Do I Need A Guarantor?

What is a guarantor mortgage or a parent guarantor?

A guarantor essentially guarantees the mortgage. Usually it’s a child and a parent, so if the parent was the guarantor and for whatever reason the child wasn’t able to pay the mortgage, the liability would fall back on the parent.

It gives lenders more security and more appetite to lend. It’s similar to people first being insured on a car – where obviously, the first time it’s really expensive. People usually put their parents on as named drivers to reduce the cost.

A guarantor gives lenders stability. The most popular format of guarantor mortgage at the moment is primarily Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor. It lets up to four people be named on the mortgage and be liable for the loan, but not all of those people will live in the property.

Perhaps mum and son are on the mortgage – they are both liable for the loan, but just the son lives in the property. Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor is a really helpful tool to assist with affordability. I always run through the details with clients where this might be suitable.

Do mortgage lenders still accept guarantors? Is it easier to get a mortgage if you have a guarantor?

The majority of people looking at the guarantor or Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor route do it because of affordability.

First-time buyers tend to be younger and in the early stages of their career, with lower incomes. It may be that their mum, dad, family member, or even a friend or colleague could come on to the mortgage as a guarantor.

It’s usually to help affordability and gives a lender more stability. But it’s not there to fix bad credit. If someone’s got adverse credit like a default, and mum had really clean credit, the lender would still take the worst credit into account. So it’s less about credit score and more about income and affordability.

How does a guarantor mortgage work? What are the types of guarantor mortgage?

Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor is the most common type of guarantor mortgage. You do get a lot of family-backed mortgages or savings-backed or equity-backed guarantees. There’s no single name for these, and they are not as common as Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor.

As an example, perhaps the son didn’t have the 5% deposit required. Some lenders would instead put a charge on mum’s property. Mum might own a house unencumbered or with lots of equity because she’s been paying her mortgage off for years.

It reduces the potential risk in a lender’s mind. Essentially, instead of the son having 5% or no deposit, there’s now a 20% deposit on his mortgage [information correct at the time of recording in November 2025].

Will I be able to borrow more with a guarantor mortgage? How much of a mortgage can I get with a guarantor?

It depends how you set it up, but it almost always increases the amount you can borrow. If it’s a mum and son, they will use mum’s income as well as the son’s.

Importantly, they’ll also use mum’s expenditure. So if mum’s got a £400,000 mortgage and credit cards, loans and other outgoings, there may be a net negative effect where you end up borrowing less.

But usually, if a client is falling short on affordability, we’ll discuss the option of Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor. We’ll always look at the guarantor’s income and cross reference that against the expenditure. It typically works out for the better.

Can you get a 100% mortgage with a guarantor?

Yes – with those family-backed, family-assisted, equity-backed schemes, that’s definitely available. They’re not commonplace, but are becoming more popular.

If it’s a mum and son, the son doesn’t need a deposit to put down, but technically there is a deposit that comes out of mum’s property. A few clients are going for that option these days.

Do guarantor mortgages have higher interest rates?

The high street doesn’t dual price. You’ll have a standard rate, whatever the scenario is. Other lenders may have dual pricing, with a standard rate and a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor rate.

So Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor can work out more expensive if you have to go to a different lender as opposed to the high street. The usual reason for doing that is for flexibility around the age of the oldest borrower.

Who is a guarantor mortgage suitable for? How do you qualify for a guarantor mortgage?

Both Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgages and the equity-led, family assisted mortgages are for people who are struggling with affordability.

They could be early in their career. They could be renting and want to get onto the ladder faster. It’s usually for first-time buyers, but isn’t restricted to them. It can be used in a scenario where one partner loses their job but they really want to move to a bigger property. Perhaps they’ve got a new child on the way. One of the parents assists them to bridge the gap on affordability.

But Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor is not designed to assist with credit. If someone has bad credit, you wouldn’t bring someone on with good credit to assist.

The whole premise is that people’s incomes are lower in the early stages of their life and career. Mum, dad or a friend assists them on a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage, and in a couple of years, we take them off.

The mortgage ends up solely in your name, once income’s improved or the loan has reduced.