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A mortgage with an IVA, during it or after it

Some lenders will consider an application while an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is still running; most want to see it completed first. Which applies to you depends on the lender, how the arrangement has been conducted, and how long ago it finished.

Read the six-month pre-application guide

How an IVA affects a mortgage application, before and after it ends

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a formal agreement between you and your creditors, arranged through an insolvency practitioner, to repay debts over a set period, usually five to six years. It sits on your credit file for the length of the arrangement and for a period afterwards, and it tells a lender something specific: that you reached a point where you couldn't manage your debts on the terms originally agreed, and a court-recognised process stepped in to restructure them.

That record matters to a lender in two separate ways, depending on where you are in the process. Whether the IVA is still running or has completed changes what a lender is prepared to consider, and by how much.

Can you get a mortgage while an IVA is still active?

Most mainstream banks will decline an application while an IVA is running. A specialist lender may still consider it, but the conditions tend to be tighter: a larger deposit relative to the property's value (loan-to-value ratio, or LTV), and close attention to whether every payment into the IVA has been made on time and in full. Missed or late IVA payments during the arrangement itself are treated more seriously than most other adverse credit, because they suggest the current repayment plan isn't being kept to.

What changes once the IVA completes?

Once the arrangement finishes and is marked as satisfied on your credit file, the range of specialist lenders willing to look at your application widens. The date of completion is fixed and can't be changed, but how long ago it happened is one of the strongest factors in how a lender views the application. An IVA that completed several years ago is read very differently to one that completed a few months ago, even though both show as satisfied.

What a lender actually looks at

  • When the IVA started and when it completed
  • Whether every scheduled payment was made on time throughout its term
  • How your credit file looks in the period since completion, particularly whether new credit has been managed without further issues
  • The deposit or equity you can bring to the mortgage, which often needs to be higher than for someone with a clean credit file

None of these factors work in isolation. A lender weighs them together during underwriting, the process of assessing an application against its own lending criteria, and different lenders draw the line in different places.

A hypothetical example

Take a hypothetical example: someone whose IVA completed two years ago, with every payment made on schedule and no missed payments on any credit since. A specialist lender assessing that file is looking at a completed, satisfied arrangement with a clean conduct record since, which is a different proposition to an IVA that completed last month. Neither outcome is guaranteed. The lender decides, based on its own criteria at the time of application.

If you're currently struggling to keep up with IVA payments

If you're finding it hard to meet the payments in your existing IVA, that's a debt advice issue to deal with first. StepChange, National Debtline, and Citizens Advice all offer free guidance on IVAs and can help you work out what to do next.

To see how an IVA compares with other forms of adverse credit, or to check where you stand more generally, the eligibility tool walks through the main questions a lender would ask. The six-month pre-application guide covers what's worth doing with your credit file in the run-up to applying, and the specialist lender directory lists firms by the criteria they publish.

How it plays out

How a lender works through an IVA application

An IVA doesn't get assessed as one fixed fact. A lender works through it in stages, starting with whether the arrangement is still running, then moving on to conduct, time elapsed, and what else is on the credit file. Where you sit at each stage changes what's realistically open to you.

  1. Is the IVA still active, or has it completed?

    This is the first thing a lender establishes, because it decides which part of the market is even worth approaching. An active IVA and a completed one are treated very differently, so it's worth being clear on your own status before you start looking at products.

    Your IVA supervisor's records will confirm the exact completion date if you're not sure.

    Still active

    Monthly payments to creditors are ongoing under the arrangement.

    Completed

    Payments have finished and the arrangement has been formally closed.

  2. During an active IVA, who will consider you at all

    Most mainstream lenders won't take an application while an IVA is running. A small number of specialist lenders will look at it, but they typically want to see the IVA supervisor's permission before they'll progress the application, since you're still under a formal arrangement with your creditors.

  3. After completion, how long since discharge matters

    Once the IVA has closed, the clock that matters most is time since completion. Lenders use that gap to judge how settled your finances have been since the arrangement ended.

    Under three years since completion

    The pool of specialist lenders willing to consider you is narrower, and terms tend to be more cautious.

    Three years or more since completion

    More specialist lenders will look at the application, though it still sits outside standard high-street criteria.

  4. What the lender checks on the credit file since the IVA closed

    The lender reads your credit file for what has happened since discharge. A file that shows no new defaults, no missed payments and steady credit conduct since completion carries more weight than the IVA alone would suggest.

    This is the part that's within your control, unlike the IVA's start date or how long it ran.

  5. Deposit and affordability alongside the credit history

    None of the above is assessed in isolation. A lender also weighs your deposit, expressed as the loan-to-value ratio (LTV), and your current income against outgoings. A larger deposit or a comfortable affordability margin can offset some of the caution an IVA brings, though it doesn't remove the underlying assessment.

Which lenders will consider an IVA at any given stage, and on what terms, is a decision each lender makes on its own criteria. This sets out the sequence they generally work through, not a guarantee of the result.

Common questions about mortgages and IVAs

Can you get a mortgage while you're still in an IVA?

Some specialist lenders will look at an application while an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is still active, though most mainstream lenders won't consider it at all. Where a lender is willing to look, they'll want to see how the arrangement has been conducted so far, meaning your payment record within it, and will normally ask for written confirmation from the insolvency practitioner running it. The /mortgage-lenders.html directory sets out which lenders work with adverse credit more broadly, though whether any one of them will consider an active IVA depends on their own criteria at the time you ask.

Does it matter whether the IVA is still active or has been completed?

It's one of the biggest factors a lender will look at. A completed and satisfied IVA reads very differently to a lender. The number of lenders prepared to consider an active IVA is smaller than the number willing to look at one that's finished, so the stage you're at changes which doors are open.

Do you need your insolvency practitioner's permission to apply?

If the IVA is still active, most arrangements require written consent from the insolvency practitioner (IP) before you take on new borrowing, because that condition is usually built into the terms you agreed to. Lenders that do consider active-IVA applications will typically ask to see that consent directly. Once the IVA has been completed, this requirement falls away.

How long does an IVA stay on your credit file?

An IVA stays on your credit file for a set period counted from when it was registered. Someone who completes a shorter IVA than planned doesn't see it drop off their file any earlier as a result. The exact retention period is set by the credit reference agencies, so it's worth checking your own file.

Do lenders treat an IVA differently to bankruptcy?

Lenders generally treat an IVA as a step below bankruptcy in severity, because it reflects an agreement to repay part of what was owed. That doesn't mean it's treated lightly. Specialist lenders assess it on its own terms, looking at how it was conducted, whether it was completed as agreed, and how long ago that happened, in much the same way they'd assess a case covered on the /bankruptcy-mortgage.html page but against different benchmarks.

Does the reason for the IVA affect how lenders view it?

Most lenders focus on how the IVA was conducted and whether it was satisfied. Your payment conduct within the arrangement and your financial position since it ended tend to carry more weight than the original cause. Some underwriters may ask about the circumstances as part of building a fuller picture, but this varies from lender to lender.

What deposit can you expect to need with an IVA in your history?

Lenders working with an IVA history usually ask for a larger deposit than they would from someone with a clean credit file, since a lower loan-to-value ratio (LTV) reduces what they stand to lose if things go wrong. There's no fixed figure that applies across the market: it depends on the individual lender's criteria and how recently the IVA was completed. The /six-month-plan.html guide covers what's worth doing with your finances in the run-up to applying, which can put you in a stronger position regardless of the deposit a given lender asks for.

What if you're still struggling to keep up with payments?

If you're currently unable to meet the IVA payments or other debts alongside it, mortgage guidance isn't the right starting point. StepChange and National Debtline both offer free, independent debt advice and can help you work out whether the arrangement itself needs revisiting before you think any further about a mortgage.

An IVA does not close off a mortgage, but the timing of your application changes what a lender is willing to consider.

Whether you're still inside your IVA or some years past completion, specialist lenders weigh that differently to a high-street bank. The eligibility tool walks through the questions a lender would actually ask.