Can my mortgage deposit be gifted?

Yes, a mortgage deposit can be gifted. Money given to a homebuyer to help them buy a property is a normal part of how people get onto the housing ladder, and most lenders accept it¹. What matters to the lender is not that the money arrived, but where it came from and whether it has to be paid back.

The rules are not the same everywhere. Santander says it generally accepts gifted deposits for residential mortgages from family and friends, as long as the money is a non-repayable gift and the person giving it has no interest in the property and will not live in it². Kensington accepts gifts from immediate family only³. Halifax's £5k Deposit mortgage does not allow a gifted deposit at all⁴.

The paperwork is the part people underestimate. Most lenders want a signed letter or declaration from the giver confirming the money is a gift, does not have to be repaid, and comes with no claim on the property⁵. Skipton says you will need to tell both your lender and your solicitor⁶. Santander says it will not usually ask for a gifted deposit letter if you take your mortgage with it².

Who can give you a deposit: close family first

Most lenders start from close family. Santander says gifted mortgage deposits usually come from close family members, including parents, step-parents, grandparents, siblings and in-laws². The Nottingham says most lenders accept gifted deposits from close family members, typically parents or grandparents⁸. Skipton lists parents, grandparents, siblings and other close family members⁶.

Some lenders set the boundary wider than others. Kensington says it will accept gifted deposits as long as they come from immediate family members, and sets out who that means: parents including step-parents, grandparents, a non-dependent child, a brother, a sister, an uncle or an aunt³. Suffolk Building Society says it will usually accept gifted deposits on its standard residential mortgages from close family members, naming parents, grandparents, brothers or sisters⁹. The Mortgage Lender allows gifts from family members such as parents, grandparents and a spouse, and considers gifts from wider family case by case¹⁰.

Gatehouse Bank goes furthest in the facts here. Its home purchase plan criteria say gifted deposits are accepted from immediate and extended family members, including parents, spouses, children, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, legal guardians, step-relatives and in-laws¹¹. It also draws a line: vendor gifted deposits are not acceptable, though builder or developer incentives may be accepted up to 5% of the purchase price, with a signed Gifted Deposit Declaration¹¹.

Friends are the awkward category. Santander says it generally accepts gifted deposits from family and friends², but Halifax lists family friends among the people who usually cannot give a deposit, alongside an employer, a developer or your landlord, an aunt or uncle who is not your blood relative, cousins, and foster or guardian children⁵. If the money is coming from someone outside the family, the lender's own criteria decide it, and they vary.

What the giver must confirm: no repayment, no conditions

The single rule that runs through every lender's criteria is that the money must be a gift, not a loan. Halifax puts it plainly: it cannot be a loan and there must be no agreement to pay back the money⁵. Newcastle Building Society says that unlike loans, gifted deposits are given with the understanding that the money does not need to be given back¹².

That is why the letter exists. Halifax lists what a gifted deposit letter typically needs to include: your name and address, the name and address of the person giving the money, the relationship between you, the total amount of the gift, where the gift has come from, confirmation you will not have to pay it back, confirmation the giver will not have any stake in the property, and proof that the giver is financially stable and unlikely to face bankruptcy⁵. NatWest's list is similar: the name of the person receiving the gift, the source of the money, the relationship, the value, that the giver expects no repayment, and that the giver makes no claim to the property¹³.

Suffolk Building Society sets out the fullest set of confirmations in the facts here. The giver declares that it is an unconditional and non-refundable gift, that no interest is to be charged, that no repayments are required, that there are no rights, interests or claims in the property, that there is no registered legal charge over the property, and that they will not reside in the property now or in the future⁹.

The wording differs by lender in small but real ways. HSBC says the letter is signed by the donor and organised by the solicitor or licensed conveyancer, confirming the deposit is a non-refundable and unconditional gift and that no interest is claimed on the property¹⁴. Royal Bank says it requires a signed letter or email, with no signature required, from the gifting party, confirming the gift is either non-repayable or repayable¹⁵. Santander says the family member or friend giving the money just needs to confirm that it is not repayable, there are no conditions, and they will have no legal interest or claim over the home¹⁶.

How lenders' rules on gifted deposits differ

There is no single gifted deposit rule. Each lender writes its own criteria, and the differences show up in who can give, how much can be gifted, and whether the money is allowed at all.

The size of the deposit changes the picture too. Yorkshire Building Society says that with a 5% deposit the mortgage deals available might be limited, while a 10% deposit may offer more options¹⁷. That matters for gifted deposits because the money often fills a gap: a gift that lifts a deposit from 5% to 10% can change which deals a lender will consider, though the lender's own criteria still decide the outcome.

Some lenders build the gift into the product itself. Principality Building Society says a family member could gift you money towards your deposit by potentially borrowing on their own mortgage¹⁸. Halifax has a similar idea, where a family member can borrow more on their Halifax mortgage and gift it towards your deposit⁴. These are family-assisted arrangements rather than a straightforward cash gift, and they come with their own conditions.

Accord Mortgages accepts cash gifts towards the purchase of a property if the person providing the gift is a family member, and says by family it means a relation by blood or law, or someone you are in a relationship with and co-habiting with¹⁹. Its £5k Deposit mortgage product says gifted deposits are accepted providing they come from a family member²⁰. Together says gifted deposits are accepted from close relatives²¹. Danske Bank says gifted deposits are totally fine too²².

Does the person giving the deposit need to write a letter?

Usually, yes, though not always in the same form. Which? says that if you have been given the deposit as a gift, you will need a letter from whoever gave you the money²³. The Nottingham says that if a relative is gifting you money, the lender may need them to sign a gifted deposit letter confirming it is a gift and does not need to be paid back²⁴. Royal Bank says both the solicitor and the lender will want to see a signed letter from the parties gifting the money²⁵.

The letter is not the only evidence. Yorkshire Building Society says you will need a declaration signed by your donor confirming the money is a gift and will not need to be repaid¹⁷. Nationwide says that if you are applying for a mortgage with a gifted deposit, you will need to tell it, and it will ask you to show evidence of where the money is coming from and check you are not expected to pay it back²⁶. Suffolk Building Society says the person gifting the money will need to submit proof the deposit monies are available in a UK-based account⁹. Family Building Society says that for gifted deposits it requires evidence of the funds in a UK account and the giver's details, including name, date of birth and relationship to the applicants²¹.

If the money came from an inheritance rather than a living relative, Halifax says you might need to show a copy of the will⁵. Which? notes that a parent may be required to sign a declaration that they have no legal interest in the property⁷.

Santander is the outlier in the facts here. It says it will not usually ask for a gifted deposit letter if you decide to take your mortgage with it². That does not remove the need to declare the gift, only the letter itself.

Why you must declare a gifted deposit

Lenders require you to declare any gifted amounts, and NatWest says not declaring a gifted deposit could affect your mortgage application¹³. Santander says the same: not declaring a gifted deposit could affect your mortgage application². Skipton says you will need to tell both your lender and your solicitor⁶.

The reason is that money arriving in your account from nowhere looks like something else. Which? reports that gifted deposits need to be properly documented to avoid raising red flags during the mortgage application process²⁷. A lender checking your bank statements wants to see a clear trail: the money came from a named person, it is a gift, and it does not have to be repaid. Which? also notes that if the money is a gift, you will need to provide evidence to the lender that you will not be required to pay it back, and that some lenders place a cap on what percentage of a deposit can be gifted²⁸.

There is a practical point about whose money it becomes. Santander says that when a gifted deposit is paid into your account, it becomes your money, but you still need to tell your lender where it came from². The gift does not stop being a gift once it lands, but the lender still needs the trail.

Can my deposit be made up of gifts from several family members?

Yes. Santander says it is possible to use gifts from more than one person to make up your mortgage deposit². NatWest says the same, adding that it needs information about the source of each gift and an individual gifted deposit declaration for each sum¹³. Gatehouse Bank's list of acceptable family members is wide enough to cover several givers at once, from parents and grandparents through to aunts, uncles and in-laws¹¹.

The practical effect is more paperwork, not a different rule. Each giver signs their own declaration, each gift has its own source to evidence, and the total has to add up to the deposit the lender has agreed. If one giver is contributing from savings and another from an inheritance, the evidence for each will differ: Halifax says a deposit that is the result of inheritance might need a copy of the will⁵.

What happens if the giver wants the money back

A gift is a gift. Halifax says it cannot be a loan and there must be no agreement to pay back the money⁵. Santander says the giver must confirm the money is not repayable, there are no conditions, and they will have no legal interest or claim over the home¹⁶. Suffolk Building Society's declaration goes further, covering no interest charged, no repayments required, no rights or claims in the property, no registered legal charge, and no intention to live there⁹.

That is why lenders ask about the giver's own finances. Halifax's list of what a gifted deposit letter should contain includes proof that the giver is financially stable and unlikely to face bankruptcy⁵. If the giver later runs into trouble, a lender wants to know the money cannot be clawed back out of the property.

There is also a tax angle. Which? says your child might need to pay inheritance tax on a gifted deposit if you die within seven years of handing over the money⁷. That is a general rule about lifetime gifts, not a mortgage rule, and whether any tax is due depends on the size of the estate and the gift. It is worth knowing about before the money changes hands, because it is the kind of thing that surfaces years later.

Where to get help

If you are unsure whether a gift will be accepted, the lender's own criteria are the starting point, and a mortgage broker can tell you which lenders accept gifted deposits and on what terms. Our guide to mortgage advice, brokers and applying direct sets out how that works. If you are still working out how much you need, how much you can borrow for a mortgage and loan to value explained cover the deposit side of the calculation.

First-time buyers have their own set of rules and schemes, covered in first-time buyer mortgages. If the gift is part of a wider family arrangement, joint borrower sole proprietor and family-assisted mortgages explains how those work and how they differ from a straightforward gift. Free, impartial guidance on mortgages and deposits is available from MoneyHelper.