85% LTV Mortgages: What You Should Know

An 85% LTV mortgage means borrowing 85% of a property's value and putting down the other 15% as a deposit. It sits in the middle ground: more achievable than a 40% deposit, but with steadier monthly payments than you'd get borrowing 95% or more.

Saving 15% takes most buyers a good while, so if you've got there, or you're close, this guide covers how 85% LTV mortgages work, what lenders look for, and what your options are if 15% isn't quite within reach yet. A mortgage broker can also talk you through which lenders suit your situation specifically.

What Is an 85% LTV Mortgage?

Loan-to-value (LTV) is simply the mortgage expressed as a percentage of the property's value. At 85% LTV, you're borrowing 85% of the purchase price (or current value, if you're remortgaging) and covering the remaining 15% yourself, either as a cash deposit or, if you already own the property, as existing equity.

Here's how that 15% deposit scales across different property values:

For a closer look at building your deposit, see our mortgage deposit guide.

How Do 85% LTV Mortgages Work?

Putting down 15% signals financial stability to a lender, which generally means a wider choice of mainstream products and, in most cases, no need for a guarantor. Lenders are typically comfortable offering the remaining 85%, provided your income, credit history and affordability check out.

Once the mortgage completes, you repay it through monthly instalments covering both capital and interest (unless you've arranged an interest-only deal). A larger deposit than this, if you can manage it, generally brings your monthly payments down further still, since it unlocks lower LTV bands with better rates. If you're moving home rather than buying for the first time, see our guide on moving home for how your existing equity factors in.

Fixed or Variable: What Rate Type Should You Choose?

The two main choices are a fixed rate and a variable rate, and the right one depends partly on where interest rates sit when you're applying and how much certainty you want.

• Fixed rate: your rate stays the same for a set period, usually 2 to 10 years, so your monthly payment doesn't change during that time. This suits anyone who wants predictable budgeting, and it's generally the more popular choice when rates are relatively low or expected to rise.
• Variable rate: your rate can move over time. A tracker mortgage follows the Bank of England base rate directly, while a standard variable rate (SVR) is set by the lender and tends to be more expensive, which is why most borrowers remortgage before their deal reverts to it.

Whichever you choose, compare the overall cost, including arrangement fees, not just the headline rate, since a slightly lower rate with high fees can work out more expensive. Our guide to mortgage interest rates covers this in more detail, and our breakdown of mortgage fees and charges explains what else to factor in.

Can I Get an 85% LTV Mortgage?

Most mainstream lenders offer 85% LTV mortgages, but having the deposit doesn't guarantee approval. Two checks matter most:

• Credit history: lenders look at missed payments, defaults, CCJs, IVAs and bankruptcy. Older issues are sometimes overlooked by one lender but not another, which is where a broker's knowledge of individual lender criteria helps.
• Affordability: lenders typically lend around 4 to 4.5 times your annual income, though this varies by lender and by your outgoings. On a £30,000 income, that's roughly £120,000 to £135,000 of borrowing, as a guide rather than a guarantee.

If you've had credit issues in the past, our guides on adverse credit mortgages, CCJ mortgages, and mortgages after bankruptcy go into what's realistic for your situation. And if you've been turned down before, our guide on common reasons mortgage applications get rejected explains what to do next.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an 85% LTV Mortgage

Like any LTV band, 85% has trade-offs worth weighing up.

Advantages: more manageable monthly payments and typically better rates than higher-LTV borrowing, plus access to a wide range of lenders, since a 15% deposit is seen as a reasonably low risk.

Disadvantages: you'll still pay more in interest than you would with a larger deposit, and stretching to 20% or 25% down, if you can, can unlock a meaningfully better rate. The right call depends on how long that extra saving would take versus what you'd gain by buying sooner.

Can First-Time Buyers Get an 85% LTV Mortgage?

Saving 15% is a real stretch for many first-time buyers, but it's achievable, particularly if you're buying with a partner, since two incomes speed up saving considerably. First-time buyers are sometimes seen as marginally higher risk by lenders, simply because there's less of a track record to assess, so the choice of lender can be narrower than for an existing homeowner.

This is exactly where speaking to a broker pays off, since multiple rejected applications in a short space of time can harm your chances, whereas a broker can point you toward lenders more likely to say yes from the outset. See our guide for first-time buyers for the fuller picture.

Alternatives if a 15% Deposit Isn’t Within Reach

If a 15% deposit isn't within reach just yet, a few routes can help:

• Freedom to Buy, the government's permanent mortgage guarantee scheme launched in 2025, backs 95% LTV mortgages from participating lenders, meaning a 5% deposit may be enough. Ask a lender or broker whether your chosen property and circumstances qualify.
• Shared Ownership lets you buy a share of a property and pay rent on the rest, which can lower the deposit you need. See our guide to Shared Ownership mortgages for how this works.
• A guarantor mortgage uses a family member's income or property as security, which can help you borrow more with a smaller deposit of your own. Our guarantor mortgages guide explains the trade-offs.
• If you're a council tenant, a Right to Buy mortgage may let you purchase your home at a discount, often reducing the deposit you need in practice.
• 90%, 95% and even 100% LTV mortgages exist too, usually at higher rates to reflect the lender's added risk. See our guides to 90% LTV mortgages, 95% LTV mortgages and 100% LTV mortgages for the details of each.
• Help to Buy equity loans have closed to new applicants in England, though the scheme remains open in Wales. See our guide on how Help to Buy works for the current position.

Every lender treats 85% LTV applications a little differently, and rates change daily, so the best way to know exactly where you stand is to talk it through with a broker. We'll match you to lenders likely to say yes before you apply, protecting your credit score from unnecessary searches, and talk you through today's rates for your circumstances.

Call us on 0191 580 9890, message us on WhatsApp, or use our mortgage calculators to see what you could borrow.

The above blog has information contained within which was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change.