How much house can you afford?
An indicative ceiling on what you could borrow and the property price it puts within reach, from your income and deposit.
You & your deposit
The catch
Most lenders cap borrowing around 4.5× income, but they also run their own affordability and stress tests on your outgoings — so treat this as a ceiling, not a promise. See the mortgage calculator for the exact repayment on a given loan.
How lenders size a mortgage in practice
The working rule is loan-to-income: most lenders cap borrowing around 4.5 times gross income, so a £35,000 salary supports roughly £157,500 of loan, and with a £30,000 deposit that's a £187,500 ceiling, the figure the defaults above produce. Regulators limit how much lending banks can do above that multiple, which is why the cap feels so uniform across the market. Two incomes both count in full, which is the single biggest lever most buyers have.
The ceiling is where negotiations start going down
After the multiple comes affordability testing: lenders stress your payments at rates above the one you'll pay and comb through committed spending, childcare, car finance, loan repayments, even subscriptions. Each monthly commitment quietly shrinks the offer, and a car payment of £300 a month can cost tens of thousands in mortgage capacity. Cleaning up commitments six months before applying is dull advice that genuinely moves the number. Loan-to-value matters too: a bigger deposit doesn't only add to the budget, it unlocks cheaper rate bands at 90%, 85% and below.
Borrowing capacity is a budget, and budgets have two ends
What a lender will advance and what you can comfortably repay are different questions, especially past the end of a fixed deal. Check the actual monthly cost of any target loan with the mortgage calculator at today's rate and again a point higher, then price the purchase itself, tax and fees included, with the cost of buying calculator. The house you can afford is the one that survives both.
Common questions
How much can I borrow for a mortgage?
Most lenders cap borrowing at around 4 to 4.5 times your income, and some go to 5 or 5.5× for higher earners or specific schemes. This calculator applies a multiple you choose to your income and adds your deposit to show the property price it puts within reach.
Is the income multiple the only thing lenders check?
No. On top of the income multiple, lenders run an affordability assessment on your actual outgoings — credit commitments, childcare, other loans — and stress-test the payment against a higher rate. So the income-multiple figure is a ceiling, not a guarantee of what you’ll be offered.
Does a bigger deposit let me buy a more expensive house?
Yes. Your maximum borrowing is set mainly by income, but the deposit adds on top of it pound for pound, and a lower loan-to-value often unlocks cheaper mortgage rates too.
These results are estimates for general information only and are not financial advice. Property decisions have real consequences — check every figure and take appropriate professional advice before acting. Read the full disclaimer.