Getting A Mortgage After An IVA
There are over 70 lenders that can consider borrowers with an IVA, depending on when it was set up and repaid, and 8 will even consider active IVAs. We’ve helped over 5,000 customers with or after an IVA, with 4 experts dedicated to this area. We guarantee to get your mortgage approved and find you the best deal. If we can’t and someone else does, we’ll give you £100!*
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Author: Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD

Reviewed by: Sheridan Repton
Bad Credit and BTL Specialist
Criteria Brain
https://mortgagebrain.com/products/criteria-brain/Quick Summary
You can absolutely get a mortgage with an IVA – which lenders will consider you, depending mostly on when it was set up, whether it’s still active, and whether / when it was repaid.
There are currently over 70 lenders that can consider IVAs settled over 6 years ago, 43 lenders if settled in the last 3-6 years, 20 lenders if settled in the last 3 years, and even 8 lenders if it’s still active now.
Navigating these lenders can be tough on your own, and many of the specialists can ONLY lend to you via a broker, so it’s worth contacting one of the experts to chat it through with you.
2 ways to proceed
So you have 2 options really: Research the 100+ lenders and their criteria yourself and see if there’s any who will consider you based on your IVA and credit profile, then make applications directly, OR, get an expert to do it all for you.
So (and naturally, we’ll say this as it’s what we do, but it is also true!), we’d really recommend that your first step is to find a decent advisor who knows the IVA market well. Be warned, though – not all do. Despite being “whole of market,” there’s a massive range of experience and expertise, and we’re regularly helping rescue applications from advisors elsewhere who have gotten out of their depth and let people down.
Chat to one of our 4 amazing experts here.
How lenders decide
The main criteria lenders use to determine whether you meet their policy are:
- The IVA start date
- The IVA settled date if no longer active
- The original reason for the IVA/issues
- The amount of money involved in the IVA
- The monthly payment (if ongoing)
In general, time is the healer here. The further back in time the IVA was set up or completed, more and more lenders will consider you, at better rates, and with less deposit.
Someone currently in a live IVA is far more likely to need a higher deposit and pay a higher rate than someone who paid theirs off 3 years ago.
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What if your IVA is still active?
Well, in short, you can still get a mortgage if your IVA is active, but the number of willing lenders reduces dramatically (and as a result, the rates are not likely to be as competitive).
Keep in mind that if you wish to proceed with a mortgage while your IVA is active, you’ll need to follow the terms of your IVA agreement, which would likely mean making a request to your insolvency practitioner or IVA provider. It would be up to them to consider your circumstances and decide whether or not they will grant you permission to apply for a mortgage.
When Can You Apply?
So this really depends on how urgently you need the mortgage!
If you want to refinance, you can start today if you like, or if you’re thinking of moving and buying a new home, whenever you’re ready. Time is a healer, so of course, the more time that passes after your IVA is settled, the better, as there are more lenders for you.
It usually works in annual blocks, so every 12-month period after the settlement date, more lenders come into play—this means better rates and less deposit. So, if you’re close to an anniversary and can wait, then it’s something to consider and well worth checking the impact it’ll have on the deals you qualify for.
Just be aware of the difference between the length of time since your IVA was registered and the time since it was satisfied, as lenders may use different measures. Most IVAs last for 5 years, so if, for example, it’s been 7 years since your IVA was set up, it may only have been 2 years since it was satisfied.
Again, just have the team look at this to get some certainty on your position regarding what you qualify for, what you can afford, and what it’ll all cost. They’ll help you decide when the time is right without any pressure.
The Actual Process
If you’re using an expert, they’ll guide you through the following steps to the full application:
First off, you really need a handle on the data the lenders will use to decide if you qualify – the only way to do this is through reviewing your credit reports. We recommend either having one of our team run one for you over the phone (free service), or downloading your own (Checkmyfile is good as it holds the data all 3 main agencies store and they can be wrong!). When you review, make sure all your account payments are up to date, and check for any inaccuracies.
If you spot errors or inaccurate information, we can help you take steps to dispute and have it corrected. Remember, adverse information that is correct cannot be removed but will fall off after a designated period. If an IVA remains on your credit report more than six years after its start date, you can apply to have it removed.
Review lender policy
When you know where you are, you can then match yourself against the lender’s criteria.
As above, this is a profession for a reason, as it can be a huge job—most brokers don’t know the market very well, so tackle this with caution. Our team already knows, and is often on first-name terms with, the lenders that accept IVAs, so it’ll be a quick one this (note that the wrong brokers will take weeks to do this, if they come back with anything at all).
It’s also important to note here that they’ll all have different deposit requirements (some specific to IVA mortgages) and affordability models, so you’ll need to fit with their income assessments and all other normal policies, like maximum age, term, property type, etc.
Then, when you have a shortlist of lenders who’ll consider you, you need to review the rates/deals (including fees) to determine which mortgage is the best you can get.
Agreement In Principle (AIP)
You’ll need to start the application process when you’ve found the lender and the deal you want. Initially, this is a quicker application to assess your suitability and affordability. If you pass, you get your AIP (and a nice certificate if you want one!), which confirms you’ve been approved and outlines the maximum you can borrow – it’s this that estate agents are interested in if they are going to take your application to buy seriously (if remortgaging then you don’t really need the physical certificate, but can still request it for fun if you like!).
Full application
When you’ve had an offer accepted to buy a property (or just the next step if remortgaging), you can then get the full application in – the wrong advisor isn’t likely to get to this stage to be honest, but might still mess it up if they do (we see this a lot!). In contrast, the right advisor can shave weeks off the application process by getting this right the first time and avoiding loads of lender back-and-forth.
To help, please get your bank statements, income, proof of ID and address, and any other evidence they need ready ASAP. At this point, the lender often runs another credit check and instructs the property valuation to be completed. If that’s OK, then they formally offer the mortgage and prepare it for completion.
Note
Bear in mind that on a normal day, approximately 30% of lenders across the market only lend via brokers. When things are more complex, like with IVA mortgages, the percentage is often much higher because broker-only lenders tend to be the most flexible. For some people, 100% of the lenders you qualify for will be broker-only.
Not all brokers are created equally
We often highlight the huge gap between a general broker and a true specialist—just like you wouldn’t ask your GP to perform heart surgery, you need someone who’s handled cases like yours hundreds, even thousands of times.
At our firm, every bad credit enquiry is handled by a genuine expert, not a generalist. We’ve built this system because, over the last 10-15 years, we’ve seen how much of a difference experience makes to positive outcomes for people.
And as part of our mission to be the most loved for mortgages, EVEN IF you don’t choose us, we’re happy to work alongside your broker to make sure you’re getting the right advice. Just ask!
Case study - John with a 2 year settled IVA

When John (not his real name) first came to me, he was feeling pretty stuck. Another broker had told him he wasn’t eligible and had declined to help him (despite being in the whole market).
We had an initial chat, and about two minutes in, I knew we had at least 15 lenders to contact.
His IVA had been settled for two years, he had a good deposit saved, a stable job borrowing about 4 times his income, and his credit file had been clean since – all the things we needed to know there would be lenders for him.
From the lender shortlist, John was looking for the best 5 year fixed rate and lowest monthly payment, so I approached the lender with best deal on the list and they approved it same-day.
These situations are literally why we are here and why I love my job! It was great to hear John’s relief and joy down the phone when I told him, and he left us a great review.
It’s a great example of the right advice making all the difference, as John would still be paying more than his mortgage on rent, had he listened to his first broker!
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Sheridan Repton
What is an IVA?
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a formal agreement between a debtor and their creditors to repay debts over a set period. It is an arrangement between a debtor and a creditor in which money owed is paid back over a set period.
The agreement is set up by an insolvency practitioner, sanctioned by a court and recorded on the Insolvency Register, meaning both parties must stick to it.
What Else Lenders Look At
In addition to the IVA, lenders have specific criteria related to the rest of your profile, such as your employment, affordability, income levels, and other financial commitments.
Your credit record during or since the IVA is also really important. Lenders won’t like you getting into an IVA and then missing payments or falling behind on other commitments, and they are generally looking for a clean recent history.
You may need a larger deposit than normal, but not always. Deposit requirements are based on your IVA’s status and how recently it was satisfied.
IVAs and different buyer types
First Time Buyers
As a first-time buyer, getting a mortgage is much the same process as a home-mover, except you’ll have no equity in a property to use for a deposit. Of course, you may be using a particular scheme to buy with, such as Right to Buy or Shared Ownership.
Remember, not all lenders offer mortgages on these schemes, so this reduces your options. When combined with the IVA (active or historic), this means the shortlist of lenders you have to choose from is potentially much smaller.
Remortgages
Yes, just as there are options for getting a new mortgage after an IVA, lenders will let you remortgage, too. Instead of deposit, it’s “equity,” which is the same thing. How much security does the lender have to repay their mortgage if you don’t pay?
Some people also look to remortgage while in an active IVA when they realise that they were misadvised when they set it up (it happens more than you think), and perhaps could have avoided it in the first place. For many people, the IVA was the right thing at the time, but now it may be appropriate to review and get it repaid if you have the equity and can afford it.
Second Mortgages / Secured Loans
Sometimes, a secured loan / second-charge mortgage is better than a remortgage if you want to borrow more money. This allows you to keep your existing mortgage and take another on top from a different lender – great if you need to refinance to borrow more, and don’t want to lose a good deal (or put the whole mortgage onto a higher rate, if that’s what you’ve been quoted).
They are also useful alternatives if you’ve tried a remortgage and been unsuccessful. Often, the second-charge lenders are a different group of lenders entirely and don’t do first-charge (standard main) mortgages, so you are opening up more options.
Moreover, these lenders can be even more flexible than some of the first-charge specialists when it comes to bad credit and IVAs specifically. They can sometimes offer larger borrowing amounts based on your affordability and up to a higher borrowing percentage, with loan-to-value (LTV) limits even up to 100%, where first-charge lenders tend to limit new borrowing to 85-90%.
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IVA Mortgage Lenders & Rates
IVA Friendly Lenders
From over 100 lenders in the market, there are plenty that can consider people with historical or live IVAs – as mentioned the key factor is the date it started and was discharged.
The following links will show you the IVA mortgage lenders and rates in our very own, market-leading, unique (and amazing!) mortgage comparison tool.
If you’re 6+ years discharged, there’s approx. 70 lenders, 3-6 years discharge there’s approx 48 lenders, 0-3 years discharge, there’s around 17 lenders, and if the IVA is currently live, there’s about 8 lenders.
As mentioned, many of the lenders happy with IVAs are broker-only lenders, particularly as you narrow down to the more recent date ranges. Some from the list here:
- Bluestone
- Vida Home Loans
- Pepper Money
- MBS
- Saffron
- Foundation
- Norton
IVA Mortgage Calculator
Use our IVA calculator
We are unique in the market as one of the few places able to bring this information to consumers directly via the OMA® Mortgage Engine. A tool we built using Defaqto and Knowledge Bank mortgage data, combined with our expert insights from over a decade of specialist experience.
You can use the links in this article summary and the lenders section, or jump to the comparison tool homepage, where you can load it with relevant results for you from scratch (adding filters for IVA or anything else to the results).
This will give you the ability to play with the borrowing amount. deposit, property values, and term to get the relevant rates and monthly figures from lenders who can consider you.
Just bear in mind that there are many other factors that impact who you qualify with, and the majority of the lenders for IVAs are broker-only, meaning you’ll need one of the experts to apply for you.
In Summary
Jump over to our tool here and be sure to update the mortgage info and filters, to tailor the results to your situation.
- Deals from over 90 Lenders
- Add filters for your specific mortgage
- See lender policy for every mortgage
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FAQs
Yes, you can sell your house while in an IVA, but this requires careful consideration due to the impact on your IVA. Typically, any equity released must go toward repaying the outstanding IVA balance, and you may also incur additional fees.
Contact your IVA provider to discuss your options, as they may negotiate terms based on your circumstances.
Paying off your IVA early can improve your chances of mortgage approval, but the IVA may still appear on your credit report and the insolvency register for six years from the start date. Some lenders may only offer a mortgage on specific terms, such as higher rates.
However, settling the IVA lets you begin rebuilding your credit, which can improve future mortgage options.
Yes, you must declare an IVA when applying for a mortgage, as it’s a legal requirement and part of full disclosure on credit applications. Lenders will likely identify the IVA during their checks, and any attempt to conceal it may result in immediate application rejection.
In serious cases, it could also lead to a fraud alert on databases like “National Hunter,” which would severely affect your ability to secure future credit.
Pete Mugleston
CeMAP Mortgage Advisor, MD
Pete, a CeMAP-qualified mortgage advisor and an expert in all things mortgages, cut his teeth right in the middle of the credit crunch. With plenty of people needing help and few mortgage providers lending, Pete successfully went the extra mile to find mortgages for people whom many others considered lost causes. The experience he gained and his love of helping people reach their goals led him to establish Online Mortgage Advisor, with one clear vision – to help as many customers as possible get the right advice, regardless of need or background.
Pete’s presence in the industry as the ‘go-to’ for specialist finance continues to grow, and he is regularly cited in and writes for both local and national press, as well as trade publications, with a regular column in Mortgage Introducer and being the exclusive mortgage expert for LOVEMoney. Pete also writes for Online Mortgage Advisor of course!
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