Bluestone enhances CCJ, defaults, and bankruptcy criteria

Bluestone Mortgages has announced a series of significant updates to its credit policy and tiering criteria across its residential product range.

The changes are designed to enhance accessibility, making it easier for more customers to qualify for a mortgage. 

Bluestone has expanded its acceptable CCJs criteria, making it more likely for customers to qualify for a better mortgage rate. For its AA credit tier, customers are now allowed up to two CCJs in the past 36 months. Similarly, for its A tier, customers are allowed up to three CCJs in the same timeframe.

The lender has also raised its threshold for defaults and CCJs, now discounting those under £500 (a £200 increase on its previous limit). In addition to disregarding telecoms defaults and CCJs, Bluestone will now exclude utility bill defaults and CCJs from consideration.

As part of Bluestone’s criteria changes, it has further increased its flexibility for customers who have recently been discharged from bankruptcy on AA, A and BBB credit tiers. For its AA tier, Bluestone will now accept customers who have been discharged for over two years, and over one year for its A and BBB products.

Steve Griffiths (pictured), retail mortgages commercial director at Shawbrook, commented: “It's crucial that lenders adapt to the diverse needs of borrowers. These changes reflect Bluestone’s understanding of the challenges many customers face in accessing mortgages. 

"By offering greater flexibility with CCJs, defaults, and bankruptcy history, we’re ensuring that more people have the opportunity to secure a mortgage, even if their financial past doesn’t fit the traditional mould. Our aim is to make homeownership more attainable in a modern world where credit histories are far from straightforward.”