Lending Rules

Minimum Loan

The minimum amount you can borrow at one of our special introductory rates varies.

Where the stated minimum loan size shown against a product is £75,000, this applies to the total loan. However if more than one product is being taken, the minimum amount available on any one product is £25,001, subject to the total loan being at least £75,000.

For existing Chelsea Building Society borrowers, on products that have a stated minimum loan size of £25,001 or £75,000, the minimum amount available on any one product is £3,000. (This excludes products that offer a cashback or free valuation and is subject to the total loan being at least £75,000).

Maximum Loan

It is possible to borrow up to 90% of the purchase price of your home,  therefore you will need to pay a deposit of at least 10%.

The upper amount we will lend is governed by the size of the loan in relation to the value of the property (LTV).

Please note:

• The maximum LTV for mortgages on new build flats/apartments is restricted to 85%
• The maximum LTV for mortgages on all other flats/apartments is 90%
• We are unable to lend on ex-local authority flats/apartments
• The maximum LTV for mortgages on new build houses is 85%
• Applications with a loan size over £500,000 will be subject to additional lending rules, which may impact the maximum borrowing that can be offered

Loan To Value or LTV

The LTV is the amount you borrow on a mortgage as a percentage of the purchase price of the property or the valuation amount, which ever is the lower of the two.

The amount you can borrow is determined by your income and by also taking into account any existing financial commitments you have to ensure your mortgage payments will be affordable.

The income we take into consideration includes your basic salary together with a proportion of other sources of income, such as overtime payments and bonuses. Financial commitments include maintenance payments, hire purchase and other loan payments, outstanding credit card balances and certain other significant regular costs such as nursery and school fees.

To get an indication of how much you might be able can borrow try our Borrowing Calculator or contact one of our branches.

Chelsea Building Society credit scores all applications. In all cases we will need to obtain the following:

• An application form and direct debit mandate, completed and signed.
• If the loan is (employed applicants only):
  • More than 75% of your property (LTV), one from the latest two payslips plus 2 of the previous 5 payslips together with the bank statements that shows the salary credit from the latest payslip provided.
  • Less than 75% of your property, one from the latest 2 payslips together with the bank statement that shows the salary credit from the payslip provided.
• Valuation of your property
• Proof of identity and residence. We accept any of the following documents:

  Proof of ID

  • Current signed passport
  • Current EU or UK (full/provisional) photocard driving licence or full UK Driving Licence (old style).
  • Residence permit issued by Home Office to EU National on sight of own Country passport
  • EU member state ID card
  • Armed Forces ID Card
  • HM Revenue & Customs Tax Notification
  • Benefit Book or original notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming right to benefits
  • For applicants self employed in the construction industry - photographic registration cards (C1S4)
  • Signed Employers photo ID Card
  • Firearms Certificate

  Proof of Residency

  • Presence on the Electoral Roll / Bureau Data
  • Utility Bills (i.e. Gas / Electricity)
  • Bank Statement
  • Building Society Statement
  • Credit Card Statement
  • Inland Revenue Documentation 

  Self Employed/ Partnership/ Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

  • Latest full month's personal bank statement
  • Latest full month's business bank statement

  In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income. If your accountant is not on our list of recognised accountants (see list below) or you do not have an accountant, we require your latest 3 years SA302s.

  Limited Company Directors with more than 25% shareholding or less than 25% where your income is derived from dividends

  • Latest full month's personal bank statement
  • Latest full month's business bank statement

  In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income. If your accountant is not on our list of recognised accountants (see list below) or you do not have an accountant, we require your latest 3 years SA302s.

  Salaried Directors with less than 25% shareholding

  Salaried directors with less than 25% shareholding are treated for income purposes as employed applicants and the same evidence of income is required as detailed against employed applicants.

  Salaried Directors with more than 25% shareholding

  • Latest full month's personal bank statement

  In addition to this we will write to your accountant for confirmation of your income.

Something to bear in mind: We'll always take into consideration the net profit for the last trading year or the average for the last 3 years, whichever is lower. If the business has been set up for less than 3 years, details from the last 2 years together with a projection for the current year will be used.

List of recognised accountants

• Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA/ACA)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA/FCCA)
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA)
• Institute of Company Accountants (ASCA/FSCA)
• Association of Authorised Public Accountants (FAPA/AAPA)
• Association of International Accountants (AIA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (FCAS/ACAS)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

When you take out a mortgage, you agree to repay all of the money that you owe under that mortgage. If you fall behind significantly with your mortgage payments, although we will work with you to help you manage your circumstances and arrears, ultimately we may have to repossess your property and sell it.

Following repossession, when the property is sold it may not achieve a sufficient amount to cover your outstanding mortgage, resulting in a shortfall.

Where we are lending a high proportion of the purchase price or valuation (whichever is the lower), referred to as the Loan to Value (LTV) there is a greater risk of a shortfall and therefore loans like this represent a bigger risk to us. In order to reduce the increased risk to us of these higher LTV loans we may ask you to pay a Higher Lending Charge (HLC). Please note however that even if you pay an HLC you would still remain responsible for repaying all the money you owe under the mortgage including any shortfall.

Do I need to pay an HLC?

If your loan is above 90% LTV the amount of HLC payable by you will be detailed in your Key Facts Illustration.

However, as our maximum LTV varies, we may not currently lend or have certain products available, at or above 90% LTV, therefore please contact us for confirmation of our current LTV limits.

The maximum age limit for a mortgage is dependant on your personal circumstances. Please call us on 0345 1200 842 and we can discuss this with you.