Bank of England rolls out looser mortgage rules to help first-time buyers

As many as 36,000 first-time buyers could be helped on to the housing ladder, the Bank of England hopes. Photograph: Maureen McLean/REX/Shutterstock

The Bank of England has rolled out looser mortgage rules that policymakers hope will help 36,000 more first-time buyers on to the housing ladder each year.

New guidelines announced by the UK’s central bank mean that individual banks and building societies can offer more high loan-to-income (LTI) mortgages, which are equal to, or worth more than, 4.5 times a borrower’s annual earnings.