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Sam covers personal finance topics, from the best savings rates to the reasons mortgage lenders say no. He enjoys crunching the numbers to help consumers get ahead.
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Compare mortgagesIf you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
A 95% mortgage is a loan for 95% of a property's price, where you put down a 5% deposit to cover the rest.
For example, if you wanted to buy a house worth £200,000 with a 95% mortgage, you would put down £10,000 of your own money and borrow the remaining £190,000.
You might see 95% mortgages described as having a '95% LTV'. This stands for loan-to-value and simply means the percentage of the property's value that's being covered by the mortgage. Our LTV calculator lets you work out what LTV you'll need to borrow at.
Find the right mortgage using the fee-free service provided by L&C Mortgages
Compare mortgagesIf you click on the link and complete a mortgage with L&C Mortgages, L&C is paid a commission by the lender and will share part of this fee with Which? Ltd helping fund our not-for-profit mission. We do not allow this relationship to affect our editorial independence. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
You can usually borrow up to four-and-a-half times your salary (or combined salary if you're buying with someone else) with a 95% mortgage.
For example, if you had saved a 5% deposit of £10,000 for a £200,000 home, you'd usually need a salary of at least £42,000 (or a combined salary of the same amount for a couple) to be able to borrow the remaining £190,000.
The amount you'll be able to borrow will vary depending on the lender and your personal circumstances. Some lenders offer higher income multiples, such as five or five-and-a-half times income, but these are often limited to applicants with specific jobs or earnings over a certain amount.
Nationwide, the Which? Recommended Provider for mortgages in 2026, will allow eligible applicants to borrow more, up to six times income, even with 95% LTV.
The table showcases the best rate for a 95%, 90% and 60% LTV deal to highlight how a smaller deposit can impact your rate. The rates are updated daily.
Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of a provider before committing to any financial products.
| 60% | Yorkshire Building Society | 74% | 4.77% | £995 | 6.74% |
| 60% fee free | Yorkshire Building Society | 74% | 4.89% | £0 | 6.74% |
| 90% | Barclays | 75% | 5.01% | £899 | 5.74% |
| 90% fee free | Leeds Building Society | 68% | 5.15% | £0 | 7.74% |
| 95% | Barclays | 75% | 5.41% | £0 | 5.74% |
| 95% fee free | Barclays | 75% | 5.41% | £0 | 5.74% |
Table notes: Data from Moneyfacts, updated daily at 1am and 1pm. Customer scores are based on a survey of 5,016 members of the public in August-September 2025 and combine overall satisfaction with likelihood to recommend the provider. The average customer score is 74%. To become a Which? Recommended Provider a lender must get a top customer score, consistently offer competitive deals and be fully covered by the Financial Conduct Authority banking standards regime. 'Revert rate' is the standard variable rate (SVR), which is the mortgage rate you'd be transferred onto when your deal ended if it remained unchanged between now and then.
95% mortgages are theoretically available to both first-time buyers and home movers.
But saving up a 5% deposit is only half the battle - you'll need to be able to prove that you earn enough to meet the monthly mortgage repayments before anyone will consider giving you a 95% mortgage.
Your salary is an important starting point, but it isn't the only factor lenders will take into account. They'll assess the full range of your income, regular outgoings and any debt, among other things, when working out whether you can afford a mortgage.
They'll also 'stress test' your finances. This means checking whether you could still afford the mortgage payments if interest rates were to rise.
Speak to a mortgage broker if you want guidance on getting yourself into the best possible position before applying.
To increase your chances of qualifying for a 95% mortgage you'll need a good credit score, with a history of paying bills, loans and credit cards on time. If you're also paying rent, you can choose to incorporate this into your Experian credit history.
Making sure that you're registered on the electoral roll is a quick and easy way of boosting your credit score.
If your family are keen to help you get on the ladder, there are several ways they can assist.
A family member could gift or loan you money for a deposit. If the money is a gift, you'll need to provide evidence to the lender that you won't be required to pay it back.
Some lenders place a cap on what percentage of a deposit can be gifted, so consider taking advice from a mortgage broker first.
Alternatively, your family member could act as a guarantor for your mortgage. This can mean using their savings or property as collateral in case you miss a payment. You can read about the different options in our guide to guarantor mortgages.
The bigger the percentage of a property's value that you're borrowing, the higher the interest rate you'll (usually) be charged.
For this reason, it can sometimes be beneficial to save up a bigger deposit so you can get a cheaper mortgage deal.
Taking out a 95% mortgage could make it difficult to remortgage to a better rate when your deal ends, as it can take a while to build up enough equity to qualify for better deals.
If the value of your home falls, there's a risk you could end up in negative equity. This is where you owe more on your mortgage than your property is worth.
The more equity you hold in your property, the smaller the risk of falling into negative equity - so if you've put in a bigger deposit in the first place, you're automatically decreasing the likelihood of this happening.
One alternative option to a 95% mortgage is shared ownership. With these schemes, you can buy a 25%-75% share of a property and pay rent on the remaining share.
You'd only need a mortgage for your share of the property, so you might be able to borrow at a lower LTV and, therefore, qualify for better rates.
But it's important to do your research before rushing into shared ownership. Properties can be expensive and the combined cost of the mortgage, rent and service charges can quickly add up.
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