--- title: "Bad Credit Mortgages UK — Specialist Lender Guides | First Rung Now" description: "Adverse credit doesn't mean no mortgage. Independent UK guides on bad credit mortgages, second charges, bridging and specialist lenders." lang: en-GB json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "name": "First Rung Now", "url": "https://firstrungnow.com", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://firstrungnow.com/logo-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 }, "description": "Independent UK mortgage education and broker matching service.", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressCountry": "GB" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "First Rung Now", "url": "https://firstrungnow.com" } ] --- [Skip to content](#main) [London 020 8088 2997 ](tel:02080882997)[National 0333 567 1185 ](tel:03335671185) [![First Rung Now](/assets/logo-mark-CNo3p3DP.png) First Rung Now UK Mortgage Guides ](/) - Mortgages - Remortgages - Buy To Let - Bad Credit - Calculators - Guides - [Find a Broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) - [About](/about) [London 020 8088 2997 ](tel:02080882997)[National 0333 567 1185 ](tel:03335671185) [Speak to a Vetted Broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) 1. [Home](/) 2. Bad Credit Mortgages — UK Specialist Lending Topic hub # Bad Credit Mortgages — UK Specialist Lending A CCJ, default, missed payment or IVA doesn't automatically end your mortgage hopes. UK specialist lenders price for these situations every day — but only if you go in prepared. These guides explain how the adverse credit market really works. [Speak with a vetted broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) On this page 1. [The UK adverse credit market in plain English](#the-uk-adverse-credit-market-in-plain-english) 2. [How lenders score the severity](#how-lenders-score-the-severity) 3. [The bad credit mortgage cluster](#the-bad-credit-mortgage-cluster) 4. [Things to do before you apply](#things-to-do-before-you-apply) 5. [What a specialist broker actually adds](#what-a-specialist-broker-actually-adds) 6. [One principle to remember](#one-principle-to-remember) 7. [Where to start](#where-to-start) ### Bad credit — related reads Specialist lenders for adverse-credit borrowers. - [Bad credit mortgage checker Place your situation on the lender severity scale and see what a specialist will accept. ](/bad-credit-mortgage-checker) - [Bad credit second mortgage Secured second charges as an alternative to remortgaging when credit has slipped. ](/bad-credit-second-mortgage) - [Bad credit with a large deposit How a 25%+ deposit unlocks rates adverse-credit borrowers thought were closed. ](/mortgage-with-bad-credit-but-large-deposit) - [Contractor mortgages with bad credit Day-rate and limited-company contractors: which specialist lenders will look at you. ](/mortgages-for-contractors-with-bad-credit) - [Poor credit mortgage lenders The specialist UK lenders most willing to price recent adverse credit. ](/poor-credit-mortgage-lenders) Explore the hubs [Mortgages explained](/mortgages)[Remortgages](/remortgages)[Buy-to-let mortgages](/buy-to-let)[Mortgage calculators](/mortgage-calculators)[All mortgage guides](/mortgage-guides)[Find a mortgage broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) ## The UK adverse credit market in plain English "Bad credit mortgage" is a marketing term — the lenders themselves call it **adverse credit** or **complex prime**, and they treat it as a normal part of the market. Around 1 in 4 UK adults has some form of adverse on their credit file, and a growing list of specialist lenders compete actively for that business. Names you'll see repeatedly: Pepper Money, Kensington, Bluestone, Vida Homeloans, Together, Precise Mortgages, MFS, Aldermore, Foundation Home Loans, and a tier of building societies (Buckinghamshire, Newcastle, Hinckley & Rugby, Mansfield) that underwrite on a case-by-case basis. The high-street banks rarely say yes to anyone with recent adverse, because their lending decisions are largely automated. Specialists, by contrast, employ human underwriters who look at the _story_ behind the adverse — when it happened, why, whether it has been resolved, and how the borrower has behaved since. A good adverse-credit broker spends most of their time matching the story to the right lender's appetite. ## How lenders score the severity Want a vetted broker to help with How lenders score the severity? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) Not all adverse is equal. Lenders broadly rank events along a severity scale: - **Light.** Late payments on credit accounts, one or two small missed payments more than 12 months ago, a small communications default (e.g. mobile phone) more than 2 years ago. Many high-street lenders still consider these. - **Medium.** A satisfied CCJ over 2 years old, a default under £500 over 3 years old, a single missed mortgage payment more than 12 months ago. Specialist near-prime products, rates close to high-street. - **Heavy.** Multiple defaults, unsatisfied CCJs, recent mortgage arrears (within 12 months), a current DMP. Specialist prime+ pricing, often 1–2% above high-street. - **Severe.** Discharged bankruptcy, IVA, repossession, multiple recent CCJs. Specialist adverse pricing, larger deposits required (often 20–25% minimum), but still achievable. The single most important variable in all of this is **how old the event is**. Most adverse credit drops off the file after 6 years, and lender appetite improves dramatically at the 12-month, 2-year, 3-year and 6-year markers. If you are 11 months from a CCJ falling outside a lender's "recent" window, it is often worth waiting a single month before applying. ## The bad credit mortgage cluster Want a vetted broker to help with The bad credit mortgage cluster? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) We've written five connected guides covering the most common adverse-credit scenarios UK borrowers face. Read them in any order — they cross-reference each other so you can follow the trail naturally. - [Bad Credit Mortgage Checker](/bad-credit-mortgage-checker) — work out where you sit on the lender severity scale before you apply anywhere. - [Bad Credit Second Mortgage](/bad-credit-second-mortgage) — raising money against your home without remortgaging, especially valuable when your first charge is a great deal you don't want to disturb. - [Bad Credit Bridging Loan](/bad-credit-bridging-loan) — short-term, asset-backed lending when high-street doors are closed and the deal needs to move in days, not weeks. - [Bridging Loans with a Bad Credit History](/bridging-loan-bad-credit-history) — how specialist bridging lenders price historic adverse and what they really care about. - [Best HMO Mortgage Lenders](/best-hmo-mortgage-lenders) — including which HMO lenders accept adverse credit for landlord borrowers. ## Things to do before you apply Want a vetted broker to help with Things to do before you apply? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) 1. **Pull all three credit files.** Experian, Equifax and TransUnion all hold slightly different data. Use the free statutory reports or services like CheckMyFile that pull all three. Lenders use different agencies, so all three matter. 2. **Verify every entry.** Inaccurate adverse is common — old satisfied defaults still marked outstanding, accounts that were closed but show as open, fraudulent applications. Each can be disputed and removed within 28 days. 3. **Pay down balances, don't close cards.** Lenders care about credit utilisation more than account count. Keeping a card open at 5% utilisation is better than closing it. 4. **Don't apply for new credit.** Every hard search visible in the last 3 months tends to lower borrowing capacity. Stop all new applications 6 months before a mortgage. 5. **Get on the electoral roll at your current address.** One of the highest-impact, lowest-effort score improvements available. 6. **Save a bigger deposit if you can.** Adverse credit at 60–70% LTV gets dramatically better rates than the same case at 85% LTV. Sometimes waiting six months to build deposit beats applying now. ## What a specialist broker actually adds Want a vetted broker to help with What a specialist broker actually adds? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) The reason brokers matter so much in adverse cases is that lender criteria changes weekly and is rarely published in detail. Two examples make the point. _Pepper Money_ will consider a CCJ satisfied within the last 12 months at certain product tiers if the total adverse is under a defined cap; the cap moves quarterly. _Vida Homeloans_ tier their products from V1 (lightest adverse) to V6 (heaviest), with each tier carrying different fees and rates — a £1,000 fee difference between V3 and V4 can flip the winning lender. A whole-of-market broker who actively writes adverse business knows which lender is hungry for which type of case _this week_, and packages the application so the human underwriter has every piece of evidence they need to say yes first time. Going direct, even to the same lender, often produces a different answer. ## One principle to remember Want a vetted broker to help with One principle to remember? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) The high street rejects on rules; specialists underwrite on stories. A good broker is the difference between the two. If your case is anything beyond "light" on the scale above, applying to your own bank first usually wastes a hard credit search and gives you nothing useful in return. ## Where to start Want a vetted broker to help with Where to start? Free FCA-regulated introduction. We carefully check the broker matches your scenario — no pressure, no upfront fees. [Match me with a broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker) Begin with our [bad credit mortgage checker](/bad-credit-mortgage-checker) to place yourself on the severity scale. Then either keep reading the cluster guides above, or ask us to [match you with a vetted adverse-credit broker](/find-a-mortgage-broker). We carefully check the broker's FCA permissions and adverse-credit lender panel before any introduction — and you keep complete control of the next step. _Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. FRN Mortgage Leads is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not give regulated mortgage advice. Information on this page is general and educational only._ ## Guides in this section [ ### Bad Credit Mortgage Checker Place yourself on the lender severity scale. Read guide ](/bad-credit-mortgage-checker)[ ### Bad Credit Second Mortgage When a second charge beats remortgaging. Read guide ](/bad-credit-second-mortgage)[ ### Bad Credit Bridging Loan Fast, asset-backed lending with adverse on file. Read guide ](/bad-credit-bridging-loan)[ ### Bridging Loans with Bad Credit History How specialists price historic adverse. Read guide ](/bridging-loan-bad-credit-history)[ ### Best HMO Mortgage Lenders HMO lenders that accept adverse credit. Read guide ](/best-hmo-mortgage-lenders) First Rung Now Independent UK mortgage education and broker matching. We don't sell mortgages — we help you understand them, then connect you with vetted advisers. 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