Saffron Building Society has made major changes to its mortgage lending criteria.

The changes being announced have all been developed through feedback from brokers and the mutual says they mark a significant step forward for brokers seeking support for more specialist cases in the current volatile market.

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) workers are eligible for Saffron’s Contractor product ranges which treat them as contractors rather than self-employed. In a move to support them, Saffron has reduced applicant eligibility to a minimum of three months’ CIS contracting experience and one year’s industry experience. The Society takes the applicant’s average income from the last three months into account.

To support the growing number of zero hour contractors, the Society has enhanced its criteria to use 100% of an applicant’s income, with only a minimum of 12 months zero hour contracting experience needed. If two applicants are both on zero hour contracts, Saffron will now consider using 75% of the second applicant’s income providing they have a minimum of nine months of experience as a zero hour contractor.

If a self-employed applicant has been trading for two years or more they will now have access to Saffron’s full product offering. This allows for more affordable residential rates for experienced self-employed applicants, and also opens the door to Saffron’s self-build and Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) products for the first time. For applicants with a minimum of 12 months trading or for those who require more flexible underwriting, the Society’s self-employed products can help.

As more and more green methods of construction are being used the Society has overhauled its criteria for modern methods of construction. Saffron will now consider modern forms of construction, including 100% cladding, provided there is masonry up to damp proof level.

More customers are looking at alternatives to new build developments that offer more flexibility in the construction and design. Custom Build is facilitating this solution. To support this, Saffron has enhanced its custom build proposition to enable more of these builds.

The Society has no minimum income requirements for applicants with a suitable repayment vehicle and has now added more flexibility for those looking for a hybrid interest only / capital repayment solution. Applicants can now reach up to 80% LTV subject to a maximum of 60% interest only.

In a drive to reduce the amount of supporting documentation required for new applications, Saffron has reduced the number of bank statements needed for residential, BTL and self-employed applicants to the latest month’s personal bank statement only.

Tony Hall (pictured), head of business development, said: “At Saffron, we are always listening to brokers, and these changes evidence that. We monitor the mortgage market to see how we can continue to help and lend, and the changes to our criteria that we are announcing today will open opportunities for applicants with more complex cases.

“We are proud that, through our personal review of every case, we can offer flexible solutions rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach.”