How couples who pay for childcare are having up to £100k slashed from the mortgage they can borrow

MUMS and dads who both work are being penalised by up to £100,000 when they apply for a mortgage, it has emerged.

Lenders slash the amount parents can borrow by up to a third if they pay for kids to go to nursery or be looked after by a childminder.

It means a couple who each earn £30,000 and pay £920 a month for two children in childcare can typically borrow £100,000 less than a family with the same total income but with one parent staying at home.

Couples planning to start a family are also being told to prove they will return to work within three months or they will have to accept a smaller loan.

And middle-class parents who pay a typical £1,343 a month in private school fees will have £150,000 shaved off the amount they can borrow, .

Experts said the figures would be a "huge shock" to young families who are already struggling to get on the property ladder.

It means many hard-working couples are forced to rent for years longer until their kids are old enough to go to school.

Childcare costs have rocketed by a third in the past five years to an average £212 a week.

Under intrusive new rules introduced in 2014, lenders grill potential borrowers on how much they spend on meals out, holidays, gym memberships and TV packages to test if they can afford the mortgage.

Now it has been revealed exactly how much banks cut the loan available if borrowers have childcare costs - even though most families pay for only three or four years of the typical 25-year mortgage term.

Have you been affected by the childcare mortgage penalty? Email felix.allen@the-sun.co.uk

At the Halifax, a couple who have two children and a joint income of £60,000 could borrow up to £285,000.

But if they spend £920 a month on childcare the loan would be capped at £190,370 — £94,630 less.

The amount Barclays will lend to the same couple falls from £300,000 to £198,500 — a reduction of £101,500.

Nationwide will lend up to £285,000, falling to £203,900 if they pay for childcare — a difference of £81,100.

Santander offers £300,000 to a couple with no childcare costs — but this falls to £219,488 if there are nursery bills to pay.

At HSBC, the maximum falls from £300,000 to £229,800, according to research by brokers London and Country.

Pregnant customers planning maternity leave — and those already taking time away from work — could also find their loan capped.

Most lenders want to see a date has been agreed for your return to work and some such as Tesco Bank and Virgin Money will take a mum's full salary into account only if she is due to return within three months.

Daniel Bailey, of mortgage broker Middleton Finance, said: "People don't think about how having kids might affect the size of the mortgage they could get — why would they?

"So it's a huge shock when they realise their bank won't lend them as much.

"It's vital they know how much it can affect their application, so they can get their affairs in order before applying."

Barclays, HSBC and Santander say that, as responsible lenders, they consider a customer's "complete financial picture" to make sure they can "afford their mortgage in the short and long term".

Nationwide said applications are assessed on an "individual basis" with all sources of income taken into account and a "full assessment of committed and essential expenditure".

Halifax said it takes into account child tax credits if the customer is entitled to them.

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