Contractor Mortgages
If you’re paid by day rate, work on fixed-term contracts, through an umbrella company or under CIS, the way a mortgage lender assesses your income can make a big difference to your borrowing options.
We’ll look at how you’re paid, your contract history and your current circumstances, then compare lenders from across the market to find suitable mortgage options.
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Can I Get a Mortgage as a Contractor?
Yes. Being a contractor doesn’t mean you need a special type of mortgage or that you’ll automatically pay a higher interest rate.
The important part is how a lender decides to assess your income.
Two contractors earning similar amounts can receive very different affordability results depending on how they’re paid and which lender they approach. One lender might use your payslips or accounts, while another may be able to calculate an annual income from your current contract or day rate.
We can help if you’re:
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paid a daily or weekly contract rate
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working on a fixed-term or renewable contract
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paid through an umbrella company
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working under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)
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employed through an agency
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working on a zero-hours contract
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contracting through your own limited company
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new to contracting or have gaps between contracts.
We’ll look at your actual working arrangement before deciding which lenders are likely to suit you. That can be particularly important where your accounts, tax returns or payslips don’t give a fair picture of what you currently earn.
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Three Simple Steps to Securing Your Mortgage as a Contractor
Getting a mortgage as a contractor doesn’t need to be complicated. The key is understanding how your income is structured and matching you with lenders whose criteria suit the way you work.
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Get Your Agreement in Principle
Once we’ve identified a suitable mortgage lender, we can arrange an Agreement in Principle so you know where you stand before making an offer.
When you’re ready to proceed, we’ll manage your mortgage application and underwriting through to offer.
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We Research Your Mortgage Options
We’ll compare mortgages from across the market, looking closely at each lender’s criteria for contractors and how they calculate your income.
We can then explain how much you may be able to borrow and which options are suitable for your circumstances.
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Tell Us How You Work
We’ll talk through your current contract, how you’re paid, your work history, and what you’re looking to borrow. This helps us understand how different mortgage lenders are likely to assess your income.
How Different Contractors Are Assessed for a Mortgage
There isn’t a separate type of mortgage specifically for contractors. You’ll generally have access to the same mortgage products as other borrowers, but lenders can differ considerably in how they assess your income.
How you’re paid, the type of contract you have, and your work history can therefore affect which lenders are suitable and how much you may be able to borrow.
If you’re paid a daily or hourly rate, some lenders may be able to use your contract rate to calculate an annual income rather than relying solely on accounts or tax returns.
The calculation and eligibility rules vary between lenders, so your contract history and the details of your current contract can be important.
Being on a fixed-term contract doesn’t automatically prevent you from getting a mortgage. Lenders may look at how long you’ve been working in your field, your previous contracts and how much time remains on your current agreement.
This is an area where criteria can differ significantly between lenders.
An umbrella company is an organisation that employs you and pays you through PAYE while you carry out work for an end client, usually through a recruitment agency. The umbrella company normally receives payment for your work, deducts tax, National Insurance and any agreed fees, then pays you a salary.
If you’re paid through an umbrella company, lenders may assess your income differently depending on how your payslip is structured and how your assignment or contract is arranged.
Some lenders are comfortable using contractor income paid through an umbrella company, while others apply different calculations or require a particular employment or contracting history.
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a tax scheme used in the construction industry. If you work as a subcontractor, the contractor you work for will usually deduct tax from your payments before paying you and pass this to HMRC.
You might work under CIS as a builder, electrician, plumber, carpenter or in another construction trade. Although tax is deducted before you’re paid, you’re not necessarily treated as an employee and may still be classed as self-employed.
When applying for a mortgage, some lenders can assess CIS income differently from standard self-employed income. Rather than relying only on your latest tax calculations or accounts, they may be able to look at your recent CIS earnings or payment statements.
This can be particularly helpful if your current earnings are higher than the income shown on an older tax return. Lender criteria and the way CIS income is calculated vary, so we’ll check which approach is most suitable for your circumstances.
If you use your own limited company primarily as a vehicle for your contracting work, some lenders may be able to assess you using the value of your contract rather than simply looking at salary and dividends.
This is different from a limited company director running a wider trading business, where the lender is more likely to assess company accounts and self-employed income.
These arrangements aren’t necessarily contractor roles, but they can present similar challenges when applying for a mortgage.
Lenders may consider your recent earnings, length of employment and income history rather than requiring a conventional permanent salary. We can check which lenders are comfortable with the way your income is structured before you apply.
How Mortgage Lenders Assess Contractor Income
One of the biggest differences when applying for a mortgage as a contractor is the way lenders calculate your income.
Depending on how you work, a lender might use:
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your current contract or day rate
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payslips from an umbrella company or agency
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recent CIS earnings
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your salary and dividends
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your company accounts or tax calculations.
For day-rate contractors, some lenders can calculate an annual income from the value of your contract. Others may prefer to assess the income you have actually received, or treat you as self-employed instead.
This means the same contractor could potentially receive quite different affordability results from different lenders, even though their actual earnings haven’t changed.
We’ll look at how your income is structured first, then identify lenders whose criteria are appropriate for the way you work rather than simply approaching a lender and hoping their calculation fits.
What You May Need for a Mortgage Application
The documents a lender asks for will depend on how you work and how they’re assessing your income. We’ll tell you exactly what’s needed for your application, but it may include:
Proof of ID and Address
Usually a valid passport or driving licence, along with evidence of your current address where required.
Evidence of Your Income
Depending on how you’re paid, this could include payslips, CIS statements, invoices, accounts or tax calculations.
Lenders will commonly ask for recent bank statements to verify your income, regular commitments and general account conduct.
Your Current Contract
If your income is being assessed using your contract or day rate, the lender may want to see your current contract showing details such as your rate, start and end dates and the company you’re working for.
Proof of Deposit
If you’re buying a property, you’ll normally need to show where your deposit is coming from; whether that’s savings, equity from another property or a gift from family.
Mortgage Affordability Calculator
Our borrowing calculator can give you a useful estimate of how much you may be able to borrow based on your income and circumstances.
If you’re a contractor, the final figure can depend on how a lender chooses to assess your income. Some may use your day rate or contract value, while others may look at payslips, CIS earnings, accounts or tax calculations.
Start with the calculator to get an idea of your potential borrowing, then we can look at your circumstances in more detail and check how different lenders may assess your income.
New Contractors and Gaps Between Contracts
You don’t necessarily need years of contracting history to get a mortgage, and a gap between contracts doesn’t automatically prevent you from applying.
Lenders have different rules around how long you’ve been contracting, how much time is left on your current contract and any gaps between previous contracts. They may also consider your experience in the same profession or industry before you became a contractor.
A short break for a holiday, illness or between assignments may be acceptable to some lenders, while others have more specific requirements around contract history and continuity of income.
If you’re new to contracting, approaching the end of a contract or have had gaps between contracts, it’s worth checking with your Delta Mortgages adviser rather than assuming you need to wait before applying for a mortgage.
Mortgages for Contractors – Frequently Asked Questions
Contractor income can be assessed very differently from one mortgage lender to another.
Here are answers to some of the questions we’re most often asked by contractors looking to buy a home or remortgage.
Yes. Being a contractor doesn’t prevent you from getting a mortgage, and you don’t need a special type of mortgage.
The important part is finding a lender that is comfortable with the way you work and assessing your income appropriately. Depending on your circumstances, this could mean looking at your contract or day rate, payslips, CIS earnings, accounts or tax calculations.
Not necessarily. Contractors can access standard mortgage products and you won’t automatically be charged a higher rate simply because you’re a contractor.
The mortgage rates available to you will depend on factors such as your deposit or equity, credit history, loan size, and the lender whose criteria you meet.
Possibly. You don’t always need a long history as a contractor before applying for a mortgage.
Some lenders may consider your previous employment or experience in the same profession or industry, while others have minimum requirements for contracting history.
If you’ve recently moved from permanent employment into contracting, it’s worth speaking to us before assuming you need to wait.
Yes. Some mortgage lenders can use your day rate and contract details when assessing your income.
Exactly how they calculate this varies between lenders, and they may also consider your contracting history, current contract and the amount of time remaining on it.
This is one of the areas where lender choice can make a significant difference to the amount you may be able to borrow.
A gap between contracts doesn’t necessarily stop you getting a mortgage.
Lenders may look at how long the gap was, why it occurred, your previous contracting history, and whether you have returned to work on another contract.
Short breaks between assignments can be quite normal for contractors, so we’ll look at the circumstances rather than simply treating any gap as a problem.
The amount you can borrow will depend on your income, existing commitments, deposit, mortgage term and the lender’s affordability assessment.
For contractors, there is another important factor: different lenders may calculate your income in different ways. One may use your current contract or day rate, while another may rely on income you have already received.
Our Mortgage Borrowing Calculator can give you a useful starting point, and we can then check how lenders are likely to assess your particular income.
Potentially, yes. Mortgages requiring a 5% deposit are available, subject to lender criteria and product availability.
Being a contractor doesn’t automatically mean you need a larger deposit. Your options will also depend on factors such as affordability, credit history, property type and the lender’s criteria for your income.
A larger deposit can give you access to a wider range of mortgage options, but we can check what is available based on the deposit you actually have.
Yes. A number of mortgage lenders can consider applicants who are paid through an umbrella company.
The way your income is assessed can vary. A lender may look at your contract, day rate, payslips and contracting history, and some have specific criteria for umbrella company workers.
We’ll check how your income is structured before deciding which lenders are appropriate.
Yes. If you work under the Construction Industry Scheme, some lenders can use your recent CIS earnings when assessing your mortgage affordability.
This can be useful where your current earnings are different from the income shown on your latest tax return.
The evidence required and the way your income is calculated varies between lenders, so we’ll establish how you’re paid before recommending where to apply.
Yes. A fixed-term contract doesn’t automatically prevent you from getting a mortgage.
Lenders may consider how long you’ve worked on fixed-term contracts, the time remaining on your current contract, whether it is likely to be renewed, and your previous experience in the same line of work.
Criteria vary, so even if one lender won’t accept your current contract position, that doesn’t necessarily mean another lender will take the same view.
Yes, potentially. A zero-hours contract does not automatically prevent you from getting a mortgage.
Rather than relying on a fixed annual salary, lenders may look at the income you have actually received over a period of time and whether your earnings have been reasonably consistent.
They may also consider how long you’ve been working under the arrangement, your overall employment history, and whether the income is likely to continue.
Criteria vary between lenders, so if your hours or earnings change from month to month, we can check which lenders are likely to assess your income most favourably.
Ready to Discuss Your Mortgage Options?
Whether you’re paid by day rate, through an umbrella company, under CIS or on another type of contract, we’ll take the time to understand your circumstances and explain your mortgage options clearly.
Your initial consultation is free and there’s no obligation to proceed.
Meet the Team That’s Got Your Back
You’ll deal with a named mortgage adviser who will take the time to understand how you work, how you’re paid and what you’re looking to achieve.
We’ll research suitable lenders, explain your options clearly and manage the application from Agreement in Principle through to mortgage offer, keeping you updated along the way.
If your income is more complex, we’ll also help make sure it’s presented to the lender in the right way from the outset.
Your property could be at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage, or any debt secured on it.
Written and reviewed by: Lauren Drake
Credentials: Mortgage, Protection & Equity Release Adviser – CertCII (MP & ER)
Date last reviewed: 29 September 2026
This page has been reviewed for accuracy and relevance. Mortgage criteria, product availability and legislation can change.
