Locum Doctor Mortgage
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Locum Doctor Mortgage (Part 1)
Miles Robinson explains how the mortgage process works for locum doctors.
Podcast approved by The Openwork Partnership on 09/12/2025.
What is a locum doctor mortgage? How does it differ from a regular mortgage?
A locum doctor mortgage isn’t a different product, per se. It’s still a standard residential mortgage. The difference is in how lenders assess income and affordability specifically for locum work.
Often locums have variable shift-based earnings, and lenders need to look a little deeper into work patterns, work history and earning potential. So the product is the same, but the underwriting is a little bit more specialised.
What are the eligibility criteria for locum doctors to qualify for a mortgage?
Lenders’ criteria do vary and they don’t publish their locum criteria. But as an experienced broker, we know the lenders that are good for locum doctors in how they assess and understand this type of work.
Most generally want to see a minimum of three to six months’ track record for a locum. With some lenders it’s 12 months. It largely depends on the experience of that individual in their field.
Lenders are looking for consistency. If there’s no basic salary, is there a regular ad hoc income every week or month? We need to demonstrate that through payslips or perhaps a day rate contract with a GP surgery.
Ultimately, we would conduct a fact-find to fully understand how that locum income is being earned, with evidence to present to the lender.
What documentation is usually required from locum doctors when applying for a mortgage?
Some doctors also do self-employed locum work. Depending on how long they have done that, they may have one or two years’ tax returns to evidence that self-employed work. We would use those alongside invoices, remittance, timesheets or payslips over the past six or 12 months.
How a locum doctor is paid will determine the lenders we look at. Generally, if you can gather your tax returns, payslips, invoices, remittance, timesheets, and even three to six months of bank statements showing that income going in, we can find lenders to accept that income.
GPs who are partners in surgeries may have a contract agreement with the practice. Those can also be helpful.
Are locum doctors treated differently by mortgage lenders compared to salaried doctors?
Salaried doctors are treated like anyone else on a permanent contract. Lenders look at your basic salary, and potentially overtime and allowances on top.
A surgeon might be in theatre for certain periods and receive allowances or overtime for that. That’s all assessed through payslips over three to six months, and averaged out.
Many doctors have a main role with locum work on the side – but we have also done many mortgages for those exclusively doing locum work. What you’re doing will influence the lender we choose, also based on the level of income you need to evidence for the mortgage you want. It might be fine on the basic salary and we don’t need to include locum work at all.
Every case is unique. A locum just faces extra scrutiny because your income is not as consistent or guaranteed, so we need a longer history of it.
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Can locum doctors with irregular income patterns get approved for a mortgage?
Absolutely. We do lots of mortgages for locum doctors. We just need to evidence stable average earnings over a period of time via payslips, contracts and other sources.
We need to evidence income over time. It could be that a locum increases their hours at certain times of the year, and decreases it in other months. Here, we might need a bit more history – maybe 12 months’ or even two years’ in that case.
What factors do lenders consider when assessing the affordability of a mortgage for locum doctors?
The experience of a broker is really valuable here. We will extract all your income over the time period and average it out in the same way a lender will assess it.
If a locum or GP has all their remittances, payslips and everything else, we’re there to count it all up, review it and see how a lender’s going to assess it.
You might have generated a really strong income over the last six weeks – and in fact that’s what it’s going to be going forward. Lenders won’t see it like that. They would look over the last six months – they can’t necessarily use that six week average.
They need to see it over a longer period to be included as income. It’s all about getting to the right annualised figure for affordability.
Are there any specific mortgage products or deals available exclusively for locum doctors?
Lenders like professionals. Doctors tend to have a certain trajectory of income and high demand for work. Lenders do look at these cases more favourably, in my experience.
In terms of actual products, some lenders offer enhanced multiples for professionals, especially the newly qualified. They may offer up to six times your income because they know that your earnings will increase over time.
There can also be a more flexible approach around underwriting, with a good understanding of a locum’s income. So although there’s not necessarily a specific product, certain lenders might well look at the case more favourably than others.
How does the income of a locum doctor affect the amount they can borrow for a mortgage?
It’s all about understanding what your annualised income figure is for affordability. That ultimately determines what is keyed into the application for an Agreement in Principle. The underwriter is looking at that income evidence to assess your application as a locum doctor.
Whether it’s a three, six or 12-month average, or we’re using different parts of the income in combination, it’s laying that out for the lender.
You could even be a locum doctor on a day rate contract with a GP. We would look at whether you’re working five days a week, over perhaps 46 weeks of the year to calculate the annualised figure. It’s our job to assess and understand the income for mortgage purposes.
Can locum doctors get a mortgage without a substantial deposit?
The norm is a 5% deposit, and a locum can pretty much access the market like any other borrower. A couple of lenders at the moment are offering unique schemes.
As we speak today in November 2025, there are £5,000 deposit mortgages on offer and a 100% mortgage rent guarantee scheme, as well. Doctors would absolutely still qualify for these unusual products.
It’s just ensuring we’re dealing with the right lenders to accept your income. But there are plenty of lenders out there who will accept a 5% or 10% deposit.
Are there any additional fees or charges associated with locum doctor mortgages?
No, not really. You would normally access standard products. A lender won’t charge you more because you’re a locum doctor.
Every lender has set products, set rates and set fees. The broker you’re dealing with may charge a little more depending on the complexity of the case, if there’s any adverse credit or we’re going with a lender that is trickier to deal with, in terms of packaging what they need for approval.
But it’s not that a locum doctor faces higher rates. It’s more about which lender will get you what you want as a borrower.
If it’s a high street lender with a competitive rate, where you fit the policy and criteria, we’ll clearly go with that as the most suitable, cost-effective option. But sometimes we need to broaden our horizons to find lenders who look at things more favourably.
Any final thoughts, or have we covered all that we can for now?
Just remember to keep your documents. Every time you get your payslip, send an invoice or sign a new contract, keep it in a folder so that when you come to do your mortgage, you’ve got that all nicely organised.
We’re in November now, and trying to find a January payslip isn’t usually too easy – but they are really important, especially if you have inconsistent work. Being organised really helps in evidencing your income for a mortgage.
Key Takeaways:
- A locum doctor mortgage is a standard residential product, but the underwriting is more specialised to look deeper into variable, shift-based earnings and work patterns.
- Lenders generally seek a consistent track record of income, requiring a minimum of three to six months, or sometimes 12 months, depending on the individual’s experience in their field.
- To evidence irregular income, you typically need to gather a combination of documents, including payslips, invoices, remittance, timesheets, and three to six months of bank statements, plus tax returns if self-employed.
- Lenders calculate the annualised income figure for affordability by averaging the income over a longer period – usually six months.
- Lenders often view doctors more favourably, with a flexible approach to underwriting. Some may offer enhanced income multiples up to six times income for newly qualified professionals.
YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.
Approved by The Openwork Partnership on 09/12/2025.
