One in six (17%) Brits say they were declined for a mortgage because they run their own business, research from specialist mortgage broker platform Haysto has found.
A further 15% of sole traders, and 14% of directors of a limited companies, said they were turned down because of their job role.
After being rejected 31% claimed they were left feeling depressed, while 29% felt they were treated unfairly.
Paul Coss, co-founder of Haysto, said: “Getting a mortgage when you’re self-employed can be difficult, as mortgage lenders tend to prefer people in full-time employment because it’s easy and simple to understand their income.
“Being self-employed, your income isn’t as straightforward, and people shouldn’t be penalised for that.
“Despite self-employed people usually earning more money than if they were on a salary, mortgage lenders just aren’t set up to deal with complex incomes.”
