Principality Building Society improves mortgage affordability rules for barristers
Tags: Professional mortgages, Remortgages, Residential mortgages
Quick Summary
Principality Building Society has improved its mortgage affordability rules for barristers, making it easier for pupils, tenanted barristers and silks to use realistic income figures when applying for a mortgage. The lender can consider pupillage awards, chambers clerk projections, annualised year-to-date income and sustainable rising earnings, subject to evidence. This could help barristers whose latest accounts do not reflect their current income or future earning potential. Trinity Financial says the changes are positive, but applications must be packaged carefully with chambers letters, bank statements, payment summaries, accounts and projections. Brokers should also be aware that Principality’s decision-in-principle system may automatically decline some cases, so manual assessment through the lender’s business development team may be needed
Principality improves mortgage affordability for barristers
Principality Building Society has improved how it assesses mortgage affordability for barristers, making it potentially easier for pupils, tenanted barristers and silks to secure the borrowing they need.
Barristers often have complex income structures, especially at the start of their careers or when their earnings are rising quickly. Some lenders struggle to assess chambers' income, projections, pupillage awards and fluctuating self-employed income. Principality’s updated criteria should help more barristers use a realistic income figure when applying for a mortgage.
However, brokers need to be aware that when submitting a decision in principle, Principality’s system may automatically decline the case. The lender says brokers should contact their local business development manager, who can help progress the application manually.
How Principality assesses pupillage income
Principality will treat a pupillage award as guaranteed income and blend it with a tenancy projection from the chambers clerk.
The lender will require:
| Pupillage evidence required | Details |
|---|---|
| Chambers letter | Confirming the value and duration of the pupillage award |
| Bank statements | Showing regular payments of the award |
| Chambers clerk letter | Confirming sustainability with a projected income |
For example, if a barrister receives a £40,000 pupillage award and has £60,000 projected tenancy income, Principality can divide the two figures by two. This gives an assessable income of £50,000, which can be used at 100% for affordability purposes.
How Principality assesses tenanted barristers
For tenanted barristers, Principality can use annualised year-to-date income, provided it is supported by suitable documents.
The lender will require:
| Tenanted barrister evidence required | Details |
|---|---|
| Latest year’s accounts | To show historic income |
| Payment summaries and bank statements | To evidence current income |
| Chambers clerk letter | Confirming sustainability and projected income |
For example, if a barrister has earned £72,000 over four months, this equates to £18,000 per month or £216,000 annualised. If the latest year’s accounts show £100,000 and chambers projections show £220,000 backed by contracts and payment forecasts, Principality may assess affordability using the annualised income figure of £216,000.
This could be extremely useful for barristers whose earnings are growing and whose latest accounts do not reflect their current income level.
How Principality assesses silks
Principality will allow either a two-year average income or a weighted latest income figure if it is higher and sustainable.
The lender will require:
| Silk evidence required | Details |
|---|---|
| Latest year’s accounts | To assess historic earnings |
| Payment summaries and bank statements | To substantiate current income |
| Chambers clerk letter | Confirming sustainability and projected income |
For example, if a silk has earned £100,000 over four months, this equates to £25,000 per month or £300,000 annualised. If the previous accounts show £180,000, Principality may assess income by averaging the latest annualised figure and the previous accounts figure. In this example, £300,000 plus £180,000 divided by two gives an assessable income of £240,000.
Why is this helpful for barristers applying for mortgages?
Many barristers do not fit a standard employed or self-employed mortgage assessment. Income can rise quickly after pupillage, fluctuate depending on caseload, or be supported by chambers projections rather than a simple salary.
Some banks and building societies base affordability on historic accounts only. This can reduce borrowing power for barristers whose current income is much higher than their previous year’s earnings.
Principality’s updated approach could help barristers borrow more where their current and projected income is sustainable and properly evidenced.
Aaron Strutt, Product Director at Trinity Financial, says:
“Barristers can be difficult for some lenders to assess because their income does not always fit a standard mortgage model. Pupillage awards, chambers projections, fluctuating income and fast-rising earnings can all make affordability more complex.
“Principality’s updated criteria is positive because it gives brokers a clearer way to present barrister income, particularly where current earnings are stronger than historic accounts. The key is making sure the case is packaged properly, with the right letters, bank statements, payment summaries and chambers projections.
“It is also important to know that the decision-in-principle system may decline the case automatically, so brokers need to speak to Principality’s business development team rather than assume the application cannot proceed.”
How Trinity Financial helps barristers get mortgages
Trinity Financial’s brokers regularly help barristers, solicitors, partners, doctors, consultants, accountants and other professionals secure mortgages.
We can review income, chambers letters, accounts, bank statements, pupillage awards, tenancy projections and any other supporting documents before approaching suitable lenders.
This can be particularly useful for:
-
Pupil barristers
-
Newly tenanted barristers
-
Barristers with rising income
-
Silks
-
Barristers buying larger properties
-
First-time buyers with professional income
-
Remortgage customers wanting higher borrowing
-
Applicants whose latest accounts do not reflect current earnings
Trinity Financial's brokers also have access to a large building society offering specific rules for Barrister mortgages
During pupillage, this building society can consider 100% of the pupillage award as income, provided it is confirmed in the award letter and supported by bank statements showing the regular payments. The lender will need the award letter and bank statements to evidence the income.
Once pupillage has finished, the lender may consider a one-year income projection. This projection must be confirmed in a letter from the Senior Clerk and supported with evidence such as bank statements, reports of work completed, aged debt reports or other documentation showing the expected income is realistic.
When the barrister’s first-year tax calculations or accounts become available, the lender may be able to use the confirmed first-year net profit and average it with the estimated second-year net profit. This can be helpful where the barrister’s income is increasing and the latest accounts do not fully reflect their current earning potential.
Speak to Trinity Financial
If you are a barrister looking for a mortgage, it is worth speaking to a broker before applying. Different lenders assess barrister income in different ways, and the right lender can make a significant difference to how much you can borrow.
Trinity Financial's experts can assess your circumstances and explain which lenders are most likely to understand your income structure.
Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790, book a consultation, or use our appointment calendar.
The information contained within was correct at the time of publication but is subject to change. It is for general information purposes and is not advice.
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Barristers can sometimes use high-street lenders, private banks, building societies and specialist lenders, depending on how their income is structured.
Some of the lenders that may be useful for barristers include:
| Lender | Why they may be useful for barristers |
|---|---|
| Principality Building Society | Has improved how it assesses barrister affordability, including pupillage awards, tenanted barrister income and silk income projections. Brokers may need to speak to the lender’s BDM because some cases can be manually assessed. |
| Co-operative Bank | Offers professional mortgages and includes barristers in its eligible professions. It states that professional applicants may be able to borrow up to 6 times income, subject to criteria. |
| Barclays | Can be useful for higher earners and some self-employed applicants, particularly where income is strong and well evidenced. Barclays’ intermediary criteria says self-employed applicants generally need at least two years’ trading history. |
| HSBC | Can be useful for higher-income professionals, especially those who qualify for HSBC Premier. Some Premier borrowers may access enhanced affordability, subject to HSBC’s criteria. |
| Halifax | Often competitive for mainstream residential mortgages and may suit barristers with established income and clean affordability. |
| Nationwide | Can be useful for borrowers with strong affordability and deposit levels. Some applicants may benefit from higher income multiple schemes, depending on eligibility. |
| Private banks | May help senior barristers, KCs and high-net-worth clients needing large loans, interest-only mortgages, complex income assessment or bespoke underwriting. |
Yes. Many barristers can access standard fixed-rate and tracker mortgages through big lenders if they have a strong deposit, clean credit file and enough evidence of sustainable income.
The difficulty is that many barristers are self-employed and their income may fluctuate. Some lenders rely heavily on previous tax calculations, accounts or an average of historic income. This can be restrictive if a barrister’s earnings have increased sharply, or if their latest accounts do not reflect their current level of work.
Pupil barristers and newly tenanted barristers may also struggle with some mainstream lenders because they may not yet have two or three years of accounts.
A barrister should consider using a good mortgage broker because lender criteria can vary significantly. The right broker can help work out which lender is most likely to use the most favourable income figure.
Trinity Financial's brokers can help barristers by:
- Reviewing accounts, SA302s, tax year overviews and bank statements
- Using chambers letters and clerk income projections where lenders allow them
- Finding lenders that understand pupillage awards and tenancy projections
- Approaching lenders prepared to annualise rising income
- Comparing standard high-street rates with professional mortgage options
- Assessing whether a private bank is needed for larger or more complex loans
- Avoiding unnecessary declines by checking criteria before application
Most lenders do not have a specific box that says “KC criteria”. Instead, KCs are usually stronger applicants because they are senior barristers with a longer track record, higher earnings, established chambers income and often more predictable future work. The Bar Council describes KCs as senior barristers who have “taken silk” and are usually instructed in serious or complex cases.
For mortgage purposes, this can help because lenders may be more comfortable with:
- higher average self-employed income over several years
- senior clerk income projections
- aged-debt reports
- retained profits or limited company income, where relevant
- complex income from advocacy, advisory work, judicial roles, arbitration or consultancy
- larger loans or private-bank-style underwriting
King’s Counsel barristers may not have a separate published mortgage category with every lender, but their seniority, income history and chambers profile can make applications easier to place. Some lenders are more comfortable using higher earnings, clerk projections, retained profits and complex income streams for established silks, especially where the case is manually underwritten by a specialist mortgage team.
If a King's Counsel (KC) barrister typically earns between £300,000 and £1,000,000+ per year, depending heavily on their area of specialisation and experience, then they should be able to borrow up to 5.5 or even 6.5 times their salary from this one big bank. This means they could borrow between £1,650,000 and a rather high £6.5 million.
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