90% LTV Mortgages

What is a 90% LTV mortgage?

A 90% LTV mortgage is a mortgage at 90% loan-to-value: a loan of 90% of the lower of the purchase price and the valuation, with the borrower providing a 10% deposit. It sits one pricing tier below 95%, the highest residential loan-to-value on the cases we arrange, and it is available on purchases and remortgages, assessed on income, credit and the property under each lender's 90% criteria. On the cases we arrange there are fewer options at 90% than at lower loan-to-values for interest-only, adverse credit and new-build flats, while adverse credit lending usually stops at 90%, so a 10% deposit gives a wider choice than a 5% deposit. Residential 90% mortgages are regulated under the Financial Conduct Authority's MCOB rules. The permanent 2025 Mortgage Guarantee Scheme covers eligible loans above 90% and up to 95% loan-to-value, so a 90% mortgage sits outside it and is assessed under the lender's ordinary criteria.

In buy to let, 90% loan-to-value is not a standard product. Buy to let maximums vary by lender, property, loan size and the landlord's circumstances, and in Mortgage Lane's experience the ceiling is 85%; our buy to let mortgage guide sets out how buy to let lending is assessed.

90% LTV mortgage rates

Residential pricing is usually tiered by loan-to-value, and 90% is the tier below 95%, usually priced below it and above 85%. The 10% deposit therefore lowers the payment twice: through the smaller balance and through the lower tier. Products at 90% are compared on rate, fee, term and features.

Buying with a 10% deposit, or remortgaging with 10% equity? Get in touch with your income, deposit and the property. At 90%, lender policy on flats, new builds and credit often decides the case.

90% LTV mortgage criteria

At 90% most residential criteria are the lender's standard ones; the differences between lenders show on interest-only, adverse credit and new-build flats. Positions described as our experience are what Mortgage Lane sees on the cases it arranges with the lenders it uses; they are not a market rule, a panel promise or an offer. Named lender rules are taken from that lender's own published criteria on the date shown and can change. Every case is subject to status and lender criteria.

Types of 90% mortgage, and who each is for

90% mortgages for first-time buyers

A first-time buyer with a 10% deposit borrows at the 90% tier, usually priced below 95%. Our gifted deposit mortgages page shows how a family gift can take a purchase from 95% to 90%. In England and Northern Ireland first-time buyer stamp duty relief applies up to £300,000, with no relief on a price above £500,000, with a Lifetime ISA bonus usable towards the deposit, subject to the scheme's conditions. The first-time buyer mortgage guide covers the schemes and structures; where the deposit is 5% rather than 10%, the 95% mortgages page applies.

Get in touch with your income, deposit and the property for a first-time buyer 90% mortgage.

90% mortgages for home movers

Movers with 10% equity from their sale borrow at 90% on the same terms; the equity released forms the deposit, and lenders assess the new loan on income and credit as on any purchase.

Get in touch with your sale equity and the price of the home you are moving to.

90% remortgages

A remortgage at 90% loan-to-value is subject to the lender's valuation and affordability, and lenders differ on whether they remortgage at 95% at all. Borrowers with limited equity at the end of a fixed rate compare a 90% remortgage with a product transfer from the existing lender, which may not need a new income assessment where no extra borrowing is taken.

Get in touch with your fixed-rate end date, balance and estimated value.

90% mortgages on flats and new builds

Lender policy on flats and new builds at 90% varies. On the cases we arrange, new-build flats are possible at 90% but from fewer lenders than at lower loan-to-values, and each lender applies its own rules to new-build houses and flats, for example on developer incentives. The lease, service charge and building position are assessed as on any leasehold flat. See mortgage for a leasehold flat and investing in new builds and conversions.

Get in touch with the lease and developer details for a flat or new build at 90%.

90% mortgages with adverse credit

Some specialist lenders accept adverse credit at 90%, at pricing that reflects the credit position, with the maximum loan-to-value depending on the severity and age of the credit events. How a default's date, size and settled status affect that limit is covered on our mortgages with defaults page, and late payments on our mortgages with missed payments page. On the cases we arrange there are fewer options at 90% than at lower loan-to-values, and adverse credit lending usually stops at 90%, so the 10% deposit opens options that do not exist at 95%. Our declined mortgages page covers the recovery sequence.

Get in touch with your credit report for a 90% mortgage with adverse credit.

90% versus 95%: the tier decision

For a buyer within reach of a 10% deposit, the extra 5% lowers the balance, usually drops the pricing tier and doubles the equity cushion, and on the cases we arrange it opens more options with adverse credit. The arithmetic is worked below.

Get in touch to compare 90% and 95% on your numbers.

90% LTV buy to let: what actually exists

Buy to let mortgages at 90% loan-to-value are not a standard product, and three routes can bring a landlord closer. Buy to let maximums vary by lender: some lenders' buy to let lending stops at 75% or 80%, and in Mortgage Lane's experience the ceiling is 85% on strong rental coverage, the highest-leverage buy to let covered on our 85% LTV mortgages page. Every buy to let loan is capped by rental coverage at the lender's interest coverage ratio under the PRA's SS13/16 framework as well as by loan-to-value. Each route depends on the lender and the case:

• The 85% product with strong rent. At 85% the rental coverage test often limits the loan, so the property, the ownership structure and the product term are chosen to pass it; the worked example shows the rent required.
• Below-market-value purchase. Where the price is below the valuation, mortgage lenders usually lend against the lower of the two, so a discount does not by itself raise the loan. Some lenders use the valuation for a genuine concessionary purchase, such as a family sale, but few buy to let lenders do, and some will not consider a purchase far below market value. Bridging is assessed differently: in Mortgage Lane's experience some bridging lenders can fund up to or above 100% of the price on a genuine discount. Covered on our BMV mortgages page.
• Top slicing and structure. Top slicing applies surplus personal income where the rent narrowly fails coverage, and on the cases we arrange the limited company route is commonly tested at a 125% coverage ratio against 145% for higher-rate personal borrowers. Both are set out in the buy to let mortgage guide.

Get in touch with the property, the rent and the price, and we will tell you which route gets closest to 90%.

How a 90% mortgage is arranged

1. Affordability, credit and property. Income and commitments at the lender's 90% tier; the credit report; the property type against lender policy on flats and new builds; the deposit source evidenced.
2. Agreement in principle. A decision in principle from a lender whose 90% policy fits the buyer and the property.
3. Full application and valuation. Income, deposit and identity evidence; the lender's valuation, with the loan capped at 90% of the lower of price and value.
4. Offer, exchange and completion. The mortgage offer, legal work, exchange with the 10% deposit, and completion.

The 90% arithmetic

Three comparisons decide whether 90% is the right tier: the payment against 95%, the equity cushion and, for landlords, what the rent has to be.

Step 1. 90% against 95% and 85%

An illustrative £200,000 purchase over a 30-year term, with the illustrative 5.2% rate used across our guides held constant to isolate the balance effect:

Illustrative arithmetic on hypothetical figures; 5.2% is not a product rate. In practice each tier down usually carries a lower rate, which widens the gaps. Not an offer of finance.

Each extra 5% of deposit reduces the payment by about £55 a month on the balance alone, before the tier's lower rate applies.

Step 2. The equity cushion

At 90% a 5% fall in value leaves half the deposit intact and a 10% fall exhausts it; at 95% a 5% fall exhausts it:

The cushion matters at the end of the fixed rate: if values soften, the loan-to-value on a remortgage is higher than it was at purchase, and the remaining equity helps keep a remortgage possible.

Step 3. Buy to let at the top of the ladder

On an 85% buy to let loan of £170,000, the highest buy to let leverage we see, the rent must cover the stressed interest at the lender's ratio:

Illustrative. The coverage ratios (125% and 145%) and the stress rates are the ones we commonly see on the cases we arrange (around 4.5% on five-year fixes and 5.5% on two-year fixes). They are not product terms, a lender's stress rate can differ from the product's pay rate, and lenders' stress rates change.

The same £200,000 property needs about £797 of rent a month on one structure and about £1,130 on another to support an 85% loan, a five-year fix through a limited company against a two-year product for a higher-rate personal borrower. At this leverage the structure and the rent decide the loan before the product search starts, so borrowing close to 90% depends in practice on a stronger rental case, the structure or, occasionally, a genuine discounted purchase, rather than on a 90% product.

What decides the case

The price and the deposit are fixed. The buyer controls the lender (policy on flats, new builds and credit differs between lenders at 90%), the term and, for landlords, the structure and the purchase price relative to value.

Related reading: the first-time buyer mortgage guide, 95% mortgages, 85% LTV mortgages and, for landlords, the buy to let mortgage guide and BMV mortgages.