A missed or late payment is one of the most common credit issues a mortgage lender will see, and usually the least serious. It happens when a payment on a credit card, loan, store card or existing mortgage is paid late or missed entirely, and it shows up on your credit file as a status marker rather than a formal record like a CCJ or a default. What matters to a lender is not that it happened, but the detail: what type of account it was on, how many times, how recently, and how much deposit you have.
Key takeaway: A missed or late payment on its own rarely rules you out of a mortgage. Lenders weigh four things together: whether the account was unsecured or secured, how many payments were missed, how recently, and your loan to value. A missed payment on an existing mortgage is treated considerably more seriously than one on a credit card or phone contract.
[[stats: Specialist lenders = Where the high street says no | 6 Years = How long a missed payment stays on record | 2 = Missed payments some tiers still accept | 90+ = Lenders searched | Free = Initial consultation | National = Coverage across the UK]]
What counts as a missed or late payment
A missed or late payment is recorded by a creditor when you pay later than your agreed date, or do not pay at all that month. Unlike a default, it does not require the account to be seriously behind, and unlike a CCJ, no court is involved. It is simply a monthly conduct marker, usually shown on your credit file as a number from 0 to 6, where 0 means paid on time and higher numbers mean more months behind.
A single late payment, paid within a few days and brought back up to date the same month, often will not even register as a missed payment on your file. It is a pattern of missed payments, or a payment that slips several months behind, that lenders are actually assessing.
How missed payments show on your credit file
Your credit file records the payment status of every credit account you hold, updated monthly. A "1" typically means one month behind, a "2" means two months behind, and so on, with markers generally visible for six years from the date recorded, similar to a default or CCJ.
This is different from a default, which is a specific decision by a creditor to formally register that you are unlikely to catch up. A missed payment marker can exist on an account that never defaults at all, if you bring it back up to date before the creditor takes that step.
What lenders actually look at
There is no single rule. Lenders assess missed payments across several dimensions at once, and the combination decides the outcome rather than any one factor.
[[table: What lenders assess | Why it matters ;; Secured or unsecured | A missed payment on an existing mortgage is treated far more seriously than one on a credit card, store card or phone contract ;; How many were missed | One missed payment is very different to a pattern of several within the same year ;; How recently | A missed payment from several years ago carries far less weight than one from the last few months ;; Your loan to value | The larger your deposit, the more risk a lender can absorb. Deposit size frequently decides borderline cases]]
The interaction is what catches people out. One missed credit card payment eighteen months ago, since brought up to date, with a 15% deposit is likely to be a non-issue for most specialist lenders and even some high street ones. Two missed mortgage payments in the last six months, with a 5% deposit, is a considerably more specialist case. Same broad category of issue, completely different market.
Unsecured missed payments versus mortgage arrears
This is the single most important distinction on this page. Lenders do not treat all missed payments equally, and the type of account matters more than almost anything else.
A missed payment on an unsecured account, such as a credit card, loan, store card, mobile phone contract or car finance agreement, is common and rarely disqualifying on its own, particularly if it happened a while ago and has not been repeated. Several specialist lenders will accept a small number of these within a recent window, depending on the product.
A missed payment on an existing mortgage, sometimes called secured arrears, is viewed far more seriously. It tells a lender you have previously struggled to meet the single most important payment in your finances, and most lenders, specialist included, require a considerably longer clean period before considering an application, often measured in years rather than months. If you currently have a mortgage and are worried about missing a payment, speak to your existing lender or a mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial before it happens rather than after.
How your deposit changes the answer
Deposit size does more work on an adverse credit case than almost anything else.
Lenders price risk. A credit issue increases perceived risk, and a larger deposit offsets it, because the lender has more equity protecting them if things go wrong. That is why the same missed payment history can be acceptable at 75% loan to value and declined at 95%.
In practical terms, if you have one or more missed payments and are close to a deposit threshold, finding a little more can widen your options more than waiting another six months for the missed payment to age. It is worth doing that maths before you apply rather than after a decline.
A real example: how lender tiers scale with missed payments
Several specialist lenders build the number of missed payments directly into their product range rather than deciding it case by case. Vida Homeloans' residential range is a useful illustration of how this translates into real lending decisions, treating unsecured and secured missed payments quite differently across the same tiers.
[[table: Vida Homeloans tier | Unsecured missed payments (last 6 months) | Secured arrears requirement ;; Vida 36 | Up to 1 accepted | Acceptable if older than 36 months ;; Vida 24 | Up to 2 accepted | Acceptable if older than 24 months ;; Vida 6 | Up to 3 accepted | Acceptable if older than 24 months ;; Packager | No maximum, considered case by case | No maximum, considered case by case]]
Across all tiers, any historic secured arrears generally need to have been resolved for at least six months before application, and above certain loan to value thresholds Vida requires unsecured accounts to be fully up to date with no current arrears. The gap between the unsecured allowance and the secured requirement on the same tier is a clear illustration of how much more seriously mortgage arrears are treated.
Key lender criteria for missed payments, compared
Vida Homeloans is not the only specialist or near-prime lender with a published position on missed payments. Tap any card below for a closer look at how each one assesses them.
[[casestudies: Vida Homeloans|Unsecured and secured arrears assessed very differently across four tiers|Vida Homeloans allows a small, rising number of unsecured missed payments of £250 or more within the last six months as its tiers relax, from one on Vida 36 up to three on Vida 6, with no maximum on its Packager tier. Secured arrears, by contrast, must be considerably older, generally 24 to 36 months depending on tier, and resolved for at least six months regardless of tier. Above certain loan to value thresholds, unsecured accounts must also be fully up to date. ;; Kensington Mortgages|A maximum status of 2 on unsecured credit across most of its range|Kensington's Select, Core, Resi 12 and Resi 6 residential products generally allow a maximum unsecured missed payment status of 2 within the last 12 months, provided the account is now up to date. Its Resi 6 product removes that cap entirely but instead requires the last 6 months of payments to have been made without exception. Secured arrears are treated more strictly, with Select requiring arrears to be older than 36 months, Core older than 24 months, and its higher-tier products requiring a clean recent record with only a limited older history. ;; Pepper Money|Missed payments on revolving credit considered, fixed term credit has its own route|Pepper Money will generally consider missed payments on revolving credit such as credit cards. For fixed term agreements such as loans, a missed payment is accepted once six months have passed since it occurred, with more recent missed payments potentially considered through Pepper Flex, a product offering additional underwriting flexibility. ;; Bluestone|Missed payments assessed across credit tiers, with small balances disregarded|Bluestone assesses missed unsecured payments across its credit tiers, generally allowing a small number per account within a recent window, tightening as the tiers move from its cleanest to its most flexible. Balances below a low threshold are disregarded entirely regardless of tier, and mortgage or secured arrears are assessed separately and more strictly, with cleaner, more recent conduct required than for unsecured accounts. ;; The Mortgage Lender|Missed payments feed into its wider risk level system|The Mortgage Lender assesses a missed payment history as part of the same risk level system, RL0 to RL3, that it applies to CCJs and defaults, with its cleanest tiers requiring the least recent history of any kind and its higher tiers allowing more, provided none is very recent. It has not published a standalone missed-payments-only policy separate from this wider system. ;; Aldermore|Missed payments assessed within its five-level credit system|Aldermore assesses missed payment history within the same five-level system, Level 1 to Level 5, that it applies to CCJs and defaults, with its cleanest level requiring the least recent adverse history and its higher levels allowing progressively more. It has not published a standalone missed-payments-only policy separate from this wider system.]]
Good to know: This is a snapshot of published criteria from six specialist and near-prime lenders, not an exhaustive market view, and ranges like these change regularly. A mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can check current criteria across the whole market, including lenders not listed here, against your specific situation.
High street lenders can also accept a missed payment history where it is minor, old and not repeated, particularly on unsecured accounts. Criteria like this tends to sit outside standard published tables and is assessed case by case, which is exactly the kind of detail a mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can check on your behalf before you apply anywhere.
Check your credit file before you apply
A surprising number of people are unsure exactly how many missed payments they have, or how recently, until they check properly.
You can check your credit file for free or at low cost through Experian, Equifax or TransUnion, or through a service such as Checkmyfile that combines all three. Doing that before you apply means no surprises, and it gives you the chance to query anything that looks wrong or out of date. Our guide to credit scoring explains what lenders see and how to check.
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What to do if you have missed payments and want a mortgage
- Check your credit file so you know exactly how many payments were missed, on what type of account, and how recently.
- Bring every account up to date if you have not already, and keep it that way in the run-up to applying.
- Understand the secured versus unsecured distinction. A missed mortgage or rent payment needs far more time to age than a missed credit card payment.
- Work out your deposit position. Getting to a better loan to value band may open more doors than waiting for the record to age further.
- Get advice before applying, not after. This is exactly the situation where knowing which lender to approach first matters most.
Whichever East Sussex town you are buying or remortgaging in, a mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can search the whole market on your behalf, including the specialist adverse credit lenders that most high street banks and comparison sites will not show you.
Where this fits with other credit issues
A missed or late payment is one of several things that can affect a mortgage application, alongside CCJs, defaults, debt management plans, IVAs and bankruptcy. They are assessed differently from each other, and having more than one changes the picture again.
Our complete guide to adverse credit mortgages covers the wider landscape, including real client examples and how different credit events compare, and if a default or CCJ is part of your situation too, our dedicated guides explain what lenders look at there specifically.
One thing worth repeating from that wider guide: people routinely overestimate how serious their credit history looks to a lender. A missed payment or two, old and not repeated, can be far more acceptable than clients expect, sometimes even to a high street lender. It is genuinely worth asking rather than assuming.
Frequently asked questions
Will I pay a higher rate forever?
Hopefully not. A mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can work with you to identify what changes could help you move onto a high street mortgage in the next two to five years. This is not guaranteed, but there are practical steps that can help you work towards that goal.
Can I get a mortgage with missed or late payments?
In most cases yes. A missed payment history narrows your options rather than removing them. The type of account, how many payments were missed, how recently, and your deposit size all affect which lenders will consider you and on what terms.
How long do missed payments stay on my credit file?
Generally six years from the date recorded, similar to a default or CCJ, though the impact fades well before that as the record ages and is not repeated.
Is a missed mortgage payment worse than a missed credit card payment?
Considerably. Lenders treat secured arrears, meaning a missed payment on an existing mortgage, far more seriously than a missed payment on an unsecured account such as a credit card, loan or phone contract, and generally require a much longer clean period before considering an application.
How many missed payments can I have and still get a mortgage?
It varies significantly by lender and account type. Some specialist lenders will accept two or three missed unsecured payments within the last six months on their more flexible products, while a missed secured payment typically needs to be considerably older. A mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can match your specific history to the right lender.
Will I need a bigger deposit with missed payments?
Often, though not always. Deposit size is one of the main ways a lender offsets credit risk, so a larger deposit widens your choice of lenders and can improve the rate available. Where you are close to a threshold, finding a little more can make a real difference.
What is the difference between a missed payment and a default?
A missed payment is a monthly conduct marker showing you paid late or not at all that month. A default is a specific, formal decision by a creditor to register that you have fallen significantly behind and are unlikely to catch up. A missed payment can exist without ever becoming a default, if the account is brought back up to date in time. See our default mortgage guide for how that specific issue is assessed.
Should I wait for the missed payment to drop off before applying?
It depends how close you are and what type of account it was on. For an old, minor, unsecured missed payment, waiting achieves relatively little compared with building your deposit and getting advice sooner. For recent mortgage arrears, more time genuinely helps. It is worth taking advice rather than guessing.
I am currently struggling to make a payment. What should I do?
Contact your creditor or existing mortgage lender before you miss the payment, not after. Most lenders have options such as a payment arrangement or a temporary change to your payments, and acting early is far better for your credit file than falling behind first. A mortgage broker at Quanstrom Financial can also talk through your options if this affects a mortgage application you are planning.
Do you help with mortgages for clients with missed payments across Eastbourne and East Sussex?
Yes. Quanstrom Financial is a whole-of-market mortgage broker based in Eastbourne, and we regularly help clients with missed or late payments from Eastbourne, Brighton, Hastings, Lewes, Bexhill, Seaford, Uckfield, Hailsham and the wider East Sussex area. Being whole-of-market means access to specialist adverse credit lenders that are not available directly on the high street.
Written by Toby Quanstrom CeMAP, Director at Quanstrom Financial, a whole-of-market mortgage broker based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, specialising in mortgages for clients with adverse credit.
This article is general information only and does not constitute personal advice. Lender criteria vary considerably and change regularly, and whether a mortgage is available depends on your individual circumstances.
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
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