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Mortgage after bankruptcy: what changes once you're discharged

Discharge date, time since, and how you've managed credit after it all shape a lender's view. This page sets out what specialist lenders actually look at.

Check where you stand with the eligibility tool See the six-month pre-application guide

Can you get a mortgage after bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a legal process with a defined end point

Bankruptcy clears certain debts through the courts and formally ends when you're discharged. Discharge doesn't erase the record of it. What it does is mark the point from which lenders start counting, because almost every specialist lender's policy on bankruptcy is built around time since discharge.

Why the discharge date matters more than the bankruptcy itself

The date you were declared bankrupt is fixed and can't be changed. The date of discharge is also fixed, but it's the one lenders actually work from when deciding whether to consider your application at all, and how many lenders in the market might be open to it. The longer the period since discharge, the wider that pool tends to become, though how wide depends on the lender's own underwriting rules, the internal process a lender uses to decide who it will lend to and on what terms. There's no single cut-off that applies across the market.

What lenders weigh alongside the discharge date

Once discharge has happened, a lender looking at your file isn't just checking a date. They're building a picture of what's happened since, and several things feed into that:

  • Conduct since discharge: missed payments, new defaults, or further borrowing problems after discharge tend to concern a lender more than the bankruptcy itself.
  • Deposit size: a larger deposit reduces the loan-to-value ratio (LTV), the amount you're borrowing measured against the property's value, and a lower LTV can open up lenders who wouldn't otherwise consider the application.
  • Current income and affordability: this is assessed the same way it would be for any applicant, adverse credit or not.
  • What caused the bankruptcy: some lenders distinguish between bankruptcy arising from a single identifiable event and a longer pattern of unmanaged debt, though not all do, and this isn't something you can influence retrospectively.

Of those, the discharge date is fixed and can't be changed. Your conduct since discharge, and the deposit you bring to an application, are the parts you can still work on.

A hypothetical example

Take a hypothetical example: someone discharged from bankruptcy a number of years ago, with no missed payments or new adverse credit since, and a deposit built up through regular saving. On paper, that combination of a settled record and a reasonable deposit tends to widen the range of specialist lenders willing to look at the application, though whether any particular lender agrees to proceed still depends on their own criteria and a full assessment of the applicant's circumstances. It isn't a guarantee, and no two files look the same to an underwriter.

Where to check your own position

The eligibility tool walks through discharge date, time elapsed, and current conduct to give a general sense of where you might stand, though it can't tell you what a specific lender will decide. The six-month pre-application guide covers what's worth doing with your credit file and your finances in the run-up to applying, which matters more for bankruptcy than for most other types of adverse credit because conduct since discharge carries real weight. If you're weighing this up alongside a CCJ, default, or other item on your file, the adverse credit guides cover each one on its own terms, since they're assessed differently.

If you're still struggling to keep up with existing debts, or a fresh bankruptcy is a live possibility, a mortgage isn't the right thing to be thinking about yet. StepChange, National Debtline, and Citizens Advice all offer free debt advice and are a better starting point than any of this.

Check where you stand using the eligibility tool, or explore worked scenario explainers for a sense of how discharge timing plays out in practice.

How it works

What happens between discharge and a mortgage application

Bankruptcy works differently to a CCJ or a default because it isn't tied to one debt. It's a legal status that covers your finances as a whole, and it moves through distinct stages, each of which changes what a lender sees when they look at your file.

  1. Discharge is the date that counts

    A bankruptcy begins with a court order, but lenders work from the date you were discharged, which is when most legal restrictions lift and the Insolvency Service treats the bankruptcy as concluded. Until discharge happens, you're an undischarged bankrupt, and that status rules out a mortgage application with almost every lender, specialist or otherwise.

    Still undischarged

    No lender in the regulated market will consider an application. This isn't a credit-tier question, it's a legal one.

    Discharged

    The clock that lenders actually care about starts running from this date.

  2. Time since discharge shapes how many lenders will look at the file

    The longer it's been since discharge, the wider the range of lenders prepared to consider an application, because the risk a lender is pricing for fades as the record ages. How much time is needed for a particular lender to engage is a matter of that lender's own policy, and policies differ enough that there's no single figure that applies across the market.

    Discharged relatively recently

    Fewer lenders will consider the application, and those that do are almost always specialist lenders.

    Discharged some years ago

    More lenders come into range, including some who wouldn't have looked at the file at an earlier stage.

  3. What the credit file actually shows after discharge

    Debts included in the bankruptcy are written off legally, but the bankruptcy itself stays visible on your credit file for a set period after discharge, and a lender running a check will see it regardless of whether the underlying debts still exist. The record's presence, and the discharge date attached to it, are fixed facts you can't alter. What happens on the file afterwards is a different matter, and that part is within your control.

  4. Conduct since discharge carries real weight

    Lenders read the years after discharge as evidence of how you manage money now, separate from the bankruptcy itself. New credit taken on and repaid without incident, no fresh defaults or county court judgements, and a clean run of rent or existing credit payments all build a picture that works in your favour. A further default or missed payment after discharge tends to concern underwriters more than the bankruptcy record on its own, because it suggests the pattern hasn't changed.

  5. Deposit size and the loan-to-value ratio (LTV)

    The loan-to-value ratio, or LTV, is the size of the mortgage measured against the value of the property. A larger deposit lowers the LTV, and lowering the LTV lowers the lender's exposure if the property had to be sold, which is part of why specialist lenders often ask applicants with a bankruptcy history for a bigger deposit than they'd ask a borrower with a clean file. Exactly how much bigger depends on the individual lender and the rest of the application.

  6. Underwriting: a person reviews the file

    Specialist lenders typically use manual underwriting for applications involving bankruptcy, meaning an underwriter reads the full file. That includes the discharge date, the conduct since, the deposit, the income, and often a short written explanation from the applicant. It's a slow process, and the outcome still rests with that lender's underwriting team.

    Every lender sets its own criteria, and this page describes how the process generally works.

Where a lender sits on all of this, and what it will and won't consider, is down to that lender's own underwriting rules. Nothing here should be read as a guarantee that any particular application will be accepted.

Bankruptcy and mortgages: common questions

How long after bankruptcy can you apply for a mortgage?

There isn't a single figure that applies to everyone, because it depends on how a particular lender treats the date of discharge and what's happened with your finances since. Discharge is the point at which the bankruptcy order ends, set by the Insolvency Service, and that date doesn't move. What varies is how long each lender wants to see between that date and your application, and specialist lenders differ from one another on where they draw that line. The six-month plan guide (/six-month-plan.html) covers what's worth focusing on in the run-up to applying, whenever that point arrives for you.

Does bankruptcy disappear from your credit file once you're discharged?

Discharge ends the bankruptcy order itself, but the record stays on your credit file for a separate period set by the credit reference agencies. A lender running a hard search, meaning a full check that leaves a mark on your file, can still see it during that time even though you're no longer bankrupt in law. Once it drops off, the record is gone from your file, though some mortgage application forms ask directly whether you've ever been made bankrupt, and that question needs an accurate answer regardless of what the file itself shows.

Does the reason behind the bankruptcy affect how lenders see it?

Underwriting, the process of assessing an application and deciding terms, works from what's recorded: the date of the order, whether it's been discharged, and what's happened on your file since. The circumstances that led to it aren't something a credit file captures, and most lenders don't ask you to account for them. What carries more weight is your conduct after discharge, how you've managed repayments, and whether any further adverse credit has appeared.

Can you get a mortgage before you're discharged?

Being undischarged, meaning the bankruptcy order is still open, rules out most mortgage lending. A small number of lenders may consider an application in that position, but this is an exception worth raising directly with a whole-of-market broker. Once discharge happens, a wider range of specialist lenders comes into view.

What deposit do lenders expect after bankruptcy?

Deposit size and loan-to-value ratio, the mortgage amount expressed as a percentage of the property's value, vary by lender and by how recently discharge happened, so no single figure holds across the market. As a general pattern, a more recent discharge tends to mean a lender wants more deposit as reassurance, and that gap narrows the longer your record since discharge runs clean. The specialist lender directory (/mortgage-lenders.html) sets out how different lenders in this space are established and underwritten, which is a useful starting point for seeing the range on offer.

Will every lender treat a discharged bankruptcy the same way?

No. High-street banks generally decline where bankruptcy appears at all, however long ago it was discharged, while specialist lenders build their underwriting specifically around cases like this and look at the fuller picture: time since discharge, whether other adverse credit followed, and how your finances have run since. A decline from one lender says very little about what another will do with the same file.

Do you need to declare a bankruptcy that no longer shows on your credit file?

Some mortgage application forms ask outright whether you've ever been declared bankrupt, and that question isn't limited to what your credit file currently shows. Answering it incorrectly, even where the record itself has expired, can cause problems later if it comes to light, since lenders can check further back than a standard file search reaches. Where a form's wording isn't clear, it's worth checking directly with the lender or broker before you submit it.

What if you still have debts a bankruptcy didn't clear, or you're in new financial difficulty?

If you're currently unable to keep up with existing repayments or day-to-day debts, a mortgage application isn't the right next step until that's sorted out first. StepChange, National Debtline, and Citizens Advice all offer free debt advice and are a better starting point than mortgage guidance in that situation. Once things are stable, the eligibility tool (/tools/eligibility-tool/index.html) can help you work through how a lender is likely to view your history, though it works from the information you give it and can't tell you what a specific lender will decide.

Discharge is a date. What happens next is still up to you.

The tool works through your own timeline and flags what tends to matter at each stage, though it can't tell you what any particular lender will decide once underwriting starts.

Check where you stand with the eligibility tool See what to do in the six months before you apply