Agency Worker Mortgage
Some lenders exclude income from agency work outright. Knowing which ones before you apply is the difference between a straightforward application and a wasted credit search.
- The lender that publishes an outright exclusion
- What the lenders that do accept it look for
- Why length of service matters more than the agency
- How agency work differs from zero hours
broad range of UK lenders
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Tell us how long you have worked through your agency and what your last twelve months look like, and we will tell you which lenders can consider it.
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The exclusion that catches people out
Precise publishes a list of income it does not accept, and income from agency work is on it, alongside state benefits, furlough income and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants. That is an outright exclusion rather than a cautious treatment, and no amount of packaging changes it.
That does not mean agency workers cannot get mortgages. It means the lender list is narrower and choosing correctly at the outset matters more than usual. Applying to a lender that excludes the income entirely produces a decline and leaves a search on your credit file for the next lender to see.
Lenders that do consider agency income are looking at the same things they look at for any variable income: how long the arrangement has run, whether the work has been continuous, and whether the money arriving each month is broadly consistent. Twelve months of continuous assignments through the same agency is a far stronger position than three months across three agencies.
It is worth being clear about the distinction from zero hours work, because the two are often confused. An agency worker is supplied to a client by an agency. A zero hours worker is employed directly but without guaranteed hours. The lender lists are different, so the label genuinely matters. GOV.UK explains the statutory position in its guidance on agency worker rights, and our zero hours contract mortgages page covers the other case.
At a Glance
Agency income by lender
Only the first row is a published policy. The others describe the general market approach, because most lenders do not publish a dedicated agency worker rule.
| Lender | Position on agency income | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Precise | Not accepted - income from agency work is explicitly excluded | Precise also excludes all state benefits, furlough income and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants |
| Pepper Money | No dedicated agency exclusion published in its criteria guide | Publishes a maximum of 2 income sources per applicant, and treats zero hours work as acceptable with 2 years or more at the same employer and stable income |
| Aldermore | No dedicated agency exclusion published in its criteria guide | Standard employed income evidence applies |
| Mainstream lenders (general) | Mixed - some accept with a track record, some do not | This row describes the general market position rather than a named lender policy |
Criteria correct as at 14 August 2026. Exclusion list from the Precise Mortgages Residential Criteria Guide. Where a lender does not publish an agency policy we have said so rather than infer one. Correct as at 14 August 2026. Criteria change without notice. Lender criteria change without notice and this table is a general guide, not advice or an offer of credit. Your own circumstances, the property and the lender’s assessment at the time will determine what is actually available to you.
What an agency worker case needs
Continuity is the whole argument. The more clearly your paperwork shows unbroken work, the wider the lender list becomes. GOV.UK sets out the status tests that decide how your work is classified in its guidance on self-employed and contractor status.
Where to go next
The pages most often read alongside this one.
Zero Hours Contract Mortgage
Length of service and stability of hours matter more than the contract label.
Umbrella Company Mortgage
Employed on paper, contractor in practice – and the two very different ways lenders read that.
Fixed-Term Contract Mortgage
Time left to run, renewal history and profession all feed the decision.
Second Job Mortgage
Whether a second job counts usually turns on how long you have held it and whether the hours overlap.
How Many Income Sources?
Some lenders cap the number of income sources per applicant. That cap can decide the case.
Mortgages For Contractors
How contractor-friendly lenders work from a day rate or contract value instead of trading accounts.
Self-Employed Mortgages
The main guide: how lenders assess self-employed income, what they ask for and which lenders are worth approaching.
Contractor Mortgage Calculator
Annualise a day rate the way lenders do and see the borrowing it supports.
How we place a self-employed or complex income case
Specialist lenders underwrite manually, so how the income is evidenced and presented genuinely changes the outcome.
Establish how you are actually classed
Lenders do not all draw the line in the same place. Precise treats anyone with a shareholding of 25% or more, or who is responsible for paying their own tax and National Insurance, as self-employed. Getting this right first decides which criteria apply to you.
Read the accounts the way an underwriter will
We work from your tax calculations, tax year overviews and finalised accounts rather than a rough turnover figure, because the number a lender uses is often materially different from the number you think of as your income.
Match the income shape to the right lender
Latest year or average, salary and dividends or share of net profit, one year of accounts or two – these are lender policy choices. We place you against published criteria rather than guessing.
Package the case properly
Specialist lenders underwrite manually. A clear note explaining a dip in profit, a change of trading style or a new contract usually carries more weight with an underwriter than the raw figure on its own.
Plan the next few years
Trading history builds. We look at whether waiting for one more set of accounts, or how you draw income between now and then, would open up materially better options at your next remortgage.
Read More About Contract Income
Day rates and short contracts are lent on every day, by the right lenders.
Self-Employed Mortgage Guide
How lenders actually read accounts, day rates and dividends.
Contractor Mortgages
Day-rate lending without two years of accounts, and who offers it.
Low Deposit Mortgages
What is realistic at five per cent, and which lenders still look at it.
Apply to the wrong lender and agency income counts for nothing
Tell us how long you have worked through your agency. We will tell you which lenders can consider it before an application leaves a search on your file.
Read more about our zero hours contract mortgages, contractor mortgages or self-employed mortgages guide.
Agency Worker Mortgages - Frequently Asked Questions
Can agency workers get a mortgage?
Yes, but the lender list is narrower than for directly employed applicants. Precise explicitly excludes income from agency work, so applying there would not succeed regardless of your history. Other lenders will consider agency income where there is a continuous track record.
Which lenders will not accept agency income?
Precise publishes agency work among the income types it does not accept, alongside all state benefits, furlough income and Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants. Where a lender does not publish an agency rule, the position has to be confirmed rather than assumed either way.
How long do I need to have been agency working?
Twelve months of continuous assignments is a sensible planning assumption for lenders that accept the income. What matters most is that the work has been continuous rather than that it has been through one agency, though staying with one agency does make the paperwork simpler.
Does it matter if I have changed agencies?
Less than you might think, provided the work itself continued. An underwriter is testing durability of income, not loyalty to an agency. Be ready to evidence that assignments ran continuously across the change, with payslips covering both sides of it.
Is agency work the same as a zero hours contract?
No, and the difference matters for lender selection. An agency worker is supplied to a client by an agency. A zero hours worker is employed directly but with no guaranteed hours. Some lenders exclude the first while accepting the second, so getting the label right is important.
What documents will I need?
Twelve months of payslips, your latest P60, a written statement of terms, confirmation of your start date and three months of bank statements. Where there have been gaps between assignments, a short written explanation filed with the application saves a round of questions.
Will gaps between assignments count against me?
Short gaps are normal in agency work and are usually accommodated by a conservative income average. Long or repeated gaps are harder, because they go to the durability of the income. Explaining the reason for each one is more effective than leaving it to be inferred.
Can I use agency income alongside another job?
Often yes, though some lenders cap the number of income sources. Pepper Money publishes a maximum of two income sources per applicant. Where the agency income is the smaller of several, it may not be the one worth including.
Does going permanent help?
Considerably, and it is worth timing an application around it where a permanent offer is close. A permanent contract removes the variability question and typically opens the mainstream lender list, which usually means better pricing as well as more choice.
What if I work through an umbrella company as well?
Then the umbrella treatment applies and it varies more between lenders than agency treatment does. Some lenders assess umbrella workers as employed, others look through to the assignment rate. Our umbrella company guide covers both routes.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.