Can I get a mortgage after missed payments?
Usually yes. A few historic late payments on a credit card or phone bill rarely stop a mortgage. What lenders care about is recency, frequency, and what the missed payments were on, a missed mortgage payment is weighed far more heavily than a late mobile bill.
The hierarchy lenders apply
- Unsecured blips (cards, phone, utilities): one or two, over a year ago, settled since, many high-street lenders shrug these off.
- Patterns: several misses across accounts in recent months suggests ongoing strain and pushes you toward specialist lenders until conduct is clean again.
- Secured arrears (mortgage or secured loan): the serious category. Recent mortgage arrears restrict options sharply, though specialist lenders consider cases, especially past arrears now cleared with explanation.
Timing can transform your options
Lenders commonly ask about conduct in the last 12 to 36 months. A miss from 25 months ago can fall outside one lender's window entirely while another still counts it. Sometimes waiting two or three months until a marker ages past a threshold moves you from a specialist rate to a mainstream one, an adviser can tell you whether that applies to you.
Strengthen your case
- Get all three credit reports and confirm what's actually recorded, 'late' markers are sometimes wrong and can be disputed.
- Keep everything spotless from today, recent conduct is weighted heaviest.
- Be ready to explain the cause briefly: illness, redundancy or divorce with recovery since reads very differently to unexplained drift.
"Context is everything with missed payments. A rough patch with a clear cause and clean conduct since is a story lenders accept every day. What they don't like is surprises, so we put it all on the table, to the right lender, first time."
Related questions
This page is general information, not personal advice. Whether a mortgage is available and suitable depends on your individual circumstances. Lender criteria and rates change regularly. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Quick answers
How long do missed payments stay on my credit file?
Six years from the date of the missed payment. Their impact fades well before they disappear - recent conduct matters most.
Will one missed payment stop my mortgage application?
Almost never by itself, especially on unsecured credit over six months ago. Disclose it and carry on.
What counts as mortgage arrears to a lender?
Typically being a full month or more behind. Many lenders ask about arrears in the last two years specifically - dates matter, so check your file before applying.
See your credit file the way lenders see it
Check My File shows your data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion in one report, the same picture a lender builds when they assess you. Spotting an error or an old default before an application is worth a lot more than discovering it during one. Free for the first 7 days. Cancel within the 7 days to avoid the £14.99 a month subscription fee.
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