Accord Mortgages has lowered its minimum income requirement for those borrowing more than 4.49 times their salary, to £60,000 from £70,000.  

The Yorkshire Building Society broker-only arm says the move applies to mortgages up to 90% loan-to-value, or 85% LTV for new build homes.  

The move includes the intermediary-only lender’s boost loan-to-income product, which offers up to 5.5 times LTI for clients who need more flexibility around income multiples.  

But it adds that its “commitment to responsible lending will continue to apply, and applications will still have to meet its standard lending policy and affordability requirements”.  

Accord senior manager mortgage distribution – proposition development Nicola Alvarez says the change is aimed at giving borrowers — from first-time buyers, next steppers, to remortgagers — more borrowing flexibility.  

Alvarez adds: “This is the latest example of Accord’s ongoing commitment to developing more and more of the common-sense lending solutions brokers have come to expect of us, to support them as much as we can in helping their clients in today’s challenging mortgage market.  

“We hope this latest change to our minimum income requirements, giving them greater access to higher income multiples, will help them with their vital role in finding solutions for as many borrowers as possible.”  

The changes do not apply to applications under the new build Deposit Unlock scheme, or cascade score applications.