Halifax becomes Lloyds… a new era for contractor mortgages?
Table of contents
Halifax has announced that it will rebrand as Lloyds in Q1 2027. The change, confirmed on the lender’s intermediary website, marks the end of one of the most recognised brands in the UK mortgage market. But it will also signal the beginning of a new chapter under its parent company, Lloyds Banking Group.
The Halifax brand will become Lloyds next year. But in the meantime, it’s business as usual.
Eventually, though, all Halifax accounts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be phased over to Lloyds.
If you’re a mortgage account holder, Halifax will contact you closer to the transfer date with details of how to proceed. But rest assured, any mortgage applications already in progress will continue without disruption.
For the contractor mortgage market specifically, this news carries particular significance.
Contract-based underwriting: a new dawn
Halifax was the first mainstream lender to implement contract-based mortgage underwriting in any meaningful way. Two decades ago, that was a genuine watershed moment.
At the time, most lenders demanded years of account history and assessed self-employed income at its most conservative rate. Halifax took a different view. They recognised that a contractor’s gross day rate—annualised and assessed on its merits—told a far more accurate story of earning capacity than traditional underwriting methods allowed.
Those market-leading lending criteria for contractors today include:
- Ltd company contractors and PAYE umbrella workers accepted
- No minimum income requirements for IT contractors or umbrella workers
- Other contractors are eligible from £75,000 per annum
- Day-one contractors accepted
- Market-leading mortgage rates
That decision opened the door for tens of thousands of limited company contractors and PAYE umbrella workers who had previously found mainstream mortgage lending all but inaccessible. Halifax didn’t just accommodate contractor income; they built criteria around it. In doing so, the mortgage provider set a standard that other specialist lenders would eventually follow.
A partnership going back over two decades
We’ve worked with Halifax for years. Time and again, they’ve been a dependable, ground-breaking partner for our contractor clients. In addition, their quality of service to intermediaries has set the benchmark for the wider market.
Halifax has emphasised that its commitment to brokers and the customers they support remains as strong as ever. The transition to Lloyds will preserve the same trusted policies, streamlined systems, and service standards that the intermediary community has come to rely on.
The Halifax name may be changing. The criteria that transformed contractor mortgages, we’ve been reassured, will not.
FAQs
Given how many of our clients have Halifax mortgages, we’re sure you’ll have plenty of questions. We’ll try to pre-empt them for you here:
Share:
Key questions: new Halifax mortgage customers
Nothing will change immediately because of this announcement. Your mortgage account and the service Halifax provide won’t be affected. Your existing mortgage will eventually be rebranded from Halifax to Lloyds. You don’t have to do anything immediately. Halifax will contact you before they switch you to explain the next steps in more detail.
An agreement in principle is valid for 90 days, but we’ll still be here to help you when you’re ready to buy.
Your mortgage offer still stands, and you can proceed to completion with Halifax as normal.
Don’t worry. We’ll progress your application as normal; you don’t need to do anything.
No. Your application won’t be delayed or affected by the change. Everything will carry on as normal to the timescales you’ve previously been given.
Yes. You can carry on speaking to the same person.
No. You don’t need to do anything. You can speak to other parties involved in your application if you’d like. But Halifax will contact anyone that needs to be notified in due course.
We’ll contact you before your rate is due to end. At that point, you’ll be able to switch/remortgage to a new deal with either Lloyds or a new lender.
Its existing lending criteria, underwriting, and credit scoring all remain unchanged for contractors and the self-employed.
Key questions: existing Halifax mortgage customers
Nothing will change immediately following this announcement. Your mortgage account and the service you receive will continue as normal. In time, your existing Halifax mortgage will be rebranded as a Lloyds mortgage. But you don’t need to take any action right now.
Yes, as an existing customer, Halifax will contact you directly about the announcement to explain what this will mean for you and your accounts.
No. Your T&Cs will stay the same.
No. There are no changes to your payments because of this announcement.
There is no impact. Your mortgage broker will still be able to switch you to a new deal.
Your broker can still apply for you to do this, subject to normal eligibility and lending criteria.
Yes. The change won’t affect your ability to make overpayments.
Any repayment arrangements you have with Halifax will carry on as normal. You don’t need to do anything differently.
Halifax will contact you directly regarding any other products you have with them.
Quick links
Contractor-friendly mortgage lenders
Contractor mortgage calculators
Your protection insurance options
