If you have been discharged from bankruptcy or completed an IVA and have kept your credit clean since, there is a route back to a mortgage. I compare mortgages across 120+ lenders including the specialists who work in this area, and I will tell you honestly what is possible now and what changes at each anniversary.
HTG Mortgages
Mortgage After an IVA or Bankruptcy | Discharge Is the Clock Start
Last Updated: September 2026
Featured in The Telegraph • Daily Mail • The Times • Sky News
You can get a mortgage after an IVA or bankruptcy, but the clock starts at discharge, not at the date you entered the arrangement. In the first year or two after discharge you are in specialist lender territory with a larger deposit and higher rates. From around three years on, some mainstream lenders start to consider you, and once the record has dropped off your file after six years most of the market treats you like anyone else.
Bankruptcy is normally discharged after 12 months; an IVA usually runs five to six years before completion
The record stays on your credit file for six years from the start date, and lenders count time from discharge or completion
Early cases are placed with specialist lenders and need a bigger deposit; the choice widens with every year that passes
As featured in…
Meet your Advisor
Harry Goodliffe
- FCA Authorised
- Director & Mortgage Advisor
“I‘m not about confusing jargon or passing you from person to person. From our first chat to the day you get the keys, you’ll deal directly with me. I‘ll keep you updated, answer any burning questions, and do everything I can to make the whole process as stress-free as possible.”
Let’s Talk About Your Mortgage
The mortgage process after insolvency
1
Step 1
First Chat
Send me your discharge certificate or IVA completion certificate and your credit reports from all three agencies, so I know the dates a lender will work from.
2
Step 2
Research
I match your position against lender criteria on time since discharge, deposit and the rest of your file, because each lender sets its own minimum.
3
Step 3
Application
Once you have chosen a lender, I handle the application and present the history clearly, with the evidence underwriters need to see it was resolved.
4
Step 4
Completion
After the offer I stay on it through to completion, and I will work around whatever fits your circumstances, not just office hours.
About
Our approach.
Why choose HTG Mortgages?
The two questions lenders ask are how long since discharge and how has your credit been since. A clean record since discharge, a settled deposit and no new credit problems does more for your case than anything else you can control.
Discharge starts the clock.
Lenders measure from the date you were discharged from bankruptcy or completed your IVA, not from the date it began. Keep the discharge or completion certificate, because you will be asked for it.
Specialist first, mainstream later.
In the first one to two years after discharge the lenders who will consider you are specialists, and they want a larger deposit and charge more for the risk. From around three years some high street lenders begin to open up, subject to a clean record since.
Your file after discharge matters most.
Every payment on time since discharge, no new defaults, registered on the electoral roll and modest use of credit. A small credit card managed well can help rebuild the file, but new problems reset the conversation.
Check the insolvency register and your reports.
Make sure the Individual Insolvency Register shows you as discharged and that all three credit reference agencies have the correct dates. Accounts that were included in the arrangement should be marked settled or partially settled, not still showing as live debts.
How lenders assess a mortgage after bankruptcy
Most bankruptcies are discharged automatically after 12 months. The bankruptcy stays on your credit file for six years from the date it began, and the Individual Insolvency Register is updated within about three months of discharge. Lenders then set minimum periods from discharge. In the first year, very few will consider an application and those that do want a large deposit. Between one and three years the specialist market opens up, typically with deposits well above what a clean case needs and rates to match. Mainstream lenders commonly want three to six years since discharge, and some will only consider a case with a senior underwriter’s review. Once six years have passed from the start of the bankruptcy the record leaves your file, although a few lenders still ask whether you have ever been bankrupt and take the answer into account. Your conduct since discharge is weighed alongside the dates: a clean file, stable employment and a steady deposit make a real difference. If there were defaults or a CCJ before the bankruptcy, they will be tied up in the same record, and I explain how lenders view those on my mortgage with defaults and mortgage with a CCJ pages.
How lenders assess a mortgage after an IVA
An individual voluntary arrangement usually runs for five or six years. When it completes you receive a completion certificate, the Insolvency Register shows the IVA as completed for three months before removing it, and the marker stays on your credit file for six years from the start date or until completion if that is later. Some lenders will consider an application while an IVA is still running, with the insolvency practitioner’s consent, but the choice is very narrow and the deposit large. After completion, lenders assess time since completion in the same way as time since bankruptcy discharge, so the first year or two is specialist territory and the options widen from there. Make sure every account that was included in the IVA is marked settled or partially settled on your file, because accounts still showing as live debts are a common reason for a decline that has nothing to do with the IVA itself. My bad credit mortgages page covers the wider adverse credit market. Whether to apply now or wait another year is a judgement based on your dates, your deposit and your file since, and working that out is what an advice appointment is for.
Why use HTG’s mortgage services?
Available 24/7, so we are always there to help when you need us
We are an independently owned, whole-of-market mortgage broker offering first-charge mortgages
We provide unrivalled customer service, ensuring that you get the care you deserve
Let’s get your mortgage sorted
Written by Harry Goodliffe
Director & Mortgage Adviser, HTG Mortgages · FCA Authorised (1017945)
CeMAP Qualified · Featured in National Press · South England Prestige Awards 2026/27 winner