There’s been broad support for Santander’s decision that Universal Credit will be considered an acceptable form of secondary income for mortgage applicants.

For a client’s UC income to be eligible, they must also have a primary source of earned income either as a self-employed operator or as an employee. This requirement must be verified within the Universal Credit award statement provided by the client.

To prove their Universal Credit income, applicants must submit specific documents accessible through the Universal Credit online account. These include proof of the last six months’ UC payments and the latest payment summary detailing entitlements, deductions, and the total payment for the month. Santander will not accept bank statements as proof of Universal Credit income.

When calculating the Universal Credit income for mortgage applications, Santander will average the payments received over the last six months, excluding the housing benefit portion from the latest month.

Prospective borrowers are encouraged to use Santander’s affordability calculator, which automatically adjusts the income calculation and provides a net monthly income figure based on the lender’s criteria.

This change does not affect the lender’s stance on other types of benefit income, which remain unchanged.

Karen Noye, Quilter’s mortgage expert, says: “Lenders taking additional income like Universal Credit is good news for low income households, especially where the low income is due to having a young family and is more of a short term measure rather than long term.

“Different lenders have different criteria with additional income, some will only take it if is guaranteed for the term of the mortgage while others will consider it if it’s likely to continue for say at least five years.”