Understand what needs checking before you apply
Check your credit history and deposit together
Having no deposit and a difficult credit history can restrict your mortgage options together. Before viewing homes or making another application, find out whether there is a realistic route for your circumstances — or what you need to prepare first.
Free initial consultation by phone or online. Further advice fees depend on the case.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Is a no-deposit mortgage realistic with bad credit?
Do not assume that a suitable mortgage is available. A product accepting no buyer deposit may still have credit rules you cannot meet. Equally, a lender considering your credit history may require a deposit you do not yet have.
A family member’s help, regular rent payments or an affordable monthly budget does not cancel out the other checks. An adviser needs to consider the deposit source, credit events, income and proposed property together.
This guide focuses on that combination. For the wider product differences, use our no-deposit mortgage guide. If you already have a deposit and are buying your first home, see first-time buyer advice with bad credit.
What does your credit history actually show?
“Bad credit” is too broad to assess on its own. A thin credit file, an old settled default, a recent missed payment and an active insolvency arrangement are different situations. A headline credit score does not give an adviser the full picture.
- The event: which account or obligation was involved, and what happened?
- The dates: when did it happen, and have there been further problems?
- The amounts and status: what remains outstanding, and what is settled or satisfied?
- Your finances now: can you meet existing payments and build a sustainable ownership budget?
Check your free statutory credit reports and query factual errors with the agency or creditor. Correcting an error and removing accurate history are different things. MoneyHelper explains the free report and correction routes.
There is no universal mortgage credit-score pass mark. Nor can we promise that a particular event becomes acceptable after a set waiting period. Use our bad credit mortgage advice page for guidance matched to the type of issue.
Which deposit route needs investigating?
A 100% renter mortgage
Rent evidence is only one requirement. For example, Skipton’s published Track Record criteria require applicants to have kept up credit payments over the last six months. The product is unavailable in Northern Ireland.
That is one lender’s condition, not a general approval rule. Meeting it does not establish that other credit events are acceptable.
Check Skipton’s current criteria and our Track Record guide.
A family gift
An accepted gift could address the missing deposit. It would not remove adverse credit or make the mortgage affordable by itself.
If repayment is expected, disclose it as borrowing rather than describing it as a gift. The lender and conveyancer need to accept the donor, source and evidence.
Read our gifted deposit guide before agreeing the arrangement.
A helper’s savings or property
Extra security is not a way to bypass credit checks. The lender must accept the buyer and the proposed arrangement. Depending on its terms, a helper’s money or property could be at risk.
Adding someone’s income also does not automatically provide a deposit.
See our guarantor mortgage guide for the obligations to discuss.
These are routes to investigate, not recommendations or confirmation that Count Ready can access a named product. Availability and our advice scope must be checked for your case.
Could a homeownership scheme help?
Scheme eligibility and mortgage eligibility are separate decisions. A smaller borrowing requirement does not guarantee acceptance of your credit history.
England: shared ownership
You buy a share and pay rent on the rest. A deposit is normally needed on the share, with rent and service charges included in the budget. Both provider and lender requirements matter.
Check GOV.UK’s shared ownership guidance and our shared ownership and bad-credit guide.
England: Rent to Buy
This offers reduced rent to help eligible tenants save; it is not an immediate no-deposit mortgage. You need to be able to pay the rent and save, and the landlord may check your credit history. London has a separate arrangement.
Do not assume rent payments become a deposit. Read the scheme overview and eligibility requirements.
Help to Buy: England and Wales differ
England’s Help to Buy equity-loan scheme no longer accepts applications. Help to Buy – Wales remains a separate scheme, requiring a 5% deposit and a repayment mortgage. Its published application deadline is 31 March 2027.
It is not a no-deposit or guaranteed bad-credit route. Check all scheme and lender requirements before reserving a home.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
England’s rules must not be carried across. Consult Scotland’s LIFT shared equity information or Northern Ireland’s Co-Ownership guidance for the relevant arrangement.
Ask about current availability, the buyer’s contribution, affordability assessment and treatment of credit issues. Neither name establishes your eligibility.
What should you do before applying?
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Work out what you can contribute
Separate the property deposit from legal fees, surveys, moving expenses and any tax due. Even a 100% product does not automatically cover these costs or a valuation shortfall. Our first-time buyer property tax guide explains the UK differences.
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Prepare a short, factual summary
Note the credit events, current debts, income type, rent history, savings or proposed help, and where you want to buy. For joint applications, include both applicants. If self-employed, explain how your income can be evidenced.
Use the existing mortgage document checklist; agree a secure route before sending records.
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Review the case before a credit search
If you were declined, establish the lender, stage and feedback first. Ask whether any proposed search is soft or hard. Repeating applications without understanding the obstacle can create further problems.
An agreement in principle is provisional. Our bad-credit AIP guide explains the next checks.
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Agree a practical next step
This might be investigating an accepted gift, setting a deposit target, correcting records or waiting while your finances stabilise. A review date is not an approval date. Avoid taking new credit solely to improve a score or borrowing a deposit without discussing the consequences.
How Count Ready can help — and what it costs
We can discuss both barriers together and explain what needs checking before an application. If a suitable mortgage route is available within our advice scope, we can help you prepare the case. Sometimes the useful outcome is a clearer preparation plan rather than an immediate application.
The first consultation is free. Fees for further work vary with the case and will be agreed before chargeable work begins. If a processing fee applies, it is separate from the offer fee; it is not charged in every case. We may also receive lender commission. Request your fees, payment stages and refund terms in writing and read our Terms of Business.
A broker cannot erase accurate credit history, override a lender or promise approval. We do not claim access to every lender or guarantee a no-deposit product.
No deposit and bad credit: common questions
Can I get a 100% mortgage after a recent missed payment?
Do not assume so. A rental-history product can still require up-to-date credit payments. Check the specific lender and product against the event and its date before applying; good rent evidence alone is not enough.
Does a gifted deposit make me eligible despite bad credit?
A lender-approved gift can provide a deposit, but your credit history, affordability and the property still need to be acceptable. Tell the adviser if any repayment is expected; a repayable contribution must not be presented as a gift.
Can my partner apply alone if my credit history is poor?
Possibly, but the arrangement must reflect the actual purchase, income, deposit and occupancy. Their income may need to support the borrowing without yours. Disclose your involvement and any financial association; taking your name off an application is not a guaranteed solution.
Should I take a loan to pay the deposit?
Do not borrow on the assumption that it will solve the mortgage problem. The lender must accept the deposit source, and repayments add to your commitments. Discuss the position before taking on debt, and never conceal a borrowed deposit.
What should I do if a no-deposit application has been declined?
Find out which lender or provider made the decision, at which stage, and what feedback is available. Review the facts before another application. A different lender, a family contribution or an agreement in principle cannot guarantee an offer.
How long should I wait before trying again?
There is no universal waiting period. The answer depends on the credit event, your current finances, deposit position and available criteria. Ask what needs to change and agree a review point, without treating it as a promised approval date.
Find out what needs checking in your case
You can enquire while saving or researching. Tell us your intended country, whether any deposit help is possible and the broad type of credit issue. You do not need to have found a property.
Information checked 29 September 2026. General UK guidance, not a personal mortgage recommendation, legal advice or debt advice. Product and scheme rules can change; check the linked official sources before acting.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.