Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor Mortgage

Podcast approved by The Openwork Partnership on 30/09/2025.

What is a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) mortgage and how do they work?

A Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage involves at least two people being responsible for the mortgage debt. They would both need to pass all the lender’s criteria, based on factors including their income and expenditure.

Where it’s different to a traditional joint mortgage is that only one person is named on the deeds of the property. This person would be the proprietor. The other party is purely a supporter, although they’re still fully responsible for the actual mortgage itself.

What responsibilities do the joint borrower and sole proprietor have in a JBSP mortgage?

Both parties are fully responsible for the mortgage and making sure the property is in good condition. They need to make sure it has the right insurances like buildings cover, if it’s a freehold property.

Both parties are fully responsible for making the mortgage payments. The supporter and the owner might both pay 50% of the mortgage each, or it could be that the supporter is only there to boost affordability. Perhaps the mortgage isn’t affordable on the owner’s salary alone.

The borrowers would agree between themselves how to pay the mortgage. Perhaps the owner’s going to pay 100% – or it could be an 80-20 split. But if one of them isn’t able to pay, the other person is expected to make the full payment.

Who is eligible for a JBSP mortgage? Can I get a JBSP mortgage as a First Time Buyer?

Yes, and certain lenders only offer this for First Time Buyers, with a parent as the supporter.
But there are lenders that will do it for home movers, where you already own your property and you’re looking for a new one.

Maybe the affordability isn’t quite there – so if you’ve got a supporter that’s perfect. It doesn’t have to always be parents helping their kids – it could be vice versa. There are lots of different ways you can set them up.

What criteria do you need to meet for a JBSP mortgage?

It’s mainly the standard types of criteria, such as the age of the applicants, income status, credit history and perhaps visa status.

Lenders will check the affordability and your deposit. There are some niche criteria – for example, some lenders only allow First Time Buyers, or the supporter has to be a parent or a close family member. Others allow wider relations such as aunts and uncles.

Do JBSP mortgages require a larger deposit compared to standard mortgages?

No, not necessarily. Having a bigger deposit is always better, because if the mortgage amount is lower it lowers your payments. There are lenders that offer JBSP with a 5-10% deposit, while others require more.

Some lenders, for example, allow home movers to use a JBSP. Let’s say you wanted to move out of your flat, but you wanted to keep it, as it’s in a good area for rentals. This allows you to keep your current property and change it over to Buy to Let, but only with a minimum of 20% deposit.

It’s all just down to individual criteria and needs at the time [information correct at the time of recording in August 2025].

Do you pay stamp duty on a JBSP mortgage?

Yes, if stamp duty is applicable. This is the really important part of JBSP. Stamp duty is only assessed on the property owner – so if your parents are your supporters and they already have a house, they won’t own this new property, and additional stamp duty isn’t applicable.

Always double check this to make sure you won’t be caught out somehow. But the big benefit of JBSP is that the supporter is not the owner. Therefore, there’s no extra stamp duty.

Can you have a sole mortgage on a joint property?

No, this isn’t something that any lenders offer currently. Some lenders may allow one person in a married couple to be named as both the owner of the property and the mortgage holder. But generally it causes quite a lot of uncertainty.

Imagine a situation where two people owned a property, but only one of them was named on the mortgage. If that person stops paying for the mortgage, what are the other person’s rights? What are the lender’s rights?

It becomes quite convoluted – and could cause a lender difficulties in trying to repossess a house. That’s why it’s currently not on the market.

What’s the difference between a joint mortgage and a JBSP mortgage?

It’s down to the ownership of the property. With a joint mortgage, both parties will have legal ownership of the property and mortgage responsibility.

Perhaps you’ll decide to have a parent named on the property title deeds. If they already have a property, you’ll pay extra stamp duty. But with JBSP, only the owner has the legal right to the property.

In both cases, everyone named on the mortgage has full responsibility for paying it.

What’s the difference between a guarantor mortgage and a JBSP mortgage?

With both a JBSP and a guarantor mortgage, the supporter or guarantor doesn’t own the property.

But unlike a JBSP mortgage, a guarantor isn’t actually responsible for making the mortgage payment. They are only responsible if a payment is missed. They’re the guarantee for the lender that the payment will be made.

This has an important effect on the application. With a JBSP, one person is the owner and one person is the supporter. The lender will look at both people’s incomes together to work out the lending amount. That usually means you can get a bit of a boost.

With a guarantor mortgage, the lender will solely look at affordability for the property owner. They’ll look at the guarantor completely separately. It’s a bit harder to get a guarantor mortgage. With a JBSP, because you’re adding the incomes together, it boosts affordability overall.

What are the pros and cons of JBSP mortgages?

It’s a great way to get a foot on the housing ladder, especially with house prices going up. It works well for parents who want to help their child but don’t have a lump sum to offer as a deposit.

In 2022, 37% of all First Time Buyers used a gift from their family to be able to buy a house.
Not everyone’s in that position. Some parents might not be able to give their child a deposit, but they can help boost affordability. And, because they’re not named as owners of the property, there’s no additional stamp duty.

In terms of disadvantages, the supporter has no rights to the property but has the same liability for the loan. If the owner decides not to pay, the supporter would be expected to make the payment in full.

If they don’t, the house could be repossessed and have a negative affect on everyone’s credit scores.

Another important part to think about is the supporter’s own financial future. They might need to take out a finance deal – a mortgage, car finance, anything like that. They’re now jointly responsible for this mortgage, which could reduce their own borrowing capabilities.

Do you have anything to add before we return with part two?

We’ve covered quite a lot here. There are a lot of considerations to make in deciding the right way to purchase a property. A great way to do that is to speak to a mortgage broker, who can give you information specifically about your situation and provide specific advice.

YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Approved by The Openwork Partnership on 30/09/2025.