Affordability for self-employed borrowers tightened in February as fewer lenders were able to provide the loan size required, according to Mortgage Broker Tools.

The company says that for 31 per cent of the self-employed cases it processed in February, there was no lender willing to offer the amount requested by the borrower.

For 67 per cent of self-employed cases there was at least one lender willing to offer the amount required, but this was down from 71 per cent in January.

In 2 per cent of self-employed cases last month no lender was willing to lend at all. 

Across the whole of the market, 79 per cent of cases were affordable in February, down slightly from 80 per cent in January. 

There was at least one lender able to meet the loan requirements of 86 per cent of first-time buyers, 84 per cent of remortgage customers and 81 per cent of home movers.

The average loan size requested by self-employed borrowers in February was £180,000

Based on the average loan size requested, the maximum sum on offer to self-employed borrowers was £216,000, down 2 per cent from £221,400 in January.

The lowest sum offered to a borrower in these circumstances was down by 18 per cent from £118,800 in January to just £96,935.

MBT chief executive Tanya Toumadj says: “The self-employed continue to face a complex affordability landscape as more lenders tighten criteria for mortgage applicants in this group and the number of options reduces. 

“For brokers who only try one or two lenders, this can give a false impression that their clients have no chance of achieving the loan size they required.

“However, it’s important to remember that there was at least one affordable option for more than two thirds of self-employed cases processed through the MBT Affordability platform in February.

“The message here is that the choice of lender makes a big difference to the amount a self-employed mortgage applicant can borrow, so brokers need to make sure they are considering all of the affordability options to ensure they are providing their clients with the most suitable recommendations.”