The Intermediary – March 2025 - Flipbook - Page 53
RESIDENTIAL
Opinion
Improving access to
homeownership for
skilled workers
S
ince the Covid-19
pandemic, the shortage of
skilled overseas workers
in the UK has grown
significantly. Many
businesses and public
sector offices have struggled to fill
the gaps le by those who returned
home and never came back, while the
impact of Brexit on the employment
market has also been widely felt.
The result of this has been slow and
lacklustre economic growth across
many parts of the UK economy, as
firms continue to grapple with the
challenge of trying to secure talented
and skilled workers and spearhead
business and economic growth.
While the shortage of healthcare
workers in the NHS and social services
sector has been relatively wellpublicised, the recruitment challenge
facing other industries across the UK is
less well-known.
According to the Government’s
official shortage occupation
list, engineers, web design and
development professionals, chemical
scientists and biochemists are all in
short supply, while there is also a
desperate need to address the shortfall
of vets, architects and lab technicians
throughout the country.
In total, more than 300,000 work
visas were granted in 2023 to overseas
workers looking to move to and work
in the UK, official Government figures
show, with almost 70,000 skilled
worker visas granted in the year
ending June 2023.
Driving growth
Aracting these skilled workers
to the UK and helping them sele
is imperative in addressing the
skills shortage, as well as helping
to boost productivity and drive
economic growth.
Having the opportunity to buy a
home plays a significant part in that,
which is why Darlington Building
Society recently moved to enhance
its skilled visa mortgage offering,
providing greater flexibility for
borrowers previously constrained by
the two-year rule, and opening up the
possibility of buying a home to more
skilled workers.
While there is oen an assumption
that overseas workers are only in the
Many people on a skilled workers visa will live and work in the UK for the full length of their visa
CHRIS BLEWITT
is head of mortgage distribution
at Darlington Building Society
UK for a short period of time, this isn’t
always the case. Many people on a
skilled worker visa will live and work
in the UK for the full length of their
visa – a period of at least five years.
Many of these workers will
also extend their stay or decide to
permanently sele and make the UK
their home, which provides a greater
degree of stability when it comes to
mortgage lending.
Providing more borrowing options
for skilled workers to get on the
property ladder will also help to
alleviate some of the pressure felt
in the private rental sector. It can
also offer greater security to those
skilled workers who have also had
visas granted to dependants, and who
are perhaps looking for more stable
and secure living arrangements for
their families.
To provide greater flexibility,
Darlington Building Society has
also relaxed minimum income
requirements, to broaden access
to borrowing for skilled workers
and provide greater flexibility
by accommodating more varied
income levels.
With the goalposts for those on
skilled worker visas constantly
changing, broadening the scope of
lending criteria provides greater
flexibility and improved access
to mortgage products for this key
demographic.
For brokers dealing with this type
of client, this means more mortgage
options and increased support helping
those on skilled worker visas achieve
their homeownership aspirations
regardless of the complexities
associated with their visa status. ●
March 2025 | The Intermediary
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