Almost four in ten self-employed workers say they are considering giving up being their own boss to secure a mortgage, according to a poll from The Mortgage Lender.

The survey found 39% of self-employed people in the UK are reconsidering their working status, and 43% of this group have applied for a full-time role over the last year, after a drop in earnings during the pandemic.

It said 30% of self-employed people believe changes to their finances during the health crisis “will negatively impact their ability to get a mortgage in the future”.

And 55% of existing mortgage holders feared they would not be able to secure a loan for the amount they currently owe if their borrowing was based on their self-employed earnings over the last year.

Self-employed workers living in the South East were the least hopeful about their chances of securing a mortgage, with 60% believing it’s now more difficult than ever for independent workers.

This was echoed by 55% of self-employed people in the North West, 52% in Wales and the West Midlands, and 51% in Scotland and East Anglia.

There are 4.4 million self-employed workers in the UK, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data released in May.

The Mortgage Lender sales and product director Steve Griffiths says: “Our research has exposed a feeling among self-employed people that the mortgage market has closed its doors to them.

“Forty-seven per cent said they have been deterred from even applying for a mortgage because of their self-employed status.

And 43 per cent of those aged between 18 to 34, and 36 per cent of those aged 35 to 44 believe their chances of being given a mortgage in the future have been scuppered because of the financial impact of the pandemic.

“With an estimated 5 million self-employed people in the UK before the pandemic, it doesn’t make for lenders to turn their backs on them.

Earlier research in July by the specialist lender, which is owned by Shawbrook Bank, found that 85% of self-employed workers said their incomes had not yet bounced back to pre-pandemic levels.

The Mortgage Lender’s poll was among 1,000 UK-based self-employed people, who either own their home or want to, and was conducted in March.