How Much Can I Borrow Against My House?
This guide is general legal information, not financial advice. How much you can borrow, and which product suits you, is a regulated financial decision. Speak to a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorised mortgage adviser, equity release adviser or independent financial adviser before you commit. This guide explains the part Bird & Co handles: the legal side of borrowing against your home, and how to do it safely.
The short answer
If you own a home in England or Wales, you can usually borrow against the equity in it, but not its full value. Most mainstream lenders will let your total secured borrowing reach around 80% to 85% of the property's value, and a few specialist lenders go to 90% at higher rates. Your existing mortgage comes out of that figure, and your income will often cap you well below it.
On a £400,000 home with a £150,000 mortgage, that means a theoretical ceiling of about £190,000 of extra borrowing. What a lender actually offers depends on your earnings, age, credit record and the route you choose. The rest of this guide shows how those figures are worked out, compares the four UK borrowing routes and explains what a solicitor does to make it happen safely.
What borrowing against your house means
Borrowing against your house means taking out a loan secured on your property. The lender registers a legal charge over your home at HM Land Registry, and if you don't keep up the repayments, your home is at risk. The amount available is tied to your equity:
Equity = current market value minus everything still secured against the property
So if your home is worth £400,000 and you owe £150,000, you have £250,000 of equity. You'll never be able to borrow against all of it, because lenders keep a buffer, but it's the pool you're borrowing from.
Much of what you'll read online uses American terms such as home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and cash-out refinancing. These are US products. In England and Wales the equivalents are a further advance, a remortgage to release equity, a second-charge mortgage (often called a secured loan) and, for homeowners aged 55 and over, equity release. This guide uses the UK terms throughout.
How much can you actually borrow?
Lenders think in terms of loan-to-value (LTV): your total secured borrowing as a percentage of the property's value. The higher the LTV, the fewer lenders will consider you and the higher the interest rate. Most mainstream lenders cap borrowing to raise money at around 80% to 85% LTV, and usually only specialist lenders go to 90%.
Here's how that works on a £400,000 home with a £150,000 mortgage:
| Maximum LTV the lender allows | Maximum total borrowing | Less your existing mortgage | Potential extra borrowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75% | £300,000 | £150,000 | £150,000 |
| 80% | £320,000 | £150,000 | £170,000 |
| 85% | £340,000 | £150,000 | £190,000 |
| 90% (specialist lenders only) | £360,000 | £150,000 | £210,000 |
LTV is only the first test. The second, and usually the one that decides the figure, is affordability. Lenders check whether you can repay the whole secured balance from your income, and mainstream lending is commonly capped at around four to four and a half times income.
On a single salary of £55,000, a cap of four and a half times income limits your total mortgage to £247,500. After clearing the existing £150,000, that leaves about £97,500 of headroom, not the £190,000 the 85% row suggests. The figure you're offered is whichever limit is lower, and for most people that's affordability.
This is why a regulated mortgage adviser is more useful than any online calculator. They test both limits against real lenders' criteria for your circumstances.
The four UK ways to borrow against your home
There isn't one product called borrowing against your house. There are four distinct routes, each with its own legal process:
| Route | What it is | Typical maximum LTV | Repayments | The legal work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Further advance | Extra borrowing from your existing lender, on top of your current mortgage | Around 85%, sometimes 90% | Monthly | Usually handled by your lender, sometimes with a short legal check |
| Remortgage to release equity | A new, larger mortgage, often with a new lender, that pays off the old one and releases cash | Around 85% | Monthly | A solicitor or conveyancer checks the title, redeems the old mortgage and registers the new charge |
| Second-charge mortgage | A separate loan that ranks behind your main mortgage | Around 85% combined | Monthly | The second charge is registered behind the first, and your main lender's consent may be needed |
| Equity release (lifetime mortgage) | A loan for homeowners aged 55 and over, with interest usually rolled up and repaid when you die or move into long-term care | Roughly 20% to 55%, rising with age | Usually none required | Independent legal advice from your own solicitor, including a face-to-face meeting |
A few points worth drawing out:
- Further advance or remortgage? It comes down to whether you stay with your lender or move. If your current deal is good, a further advance leaves it untouched, and if you'd save by switching, a remortgage that also raises money can do both jobs at once. Our guide to whether you need a solicitor to remortgage explains the legal side.
- Second-charge mortgage. This can suit you if you don't want to disturb a low-rate first mortgage but need a lump sum. Check your existing mortgage terms first, as many require your main lender's consent before you take on further secured borrowing.
- Equity release. This is aimed at homeowners aged 55 and over, and interest usually compounds rather than being repaid monthly. Plans that meet Equity Release Council standards include a no-negative-equity guarantee and the right to stay in your home for life. Those standards also require you to take independent legal advice before you proceed, which our equity release solicitors can give you.
- Home reversion. A less common form of equity release, where you sell all or part of your home to a provider in return for the right to live there rent-free. Providers typically pay well below market value for the share they buy, so it needs careful thought.
Choosing between these routes is a regulated financial decision, and a mortgage or equity release adviser should help you choose. Making sure the legal side is done properly is where we come in.
Borrowing against a home you own outright
If your mortgage is paid off, your equity is the whole value of the property. On a mortgage-free £400,000 home, you could in principle borrow around £320,000 to £340,000 (80% to 85% LTV), again subject to affordability and age.
People in this position usually want to release a lump sum for home improvements, helping family or clearing debts, to buy another property or, if they're older and want no monthly repayments, to use equity release. Owning outright widens your options, but it doesn't remove the safeguards. Lenders still run full affordability and credit checks, and a charge is still registered over your home.
If you want to fund another property, such as a buy-to-let, a holiday home or a home for an adult child, the costs and tax are different enough to need their own read: see can you borrow against your house to buy another house? In England, buying an additional home usually means Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) at the higher rates, which have been 5 percentage points above the standard rates since 31 October 2024. Wales has its own Land Transaction Tax with separate higher rates, and our guide to Stamp Duty explains how the bands work.
Where a solicitor comes in
Borrowing against your home is a legal transaction as well as a financial one, and this is the part the calculators and comparison sites don't cover. Depending on the route, a conveyancing solicitor will:
- Act on a remortgage. We check the title, deal with the new lender's requirements, redeem the old mortgage and register the new charge at HM Land Registry. Our remortgage solicitors can take you through each step.
- Deal with a second charge. We make sure your main lender's consent is in place where your mortgage terms require it, and that the new charge is properly registered. Some second-charge lenders handle this legal work themselves, so check with yours.
- Give independent legal advice on equity release. Equity Release Council standards require advice from a solicitor acting for you, not the lender, including at least one face-to-face meeting. Someone whose only duty is to you explains what you're signing, what happens to your home and how it affects your estate and benefits.
- Sort out occupier consents. Anyone aged 17 or over who lives in the property but isn't a borrower, such as an adult child or a partner, is usually asked to sign a consent so the lender's charge takes priority over any rights they might have. If this is missed, your borrowing can stall at the last minute.
- Check leasehold and title issues. For a leasehold home, the lease terms and any landlord's consent can affect what you can borrow, and restrictions or old charges on the title need clearing first.
Worked example. A couple in their late 60s want to release £80,000 from their mortgage-free £450,000 home to help their daughter buy her first home. Their adviser recommends a lifetime mortgage. Before completion, they meet a Bird & Co solicitor who acts for them, not the lender.
We make sure they understand that interest will roll up. At an illustrative rate of 6% a year, added annually, the £80,000 would grow to about £143,000 after 10 years and about £192,000 after 15. We confirm how the no-negative-equity guarantee protects their estate, and that gifting the money may have inheritance tax and means-tested benefit consequences worth separate advice. Only then do we sign the certificate confirming they've received independent legal advice.
This guide covers England and Wales only. Property law in Scotland is different, with standard securities rather than legal charges.
Should you borrow against your house? Five questions to ask first
Borrowing against your home can be sensible or risky depending on why and how you do it. Before you commit, work through these questions:
- Is the purpose long term? Securing short-term spending against a 25-year loan is usually a poor trade. Home improvements that add value, or consolidating expensive debts into a cheaper secured rate, can make sense, but you're turning unsecured debt into debt secured on your home.
- Could you still afford the repayments if rates rose? Ask your adviser to show you the monthly cost at a rate two or three percentage points above the one you're offered.
- Have you compared all four routes? A further advance, a remortgage, a second charge and, if you're 55 or over, equity release have very different costs over time. Lifetime mortgage rates are usually higher than standard mortgage rates, and with interest rolling up at 6% a year, the balance roughly doubles in about 12 years.
- Have you taken regulated advice? This is the one not to skip. A regulated adviser weighs up LTV, affordability, age and your goals, and an independent financial adviser can flag tax and benefit knock-on effects.
- Have you lined up the legal work early? Occupier consents, leasehold consents and lender consents for a second charge are the usual causes of last-minute delay.
If you can answer those confidently, you're in a strong position to borrow well, both financially and legally.
Related guides
For more on borrowing against and buying property, these guides may help:
- Can you borrow against your house to buy another house?
- Do I need a solicitor to remortgage my property?
- How much deposit do I need for a mortgage?
- How buying a home with your children affects stamp duty
Frequently asked questions
How much can I borrow against my house if it's already paid off?
With no mortgage, the whole value of the property is available, but lenders still cap borrowing at around 80% to 85% LTV and run full affordability checks. On a mortgage-free £300,000 home, that could mean up to about £240,000 to £255,000, subject to your income, age and credit record.
Can I borrow against my house with bad credit?
Possibly, but expect fewer lenders, lower maximum LTVs and higher rates. A second-charge mortgage is sometimes easier to obtain than a mainstream remortgage if your credit record is poor. Take advice from a regulated broker who works with these lenders, and remember that falling behind on a secured loan puts your home at risk.
Do I need a solicitor to borrow against my house?
It depends on the route. A further advance from your existing lender often needs no separate solicitor, while a remortgage with a new lender needs legal work on the title and the charge. A second charge may too. For equity release, Equity Release Council standards require independent legal advice before completion, and it's there to protect you.
Is the interest on a loan secured on my home tax-deductible?
Not for a loan secured on your own home. Mortgage interest tax relief on a main residence ended in April 2000, so the US rules you may read about online don't apply here. For buy-to-let landlords, finance costs attract a basic-rate tax credit of 20% rather than a deduction, rising to 22% from April 2027. Always check your position with an accountant.
How long does it take to release equity from my home?
A remortgage typically takes around four to eight weeks, depending on your circumstances. Equity release often takes a similar time or longer, because of the separate financial and legal advice involved. Delays usually come from missing occupier consents, leasehold consents or title issues, so involving your solicitor early is the best way to keep things moving.
Could borrowing against my house affect my benefits or my estate?
It can. A lump sum can affect means-tested benefits, rolled-up interest on a lifetime mortgage reduces what you leave behind, and gifting money to family can have inheritance tax implications. These are all reasons to take independent financial advice alongside legal advice, and your Bird & Co solicitor will point out where you need it.
Talk to Bird & Co about borrowing against your property
When you're ready to go ahead, the legal side shouldn't be the slow or stressful part. Our conveyancing team handles remortgages, second charges and the independent legal advice that equity release requires, from offices in Grantham, Lincoln and Newark or entirely online. For a remortgage, we'll quote you a fixed fee for the whole transaction at the outset, so you know where you stand.
We're accredited under the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) and Lexcel, regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), and rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from over 1,100 reviews.
Get an instant conveyancing quote, call our new conveyancing enquiries line on 01476 591711, email enquiries@birdandco.co.uk or contact your nearest office.