NHS Mortgages

NHS Mortgages – What are they?

Mortgages for NHS staff are now largely similar to those available to any other applicant, with the exception that some specialist lenders offer discounts on their standard mortgage products, to those in certain NHS roles.

What is the NHS Key Worker mortgage scheme?

The NHS Key Worker mortgage scheme was a specialist mortgage product available to the National Health Service and other UK key workers. Unfortunately, the scheme ended back in 2019 and there are no similar products that replace it.

What mortgage discounts are available to NHS workers?

Whilst there is no specific ‘NHS Mortgage’ available, there are some lenders who specialise in helping NHS employees.

These lenders often offer discounts on their range of products to clinical NHS staff. However, the offers are rarely available from high street lenders and it’s advisable to speak to Yellow Brick Mortgages who have great experience in helping NHS staff.

Here at Yellow Brick Mortgages if you are employed by the NHS, including the ambulance service within any capacity, we will never charge a fee for our service.

Above all, this is to say thank you for your work within the wider community. This has been in place since our inception.

Am I eligible for an NHS Mortgage discount?

Much like the previous key worker scheme, where mortgage discounts are offered by some lenders, they are ordinarily only offered to those members of NHS staff classed as key workers.

For instance, this is predominantly clinical staff and those in medical, administrative of housekeeping roles are not usually eligible.

Clinical staff within the following trusts can usually obtain such discount offers:

• Mental Healthcare and Social Care Trusts
• NHS Primary Care and other Care Trusts
• The National Blood Transfusion Service
• The Health Protection Agency
• NHS GP Surgeries
• NHS Direct
• Dental practices with NHS status
• NHS Ambulance Trust

How much can NHS staff borrow?

Your role in the NHS will have no bearing on your loan amount, as this is based purely on affordability. Mortgage lenders will calculate your loan amount using your income to debt ratio.

To establish this, they will need to look at all of your incomings and outgoings alongside your credit score.

Those in NHS clinical staff roles on a salary of between £20k and £45k could expect to borrow between £61,608 and £204,579. Above all this is dependent on your grade on the salary scale and your credit score.

Many NHS staff work shift patterns, unsociable hours and have planned and incidental overtime. As a result, payslips could include permanent shift allowances and overtime payments.

Therefore some lenders will take these into account to varying degrees which could further vary the amount individual lenders would deem affordable for you to borrow.

In addition, the NHS often announces planned annual salary increases contractually, which are stated publicly. Some lenders can allow the use of shortly forthcoming pay increases when assessing your affordability.

It is also common for many NHS staff to work additional shifts through the NHS Nursing Bank or through agencies. Therefore depending on length of time this has been in place and consistency to the income, some lenders may also be able to consider within their calculations on borrowing potential.