Hanley Economic Building Society has refreshed its lending criteria to introduce a series of changes designed to support a wider range of borrower needs.

The changes includes the removal of fixed loan-to-income caps across the society’s residential range.

Affordability will now be assessed through a more rounded view of income and outgoings, rather than being restricted by a fixed multiple.

Self-employed applicants with one year of trading and relevant experience now may be considered as well as day-rate workers with at least 12 months of experience and a minimum of four weeks left on their contract (or proof of renewal) are now eligible.

In addition, income from a second job is accepted after 12 months (employed) or 24 months (self-employed), with a cap of 50 working hours per week. Overtime is also considered with two years of evidence.

Applicants in probationary periods are accepted if they have at least one year in a similar role and those with up to 50% of certain benefits can also be included.

The society has also removed hard equity requirements for interest only mortgages.

All applications are individually assessed by the in-house team underwriting team, with no credit scoring.

Hanley Economic Building Society head of credit risk and lending strategy Ollie Slimm says: “Our focus is on shaping our criteria to mirror the realities of modern working lives. By introducing greater flexibility around how we assess income, employment and affordability, we’re giving brokers more scope to place those cases that need closer consideration.”

“Each client’s circumstances are unique, and we’re here to support our intermediary partners in finding the most suitable route forward.”