough equity in their own home.
Your guarantor will be credit checked, and lenders want to see a good past payment history. If you are not sure how your credit file looks, it is worth checking before you apply. Our Check My File guide explains how to see all three credit reports in one place.
Almost every lender insists that the guarantor gets independent legal advice from their own solicitor, separate from yours. That is not a box ticking exercise. It protects your guarantor and makes sure they understand the risks involved before they agree to anything.
These three get mixed up all the time, and to be fair the names do not help. Here is the simple version of how they compare.
Your guarantor puts their savings with the lender for a few years rather than giving the money to you. You can borrow up to 100% of the price with some lenders, and the family money comes back with interest at the end, as long as the payments have been kept up. The catch is that the cash is tied up and could be partly lost if the home is repossessed and sold for less than the mortgage balance.
Your guarantor goes on the mortgage but not the title deeds. Their income boosts what you can borrow, which is ideal when the problem is affordability rather than deposit. Both of you are jointly liable for the whole mortgage, and it shows on both credit files. Because only you own the home, the guarantor avoids the higher rate of stamp duty.
Your guarantor stands behind the loan with a signed guarantee, sometimes backed by a charge over their own home. You get a bigger loan or a smaller deposit requirement, but the guarantor's property can be on the line. It is the most serious commitment of the three, and the one where independent legal advice matters most.
Talk openly about what your guarantor is comfortable putting forward, how long for, and what happens if things change. It is much easier to agree this now than in the middle of an application.
We look at your income, your credit score and your guarantor's position, then tell you which type of guarantor mortgage fits and which lenders will consider it. Many of these products are only found by speaking to someone who deals with them regularly.
An agreement in principle shows estate agents you are serious and confirms roughly how much you can borrow with your guarantor's support.
Both of you provide proof of income and ID. Your guarantor takes independent legal advice, which most lenders insist on, so they fully understand what they are signing.
Once the mortgage offer is issued, the solicitors complete the purchase. We then diarise when your guarantor could be released, so the arrangement does not run for longer than it needs to.
Guarantor mortgages are not a way round a lender saying no for a good reason. They work best when you can comfortably afford the monthly payments but something about your application looks weak on paper. These are the people I see guarantor mortgages help most often.
Rent is often higher than a mortgage payment would be, but saving a deposit at the same time is hard. A savings backed guarantor mortgage can get you onto the property ladder with little or no deposit of your own.
Newly qualified professionals, graduates and people on a lower starting salary who expect their income to grow. The guarantor bridges the gap until your own earnings catch up.
If you have never had a credit card or loan, lenders have little to go on. A guarantor with a strong credit rating gives them comfort while you build your own record.
Most lenders want two years of accounts. If you are part way there, family support can sometimes make up for it, although our self employed mortgages page covers other routes that may suit you better.
If you have a poor credit history with recent missed payments or defaults, a guarantor on its own usually will not fix it, because the lender still has to be happy with you as the borrower. In that case our bad credit mortgage team is the better place to start.
I always spend more time on this part than any other, because guarantor mortgages involve people who love each other taking on real financial risk together. Nobody should sign up without understanding what could happen if things go wrong.
If the borrower fails to pay, the lender can ask the guarantor to cover the missed payments, and in extreme cases the shortfall on the entire mortgage. This is a binding legal agreement, not a favour.
With a savings backed deal, the money can be held for longer, or partly used, if payments are missed and the home is sold at a loss. With a property backed deal, the guarantor's own home could be at risk.
A lender assessing the guarantor for a remortgage, a personal loan or a buy to let later on may count your mortgage as their commitment. That can reduce what they can borrow in their own right.
Think about what happens if the guarantor retires, falls ill or dies, or if the family relationship changes. The guarantee usually passes to their estate, so it is worth reviewing their will and considering life insurance alongside the mortgage.
Fewer lenders offer guarantor mortgages, so there are fewer deals to choose from and the interest rate may be a little higher than a standard mortgage at the same loan to value. The trade off is often worth it, but you should know it is there.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. If a guarantor has offered their property or savings as security, those could be at risk too.
The lender landscape moves around, so treat this as a snapshot from September 2026 rather than a fixed list. Criteria and products change, and some of the best options are only available through a mortgage broker.
Which of these guarantor mortgages is right depends on how much your family can put forward, whether you have any deposit of your own, the property you want to buy and your guarantor's age. That is where independent mortgage advice earns its keep, because the right lender for one family can be completely wrong for another.
It depends on the type. With a savings backed deal, the guarantor is really helping with the deposit, so what you can borrow is still based mainly on your own income, typically up to around 4.5 times salary, with some lenders going higher for certain professions and incomes. With an income backed arrangement, both incomes are assessed together, less the guarantor's own commitments, which can make a much bigger difference.
A guarantor does not have to stay on the mortgage forever. With savings backed deals the money comes back automatically at the end of the agreed period, provided the payments have been kept up. With other types, you apply to release the guarantor once your income has grown or the mortgage balance has come down enough that you qualify on your own. That usually means a remortgage or a product switch, assessed on the criteria and rates available at the time, so it pays to plan for it from day one.
Guarantor mortgages are one way for family to help, but not the only one. Before you commit, it is worth comparing them with the alternatives.
If your family can afford to give rather than lend, a gifted deposit is simpler and ties nobody into your mortgage. Lenders will want a signed gift letter confirming the money does not need to be repaid. Our guide to the bank of mum and dad goes through how that works.
If you have a small deposit saved already, a standard 95% mortgage might do the job without involving anyone else. See our page on 5% deposit mortgages for how much you might need and which lenders offer them.
Shared ownership lets you buy a share of a home and pay rent on the rest, which keeps the deposit and mortgage smaller. There are also other first time buyer schemes, which we explain on our first time buyer mortgages page.
Guarantor mortgages are a small, specialist corner of the market. A lot of families only hear about the one scheme their bank offers, when a different lender or a different structure would suit them far better. We look at the whole market, explain the options side by side, and deal with both you and your guarantor so nothing gets missed. For over 90% of the clients we help, our advice is fee free. You can read exactly how much a mortgage broker costs and when we charge.
Some of the lenders we place mortgage applications with
Fee free advice for most clients. We look at your situation and your guarantor's, and tell you honestly which option makes sense. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you will pay will depend on your circumstances. The fee is up to £995 but typically we are fee free. Alexander Southwell Mortgage Services Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA no. 1011890).
Speak to one of our advisers about guarantor mortgages today. We will look at what your family can offer, explain the options side by side and tell you which lenders fit your circumstances.
