Gifted Deposit Mortgage FAQ
General information only. This is not financial advice.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-01
Can a gifted deposit be used for a mortgage in the UK?
Yes. Most UK mortgage lenders accept gifted deposits provided the gift is genuine (not a loan), the donor has no interest in the property, and the source of the funds can be evidenced. You will need a gift letter from the donor confirming the amount, the relationship, that the money is an unconditional gift, and that the donor has no legal interest in the property. The lender will also conduct anti-money laundering checks on the donor's funds.
Who is allowed to gift a mortgage deposit?
Most lenders accept gifts from immediate family members — parents, grandparents, siblings, and sometimes aunts, uncles, or step-parents. Some lenders also accept gifts from close friends or employers in specific circumstances. Gifts from non-family donors are accepted by fewer lenders and attract additional scrutiny. The donor cannot be the estate agent, developer, vendor, or any party with a financial interest in the sale. Always confirm with your broker which lenders accept your specific donor relationship.
What must a mortgage gift letter include?
A gift letter must typically state: the donor's full name and address; the donor's relationship to the borrower; the exact amount being gifted; that the funds are an unconditional gift and not a loan; that the donor has no financial or legal interest in the property; and the donor's signature and date. Some lenders require their own specific gift letter template. Your solicitor will confirm the required format during the conveyancing process.
What AML evidence is needed for a gifted deposit?
Lenders must verify that gifted deposit funds are not derived from criminal activity. This typically requires the donor's identity documents (passport or driving licence) and bank statements showing the gift funds accumulating in their account and the transfer to you. The donor may also need to show how the funds were generated — savings history, property sale proceeds, pension lump sum, inheritance, or similar. The level of evidence required varies by lender but has increased significantly in recent years.
Can the gifted deposit cover 100% of the required deposit?
Usually yes — most lenders allow the entire deposit to come from a gift, provided the LTV is within their normal criteria. A minority of lenders require the borrower to contribute at least 5% of the purchase price from their own savings. Government scheme purchases (shared ownership, First Homes) may have additional gifted deposit rules. Your broker will confirm the full deposit policy before submitting your application.
Does a gifted deposit need to be repaid?
No. A genuine gift carries no expectation of repayment. If repayment is intended, even informally, it is legally a loan and must be disclosed to the lender. Presenting a loan as a gift is mortgage fraud. Undisclosed loans also affect affordability: lenders reduce your borrowing capacity if you have a repayment obligation, even an informal one. If the donor wants some future recognition (e.g. a share of sale proceeds), a solicitor should advise on a deed of trust rather than treating the arrangement as a simple gift.
Which UK lenders accept a gifted deposit, and what do they ask for?
UK high-street and specialist lenders all accept gifted deposits, but exact requirements vary by lender rather than by lender type. Typical evidence includes a signed gift letter stating the gift is unconditional, donor identification, and donor bank statements showing the source of funds. The table below records what individual lenders state on their own intermediary criteria pages, where confirmed.
Is a decline for deposit source specific to one lender, or will most lenders take the same view?
A decline over unclear deposit evidence is rarely about one lender's house style — it usually reflects a wider concern about the source of funds that most mainstream lenders share, because anti-money laundering checks are a regulatory requirement, not a lender preference. Reapplying with the same unresolved gap tends to produce the same outcome. Strengthening the paper trail before the next application matters more than switching lender.
Are gifts from a partner, or a partner's family, treated differently from gifts from parents?
Lenders generally distinguish close family — parents, grandparents, siblings — from other donors, including a partner's family, who are assessed with additional scrutiny. A gift from a partner who is also a named applicant is usually treated as a joint contribution rather than a gift. Acceptance and evidence requirements for a partner's parents or wider family vary by lender, so this is worth confirming before relying on that source.
Can the person gifting the deposit live in the property?
Some lenders may accept a donor who will live in the property, typically subject to them signing an occupier consent or waiver form confirming they have no financial interest in it and will not obstruct repossession if repayments are not kept up. The gift letter typically needs to confirm the money is an unconditional gift. Other lenders may decline any gift from a co-occupier outright, so this depends on the individual lender's policy.
If I remove the gift and apply with a smaller deposit, does that improve my chances?
Removing a disputed gift changes the deposit size, which changes the loan-to-value and therefore which lenders and products are available — it does not remove the need to evidence the source of whatever deposit remains. A smaller, fully evidenced deposit can be more straightforward to place than a larger one with unresolved anti-money laundering questions, but the effect on affordability and lender choice varies by case.
Why do underwriters assume a gift from someone outside close family is a loan?
Anti-money laundering rules require lenders to understand where deposit funds originate and to rule out any hidden repayment expectation. A donor outside close family carries a higher perceived risk of an undisclosed loan, from an underwriting perspective, so lenders ask for a clear paper trail and require the donor to sign a declaration confirming they have no interest in the property and expect no return of the funds.
Should the gift sit in my account for a period before applying?
Lenders do not usually specify an exact number of months, but they typically ask for bank statements covering a period before application and look for the gift transfer to appear clearly within that history, alongside the donor's own statements showing where the funds came from. A gift that lands just before application with no supporting history tends to draw more questions than one with a visible paper trail.
Gifted deposit criteria by lender — unverified
We have not yet sourced this table from each lender's own intermediary criteria page, so every criteria cell below reads “Needs source” rather than stating a figure or policy. We publish the table in this state rather than guess, and will fill in each cell only once it can be quoted verbatim from that lender's own published criteria, with the date checked.
| Lender | Accepts gifted deposit | Accepted donors | Gift letter form | Source-of-funds evidence | Source URL | As at (Month YYYY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santander | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source |
| HalifaxShown as market context only — not a lender we place cases with | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source |
| NatWest | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source | Needs source |
Panel status with Richards & Logic is unconfirmed for every lender in this table except Halifax, which is confirmed off-panel. Listing a lender here is not a statement that we can place a case with them.
Does any of this apply outside the UK?
No. This page describes how UK mortgage lenders assess gifted deposit evidence. UK lending is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, with affordability rules shaped by the Bank of England. Nothing here describes lending in any other country.
Mortgage rules do not transfer between countries. Lending guidelines, income categories, credit-scoring systems and product types used in other markets, including the United States, have no standing with a UK lender and no direct UK equivalent. A UK application is assessed on SA302 tax calculations, HMRC tax year overviews, company accounts filed at Companies House, and each lender's own income multiples and affordability model.
Risk warning
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Misrepresenting funds as a gift when repayment is intended constitutes mortgage fraud.
The guides and articles on this website are provided for general information only. They are not tailored to your personal circumstances and should not be treated as financial advice or a personal recommendation. If you would like advice based on your individual circumstances, please speak to an adviser.
Mortgage advice is provided by Hayden Richards, CeMAP-qualified, as a Registered Individual of Marklay Mortgages Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 930490). Richards & Logic is a trading style of MarketMedia Ltd (registered in England and Wales, 07765565).
Explore further