In 2025, buying with friends or siblings has shifted from a niche solution to a mainstream strategy for navigating high house prices, tough affordability rules and stagnant wage growth. With deposits remaining one of the biggest barriers to homeownership, group mortgages have become a practical route for people who want to get onto the property ladder sooner, avoid excessive rent, or buy in high-demand areas where individual affordability simply isn’t enough.
The model is especially popular among young professionals, siblings purchasing a first home together, and friends who want to share ownership while their careers and income grow. But while the appeal is easy to understand—shared deposits, greater borrowing power, and reduced initial costs—the structure behind group mortgages is far more complex than most buyers realise.
Lenders now take a more cautious approach to multi-borrower applications, reviewing financial stability, relationship dynamics and long-term exit strategies with much closer scrutiny. That’s why understanding how these mortgages work, how lenders assess them, and how to structure legal protections is essential.
At Willow Private Finance, we support many buyers navigating these arrangements, especially in expensive markets where traditional routes are out of reach. Our experience with complex affordability planning, as discussed in our guide to
joint vs single mortgages, carries over strongly into group mortgages. Structuring the application correctly can mean the difference between a seamless purchase and severe long-term complications.
This article breaks down everything buyers need to know about group mortgages in 2025—from how lenders assess affordability to how to protect yourself legally and financially.
Why Group Mortgages Are Growing in 2025
The economic pressures shaping the UK housing market have pushed more buyers toward shared ownership models outside of traditional partnerships. Buyers who cannot secure a property alone now have an alternative route: pooling income and deposits with trusted friends or siblings.
The motivations vary. Some buyers want to reduce their rent burden and redirect income into equity. Others want to purchase in more desirable areas where individual affordability is insufficient. Many simply want to get on the ladder now rather than wait years for savings to catch up with rising property prices.
But it’s not only buyers who are adapting. Lenders themselves have strengthened their group mortgage offerings, providing clearer frameworks for multi-borrower assessments, tenants-in-common structures and affordability modelling. However, with that increased choice comes increased scrutiny, especially around long-term stability and exit plans.
How Lenders Assess Group Mortgages in 2025
Group mortgage applications involve combining multiple incomes and profiles, but they also involve combining liabilities, spending patterns and credit histories. Lenders treat the group as a single financial unit, which means one applicant’s weaknesses can impact the whole application.
Key areas of focus in 2025 include:
Affordability and Income Stability
Lenders review individual incomes as well as the sustainability of combined affordability under stressed rates. If one borrower has variable income, probationary employment or self-employment with limited accounts, it may weaken the entire application.
Credit Profiles and Financial Behaviour
Because group borrowers are jointly and severally liable, one person’s poor credit score or heavy spending can reduce the borrowing power of everyone involved. Open Banking has intensified this scrutiny, as spending habits are now visible at granular levels.
Existing Debt and Commitments
Personal loans, credit cards, car finance, childcare costs and other recurring commitments are aggregated across all applicants. Even if these obligations belong to one buyer, the impact is shared by the group.
Relationship Stability and Intent
While lenders cannot evaluate personal relationships directly, they do assess the practicalities of joint ownership—how deposits are split, how ownership will be recorded, what happens if one borrower wants to leave, and whether exit terms are formally documented.
How Ownership Is Structured
Most group buyers choose to purchase as
tenants in common, which allows each person to own a specific percentage of the property. This structure is flexible and allows the ownership split to mirror deposit contributions or ongoing payment agreements.
For example, a pair of siblings might split ownership 60/40 based on deposit input, or three friends might share 40/40/20 based on affordability.
A
deed of trust—also known as a declaration of trust—is essential. This document records each party’s financial contributions, responsibilities and exit rights. Without a deed of trust, disputes can become protracted and costly.
Legal advice is crucial at this stage, as the deed must be tailored to the group’s long-term intentions.
Borrowing Power: When More Income Helps and When It Doesn’t
In theory, four applicants mean four incomes. But the reality is more nuanced.
Lenders will allow up to four borrowers on a single mortgage, but most will assess affordability using only the top two incomes. A smaller group of lenders will consider all incomes, and a very small number will allow four incomes in full affordability modelling.
However, there are limitations:
- If one borrower has high liabilities, they reduce group affordability.
- If one borrower has adverse credit, it may restrict lender choice.
- If a borrower has variable income (e.g., bonuses, commission, contracting), lenders may reduce how much they count.
This mirrors similar issues seen in our guide on
complex income mortgages.
Borrowing power increases significantly only when the group’s collective financial stability is strong and consistent.
Future Planning: What Buyers Often Overlook
Buying with friends or siblings requires more foresight than buying alone or as a couple. The challenges arise not on day one, but typically years into ownership when life circumstances evolve.
Key areas often overlooked include:
Exit plans — What happens if one owner wants to sell?
Income changes — Can the group support payments if someone’s income drops?
Lifestyle differences — Cohabitation issues, maintenance decisions and investment disagreements.
Relationship changes — New partners, relocations, career shifts and family commitments.
Remortgaging — All borrowers must pass affordability at every remortgage unless the structure changes.
Because of these issues, structuring the agreement properly at the outset is critical.
Valuations, Responsibilities and Running Costs
All owners are jointly responsible for mortgage payments and property upkeep. This includes maintenance, repairs, insurance, and any service charges.
If one borrower fails to contribute their share of payments, the lender still holds all borrowers equally liable. This alone highlights why strong legal documentation and clear financial arrangements are essential.
Group buyers must also plan for:
- contributions toward maintenance
- sinking funds for shared expenses
- insurance obligations
- property alterations requiring group consent
Disagreements in these areas are common—and expensive—when not clarified in advance.
When Group Mortgages Work Well
Group mortgages work particularly well for:
- siblings purchasing their first home
- professional friends buying in high-cost areas
- buyers pooling savings to access better locations
- groups with aligned long-term timelines
- individuals seeking long-term co-living arrangements
When financial stability is solid and life plans are broadly aligned, group mortgages can offer a major advantage in affordability and property choice.
When Group Mortgages Become Risky
They become problematic when:
- individual goals diverge
- one buyer wants to exit early
- one borrower’s financial behaviour impacts the others
- relationship breakdown occurs
- there is no legal agreement
- income instability affects affordability
- remortgages require restructuring
These risks can be reduced but not eliminated. Understanding them upfront is the foundation of responsible group buying.
Hypothetical Scenario: Friends Buying Together with Uneven Deposits
Three friends wished to purchase a £600,000 property in 2025. Two had stable incomes with minimal debt. The third had strong income but high credit utilisation and car finance.
Applying jointly meant the lender reduced the group’s borrowing power. Instead, we structured the deal around two borrowers initially, with the third contributing to the deposit and joining the title later via a deed of trust. This allowed the group to secure the mortgage while preserving intended ownership splits.
This approach is increasingly common as buyers prioritise flexibility.
Outlook for 2025 and Beyond
Group buying will continue growing as affordability pressures persist. Lenders may gradually introduce more flexible multi-income models, but the emphasis on legal protections and sustainability will remain strong. Buyers can expect more scrutiny around spending, credit behaviour and long-term financial resilience—particularly as Open Banking continues to shape underwriting.
Group mortgages offer opportunity—but only when structured with precision, clarity and expert guidance.
How Willow Private Finance Can Help
Willow Private Finance works closely with friends, siblings and group buyers to structure sustainable, long-term mortgage solutions. We analyse affordability across multiple borrowers, model different income and deposit configurations, and identify lenders that fully support group applications.
We also coordinate with solicitors to ensure deeds of trust, ownership percentages and exit provisions are clearly drafted, reducing the likelihood of future disputes. Our whole-of-market access—including specialist lenders—ensures clients secure strong terms even when individual financial profiles differ.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: How many people can be on a group mortgage?
A: Most lenders allow up to four applicants, though many assess affordability using only the top two incomes.
Q2: Do all owners need to be on the mortgage?
A: Not necessarily. Ownership can be allocated through a deed of trust, even if not all applicants are named on the mortgage.
Q3: What happens if one borrower wants to sell?
A: The process depends on the terms of your deed of trust. Without one, disputes can become complicated and costly.
Q4: Are group mortgages riskier than standard mortgages?
A: They can be. Joint liability means every borrower is responsible for the full debt, not just their share.
Q5: How do we protect different deposit contributions?
A: A deed of trust documents ownership percentages, deposit splits and exit arrangements.
Q6: Can we remortgage easily with a group mortgage?
A: Yes, provided all borrowers still meet affordability criteria. However, restructuring may be required if group circumstances change.
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