What credit score do you need to buy a house?

No, you don’t need a specific credit score to buy a home. Whether you fall into one of the four bands (poor, fair, good, excellent), you’re not excluded from buying a mortgage. However, a higher score is always better because it gives you cheaper mortgage rates and better deals.

What is a good credit score?

A good credit score is a sign that you’ve been a responsible borrower and paid back your credit on time, but there’s no single credit score that guarantees you’ll get a mortgage.

The score you see can vary depending on the credit reference agency you use, so to understand more about your credit score, it can help to look at the different score bands and how they are categorised.

Credit score bands

Credit scores are usually grouped into bands such as poor, fair, good and excellent. Think of these as a quick way of showing where your score sits and what it could say about your borrowing habits.

While the exact bands vary between credit reference agencies, they do give you an idea of how your credit history might be viewed.

• Poor or Fair: A poor or fair credit score can suggest you’ve had some difficulties managing credit.

• Good or Excellent: A good or excellent score indicates a stronger track record of managing credit responsibly.

The three main credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, all use different scoring ranges, so there isn’t one universal scoring system in the UK.

While credit scores offer a snapshot of your financial health, they're not the whole picture. Mortgage lenders will look at your wider circumstances when assessing your application.

Can you get a mortgage with a bad credit score?

Yes, it’s possible to get a mortgage with a bad credit score, although you might have fewer options to choose from.

Lenders will want to understand what’s happened with your credit history, whether that’s missed payments, defaults or other financial difficulties. They’ll also look at your current finances and ability to afford a mortgage.

There are lenders who consider applications from people with less-than-perfect credit, although you might pay a higher interest rate or need a bigger deposit.

Can you get a mortgage with no credit history?

If you’ve never borrowed much before, you might not have much of a credit history for a lender to look at. That doesn’t mean you have bad credit by the way, it just means there’s less information on how you’ve managed credit in the past.

The good news is that your credit history isn’t the only thing a lender will look at. Your income, deposit, spending and affordability will all form part of the picture when you apply for a mortgage.

How long after bad credit can you get a mortgage?

There’s no set waiting period after having problems with your credit.

How soon you can get a mortgage will depend on the situation, how long ago it happened and what your finances look like now.

For example, a missed payment or default from a few years ago might be viewed differently from something that happened more recently. If you’ve had a CCJ or another serious credit issue, it can also make a difference whether you’ve paid it off and how long it took.

If your credit score isn’t perfect, don’t assume you have to put your plans to buy a home on hold. You might still have options, so it’s worth speaking to a mortgage adviser to see where you stand and what could be available to you.