Remortgaging jointly when your partner has bad credit is often possible, but it is not guaranteed. On a joint application a lender checks both credit files and assesses you as a pair, so a CCJ, default or IVA on your partner’s file can narrow the lenders who may consider you, even if your own record is clean. How much it matters depends on the type and age of the problem, whether it has been settled, your equity and your combined income.
This page explains how lenders look at a joint application, the options when one of you has adverse credit and what taking a partner off the mortgage involves. If your partner is in an IVA, our page on an IVA with a joint mortgage covers the extra points, and our guide to financial associations explains how your credit files are linked.
On this page
In short
- On a joint application, lenders check both credit files, and the weaker record often shapes the options.
- Your partner’s entries are not copied onto your file, but a joint mortgage or account creates a financial association.
- A sole-name remortgage usually means a transfer of equity and passing affordability on one income.
- On a joint mortgage you are usually each responsible for the whole debt, so think carefully before adding a partner’s debts.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Borrowing over a longer term can mean paying back more in total.
Do lenders check both credit files on a joint remortgage?
Yes. When two people apply together, the lender runs a credit search on each of you and looks at the application as a whole. There is no single joint credit score. Each lender applies its own scoring to both reports and then its own criteria, so the same pair of files can be viewed differently from one lender to the next.
In practice, the weaker record often shapes the options. A clean file for one of you rarely cancels out the other’s entries, but it can strengthen the overall picture, alongside a good mortgage payment record, equity and affordable joint income.
Their defaults or CCJs stay on their own report. What appears on yours is a financial association, a link created by a joint mortgage, joint account or joint loan, which lets a lender look at their file when assessing you. Our guide to financial associations explains how links are made and removed.
Which credit problems on a partner’s file matter most?
The type and age of the entry usually matter far more than whose name it is in. Lenders tend to ask the same questions they would about your own file.
| Entry on your partner’s file | What a lender may want to know | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Missed payments | How recent they are, which accounts they were on and whether payments are now up to date | Partner has missed payments |
| Defaults | The default date, the amount and whether it has been settled | Partner has defaults |
| County court judgments | The judgment date, the amount and whether it is satisfied | Partner has a CCJ |
| Debt management plan | Whether it is active or completed, and the monthly payment | Remortgage with a DMP |
| IVA or trust deed | The start date, whether it has completed and any terms about the home | IVA with a joint mortgage |
| Bankruptcy or sequestration | The date, whether it is discharged and what happened to their share of the home | Partner was bankrupt |
A general guide, not lender rules. Most negative entries stay on a credit file for 6 years, and each lender sets its own criteria.
Payments matter as well as records. Instalments to a DMP, an IVA or an unpaid CCJ are usually treated as a monthly commitment, which reduces the amount a lender may consider affordable for you both.
Can you remortgage in your sole name instead?
Sometimes. If you own the home together, lenders usually need everyone on the legal title to be part of the mortgage, so a sole-name remortgage normally goes hand in hand with a transfer of equity that takes your partner off the title. That changes who owns the home, so it is a much bigger step than a change of paperwork.
What usually needs to be in place
- You can afford the mortgage on your income alone, including under the lender’s stress test.
- Your partner agrees to come off the mortgage and the title, ideally after independent legal advice.
- Your current lender agrees to release your partner, or a new lender takes the mortgage on.
- A solicitor or conveyancer handles the transfer and registers the change of ownership.
If your partner is in an IVA or bankruptcy, their share of the home may matter to their supervisor or trustee, so check before anything changes. Our page on removing a partner from a mortgage goes through the process in more detail.
What are the options if you want to keep the mortgage joint?
Many couples would rather stay joint owners, and there are several routes worth comparing before either of you comes off the mortgage.
- A new deal with your current lender. If you are not borrowing more or changing who is on the mortgage, your lender can switch you without a full affordability assessment. See product transfer with bad credit.
- A remortgage to a lender that works with adverse credit. Some lenders consider joint applications where one person has a history of problems, often with lower LTV limits and rates that are higher than the high street.
- Waiting for entries to age. Negative information tends to carry less weight as it gets older and drops off after 6 years. Our credit file date calculator shows when an entry should disappear.
- Tidying up both files first. Correcting errors, settling a default or satisfying a CCJ can help, even though the entry stays on the file.
Which route fits depends on your deal end date, any early repayment charges and whether you need to raise money.
Should you add your partner’s debts to a joint mortgage?
Some couples consider remortgaging to clear one partner’s unsecured debts, so the credit problem is dealt with and monthly outgoings fall. On a joint mortgage you are usually each responsible for the whole debt, not half each, so this means taking on shared, secured liability for borrowing that was only in your partner’s name.
Debts added to your mortgage become secured on your property, and your home may be repossessed if repayments are not kept up. Spreading them over a longer term can also mean paying more in total. Read about debt consolidation remortgages and take free advice first.
StepChange, National Debtline and MoneyHelper offer free, confidential debt advice and can look at options that keep the debts in your partner’s name. If either of you is in an IVA, check the IVA terms or ask the IVA supervisor before changing the mortgage.
How to prepare a joint application when one of you has bad credit
A little preparation helps an adviser present a joint case clearly.
- Both get your statutory credit reports free from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
- Ask the agencies to correct any errors, and to remove links to former partners you no longer share finances with.
- Check you are both on the electoral register at your address.
- Note the dates, amounts and status of each entry, with a short explanation of what happened.
- Avoid new credit applications in the months before you apply, as hard searches show on each file.
- Gather proof of income for both of you, and statements for any DMP or IVA payments.
What may affect a joint remortgage when one of you has bad credit
Lenders look at both applicants and at the application as a whole. These are the details that tend to shape the options.
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Type of credit issue | Missed payments are usually viewed differently from a CCJ, an IVA or a bankruptcy, whichever of you it belongs to. |
| Age of the entries | Recent problems usually weigh most. Options tend to widen as entries get older and drop off after 6 years. |
| Settled or satisfied status | Some lenders will not consider unpaid defaults or judgments, or may want them cleared on completion. |
| Joint mortgage payment record | On-time payments on your current mortgage show how you manage the household’s biggest commitment. |
| LTV and equity | A lower loan to value generally widens options. Borrowing more or clearing debts pushes it up. |
| Combined income and commitments | Both incomes count, but so do both sets of outgoings, including any DMP, IVA or CCJ payments. |
| Sole affordability | If one of you would be the only borrower, that income alone must pass the lender’s checks and stress test. |
| Debt arrangement terms | An IVA, trust deed or bankruptcy may involve a supervisor or trustee in decisions about the home. |
| Employment type | Employed, self-employed and contract income are assessed differently. See self-employed remortgages with bad credit. |
These are general points, not lender rules. Each lender sets and changes its own criteria.
Information an adviser may ask for
You don’t need all of this to make an enquiry. It helps to know where to find it, because an adviser is likely to ask about most of it.
- Credit reports for both applicants from all three agencies
- Dates, amounts and status of each CCJ, default or arrangement, and whose name it is in
- Details of any IVA, DMP or bankruptcy, with supervisor or trustee contact details
- Proof of income for each applicant
- Your mortgage balance, deal end date and any early repayment charges
- An estimate of your property’s value
- Whether you want to stay joint, move to one name or borrow more
- Any joint loans, credit cards or bank accounts you share
Specific situations
More detail for particular circumstances.
Remortgaging jointly when your partner has a CCJ
What a lender may want to know about a partner’s county court judgment on a joint remortgage, whether it is satisfied and how the timing may affect your options.
Remortgaging jointly when your partner has defaults
How one or more defaults on a partner’s credit file may be viewed on a joint remortgage, the difference settled status makes and what to do before applying.
Remortgaging jointly when your partner has missed payments
How missed or late payment markers on a partner’s credit file may be viewed on a joint remortgage, and why recency and a clean run since usually matter most.
Removing a partner from a joint mortgage
How removing a partner from a joint mortgage works, including the transfer of equity, passing affordability alone, what a lender needs and the practical steps involved.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a joint mortgage if my partner has an IVA?
It can be possible, but options are usually narrower while the IVA is active, and remortgaging during an IVA usually needs the supervisor’s agreement. Many IVAs also contain terms about releasing equity from the home, so check the IVA terms first. Once it has completed, more lenders may consider you, and it drops off the credit file 6 years after the start date. See an IVA with a joint mortgage.
Does my partner have to be on the remortgage?
If they are a legal owner of the home, usually yes, because lenders generally want everyone on the title to be part of the mortgage. The alternative is a transfer of equity to take them off the title, which needs their agreement and legal work. If they live in the home but are not an owner, a lender may ask them to sign a form consenting to the mortgage.
Is it better to apply only in the name of the person with good credit?
Not always. A sole application only works if that person can afford the mortgage alone and the other agrees to come off the title. It may open up more lenders, but a single income often means a smaller maximum loan. Comparing both approaches with an adviser before anyone applies can save unnecessary hard searches.
Can a joint remortgage help rebuild my partner’s credit?
Keeping up the payments adds positive history to both files over time, and older negative entries tend to carry less weight as they age. It does not remove anything already recorded, and any missed payment will show on both of your files, so the mortgage needs to be affordable for you both.
We have been declined before. Does that make it harder?
A decline is not normally shown on a credit file, but the hard search from each application is, and several in a short time can concern lenders. Before trying again, find out why, check both credit reports and consider speaking to an adviser first. Our page on being declined before explains more.