Nationwide will offer a loan-to-income ratio of 5.5 times salary for first-time buyers from Monday 26 April.

The ‘Helping Hand’ offering is available at up to 90% LTV on the lender’s five- or ten-year fixed rate mortgages.

It says that borrowers will be able to choose from the same range available to everybody else with “consistent product rates, fees and features.” It will also provide £500 cashback.

Additionally, if a borrower opts to use this new scheme, Nationwide will apply a lower stress rate to its calculations. It says that all the Helping Hand tweaks equate to an affordability improvement of up to 20%.

There is a minimum income requirement of £31,000 for sole applicants and £50,000 for joint applicants. No borrower may be self-employed.

The lender has allocated £1bn to fund this programme, which it says it has developed in response to metrics such as the average FTB property value increasing 41% against an average income rise of 18% over the last decade.

Nationwide director of mortgages Henry Jordan comments: “Nationwide was founded to help people into homes of their own and that remains the case as much today as it did 135 years ago.

“In the UK there are nearly five million private rented households, but many of these renters have dreams and aspirations of buying a home of their own. However, with household incomes rising at a slower rate than house prices, many FTBs are finding it increasingly hard to get onto the property ladder.

“Our new Helping Hand option supports borrowers in meeting the affordability requirements, making it easier for them to buy a home of their own.”