Can You Get A Mortgage With A Wage Arrestment?
There is no legal bar, and the arrestment is on no credit file anywhere, because no register records one and nobody in the chain reports it. Where it counts against you is affordability, since the money is gone before it reaches your account and the deduction is visible on every payslip you hand over.
Nobody can tell you whether a particular lender will say yes. Lending decisions turn on income, deposit, credit history and each lender’s own policy, and none of that is set by the rulebook.
- Part of your pay is protected by law
- The deduction is set by statutory tables, not the creditor
- An arrestment can be stopped or replaced
- Free & confidential
- No obligation
Hoping to apply for a mortgage? Check what an arrestment does to affordability.
Free, confidential and no obligation.What can be set out precisely is what the rules require a lender to do. That is worth more than guesswork, because whether a wage arrestment affects your credit score and whether it affects a mortgage are two different questions.
Do mortgage lenders see a wage arrestment on your credit file?
No, and the reason is structural rather than lucky. A credit file contains only what somebody supplies to it, and nobody supplies this.
Why there is no route in
The agencies publish their own list of who supplies them. It runs to lenders, utilities, mobile networks, retailers, insurers, court judgment data through Registry Trust, insolvency data from the Accountant in Bankruptcy and the Insolvency Service, and the electoral register.
A local authority appears on that list once, as the supplier of the electoral register, and for nothing else. Whether council tax arrears show on your credit report goes through the same reasoning for the debt itself.
An earnings arrestment involves the creditor, the sheriff officer and your employer. None of the three is a data contributor for this purpose, and there is no register of earnings arrestments at all.
The point most useful to a home buyer or remortgagor
Paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 8 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 gives a closed list of the diligences a summary warrant authorises: an attachment, a money attachment, an earnings arrestment, and an arrestment with furthcoming or sale. Inhibition is not on it.
So a council recovering council tax on a summary warrant cannot inhibit you and cannot register anything against your house. Does a summary warrant show on your credit file covers the wider point, and note that an ordinary court decree is different.
What a search does turn up
| What a lender looks for | On the file? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| An earnings arrestment against your wages | No | It is a payroll deduction. No register records one, and no part of the chain reports to a credit reference agency |
| Council tax arrears | No | A council appears on the agencies' published source list once, as the supplier of the electoral register, and for nothing else |
| A summary warrant | No | Registry Trust records undefended money decrees in four sheriff court procedures, and a summary warrant is none of them |
| An inhibition arising from a council tax summary warrant | No | Paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 8 to the 1992 Act is a closed list of four diligences and inhibition is not on it |
| Sheriff officer fees added to the debt | No | They ride on the council tax balance, which is not reported |
| A default on a credit card, loan, overdraft or catalogue account | Yes | Lenders are data contributors and report account status as a matter of course |
| A decree in an ordinary court action | Yes | Registry Trust passes it to the agencies after a four-week hold |
| Sequestration or a protected trust deed | Yes | The Accountant in Bankruptcy runs a daily data feed from the Register of Insolvencies which the main agencies subscribe to |
How would a lender find out about it anyway?
Through the documents you supply. MCOB 11.6.8R requires a lender to obtain evidence of your income independent of you, and self-certification is prohibited.
Where it becomes visible
- The payslip, where the deduction is itemised alongside tax and national insurance. Does a wage arrestment show on your payslip covers what payroll has to show.
- The employer’s £1.00 administration charge, if it is taken.
- Bank statements, where the money credited is less than the salary you declared.
- Any question on the application form about deductions or debt problems, which should be answered honestly.
Your employer has no discretion about it
Section 47(1) of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 puts the duty to deduct on the employer, and an employer that fails to deduct becomes liable for the sums it should have taken. What an employer’s legal duties are for a wage arrestment sets them out.
So it will run through payroll rather than being handled quietly. A payslip and a bank statement will not match a salary figure quoted without the deduction.
Planning ahead and worried about an arrestment? Get free help
Free, confidential and no obligation.How does an arrestment affect an affordability assessment?
Not by reducing the income figure the rules require a lender to count, which is measured net of income tax and national insurance only. It bites as expenditure, because the deduction is a payment you are under a statutory obligation to make.
What the rule actually says
| The requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| The lender must not enter into the mortgage unless it can demonstrate the contract is affordable | MCOB 11.6.2R. It is a prohibition rather than a guideline |
| Income is counted net of income tax and national insurance | MCOB 11.6.5R(2). An arrestment is taken after both, so on the face of the rule it does not reduce the income figure |
| Committed expenditure means credit and other contractual commitments continuing after the mortgage starts | MCOB 11.6.10R |
| Basic essential expenditure expressly includes council tax, alongside food, heating, water and essential travel | MCOB 11.6.10R |
| The assessment cannot rest on equity in the property or on an expected rise in prices | MCOB 11.6.5R(1) |
| Income must be evidenced independently of you, and self-certification is prohibited | MCOB 11.6.8R |
That distinction is worth getting right. A wage arrestment comes off after tax and national insurance, so on the face of MCOB 11.6.5R(2) it sits outside the income calculation and lands instead among the commitments a lender has to reckon with.
What the deduction is worth in real money
Deductions are taken from net earnings under Schedule 2 to the 1987 Act, on tables in force since 6 April 2025. Monthly net pay of £1,800.00 produces £172.50 a month, and £2,200.00 produces £252.50.
Monthly net pay of £750.00 or less produces a nil deduction. How much they can take from your wages in Scotland sets out every band.
On a tight application, a deduction of that size can be the difference between a yes and a no. It works the other way too, because ending the arrestment puts the money back.
What the rules do not require
MCOB 11.6 does not require a credit reference agency search, does not tell a lender to look at bank statements, and does not set a maximum loan to income. Whether a particular lender asks for payslips, and what it does when it sees a deduction on one, is that lender’s own policy.
Are you a credit-impaired customer in the FCA’s sense?
Probably not on the wording. The FCA’s own definition is written in English legal terms and does not name council tax arrears, a wage arrestment, a Scottish decree, sequestration or a protected trust deed.
The three limbs, read against Scottish facts
- Limb (a) is arrears equivalent to three months’ payments on a mortgage or other loan within the last two years. Council tax is neither a mortgage nor a loan.
- Limb (b) is one or more county court judgments over £500 within the last three years. There are no county courts in Scotland.
- Limb (c) is an individual voluntary arrangement or a bankruptcy order in force within the last three years. The Scottish equivalents are not named.
Do not overread that
What is verified is the wording of the definition. It does not follow that a lender will ignore a Scottish decree or a sequestration, and most will plainly treat them as equivalent.
The definition also drives only certain provisions in the mortgage rules rather than lending decisions at large. The honest reading is that the label is not automatically attached to you by the rulebook.
What about other borrowing, such as a loan or a car deal?
The rules are differently shaped. CONC 5.2A requires a reasonable creditworthiness assessment, and it is explicit that a payment you are under a statutory obligation to make counts as non-discretionary expenditure.
What the consumer credit rules require
CONC 5.2A.7R says the assessment must be based on sufficient information obtained from the customer, and where necessary from a credit reference agency. A credit search is therefore not compulsory in every case.
CONC 5.2A.15R requires the firm to determine or estimate your current income and to allow for reasonably foreseeable reductions during the term. CONC 5.2A.17R does the same for non-discretionary expenditure.
Where the arrestment lands
CONC 5.2A.18G describes non-discretionary expenditure as including payments needed to meet priority debts and essential living expenses, and payments the customer has a contractual or statutory obligation to make. A wage arrestment is squarely the second of those.
So it will not show up in a credit search. The moment a lender asks what you spend, or looks at a payslip, it is there.
Do debt solutions help or hurt a mortgage application?
They cut both ways. A solution can end the arrestment and restore your monthly figures, and the formal ones leave a public record a lender will take into account.
What each one does, and what it leaves
| Route | Effect on the arrestment | What is left behind |
|---|---|---|
| Council payment arrangement | Depends on the council agreeing to hold off or recall | Nothing reported. The council is not a data contributor |
| Time to pay order | The sheriff shall recall an existing earnings arrestment where an order is made | No source records a time to pay order on any public register |
| Debt Arrangement Scheme | Approval operates as a recall of the arrestment | The public DAS Register, plus whatever your creditors report about the accounts inside it |
| Protected trust deed | Ends on the date of protection, not on signing | The Register of Insolvencies, and the agencies take a feed from it |
| Sequestration, including Minimal Asset Process | Ends on the date of sequestration, by operation of law | The Register of Insolvencies, on the same feed |
An approved programme under the Debt Arrangement Scheme freezes interest and charges as well, and whether a Debt Arrangement Scheme shows on your credit file deals with what is visible.
A time to pay order is competent against summary warrant debt where the balance is £25,000 or less excluding interest, a limit in force since 10 July 2000. What a time to pay order is sets out the conditions, and whether one is competent on your facts is a question for a money adviser or the sheriff clerk.
Both sequestration and a protected trust deed are on the Register of Insolvencies and reach the agencies through the Accountant in Bankruptcy’s daily feed, so they are visible on a file for years. That is a reason to take advice on the choice rather than to make it quickly with a mortgage in mind.
What should you do before you apply?
Deal with the arrestment first where you can, then give the paperwork time to settle. Get your file from each agency and check the recorded default dates before anybody else looks at them.
Practical steps
- Get your file from each of the main agencies, because the three do not hold identical data. How long debt information stays on your credit file explains what you are looking at.
- Note the recorded default date on every defaulted account, because that is the date the retention period runs from.
- Take free money advice about ending the arrestment. How do you stop a wage arrestment in Scotland sets out the routes.
- Keep every payslip and statement covering the period, so a broker can see the whole picture.
- Confirm the balance with the creditor, because fees added during recovery mean the figure may not be the one you remember.
Money already taken
Deductions made before a solution takes effect are credited against the debt rather than refunded, so do not build a deposit plan around getting them back. What happens to money already taken when a wage arrestment stops covers it.
The rules themselves are moving
The FCA is part way through rewriting its mortgage rules. PS25/11, published on 2 October 2025, already eased remortgaging to a new lender through a modified affordability assessment.
CP26/18 then consulted between 9 June and 28 July 2026 on changes for borrowers with variable income and for consumers with past credit difficulties, with a policy statement expected in the second half of 2026. A consultation is not a rule, so check the position before relying on anything written earlier.
Frequently asked questions
Does a wage arrestment show on your credit file?
No. There is no register of earnings arrestments, and none of the creditor, the sheriff officer or your employer supplies that information to a credit reference agency.
Do council tax arrears stop you getting a mortgage?
They are not recorded by credit reference agencies, so they will not appear in a search. An arrestment collecting them still affects affordability, because the money never reaches your account.
Can a council registering a summary warrant stop you selling or remortgaging?
No. Paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 8 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 is a closed list of four diligences and inhibition is not among them, so there is nothing for a solicitor’s search to find.
Does an arrestment reduce the income a mortgage lender counts?
Not on the face of the rule. MCOB 11.6.5R(2) counts income net of income tax and national insurance, and an arrestment is taken after both, so it bites as expenditure rather than as a reduction in income.
Will a mortgage lender ask about a wage arrestment?
Some application forms ask about deductions or debt problems, and MCOB 11.6.8R requires income to be evidenced independently of you. Answer honestly, because the deduction is on the documents you supply.
Should you clear the debt before applying?
Clearing it ends the deduction and restores the money reaching your account, which helps the affordability arithmetic. It does not remove a default already recorded against a credit account.
Does the Debt Arrangement Scheme make a mortgage easier or harder?
It stops an existing earnings arrestment on approval, which helps the monthly figures. It also appears on the public DAS Register, and the creditors inside a programme report their own accounts as being paid under an arrangement.
Can a lender refuse purely because of an arrestment?
Lenders set their own criteria within the rules and can decline within them. Nothing in MCOB 11.6 tells a lender what to do when it sees a deduction on a payslip, so no general answer is possible.
Related guides
- Does A Wage Arrestment Affect Your Credit Score? An arrestment is not on your credit file, but the default or decree behind it can be. How long each entry lasts and what a lender sees.
- Do Council Tax Arrears Show On Your Credit Report? Why council tax stays off your credit file in Scotland, what a council uses instead of a credit marker, and which worry is worth your time.
- How Long Does Debt Information Stay On Your Credit File? Why six years is convention rather than law, what each of the three agencies publishes, when the clock starts, and how to challenge an entry that overstays.
- Does A Debt Arrangement Scheme Show On Your Credit File? The public DAS Register, how a programme reaches a credit file through your creditors, how long it lasts, and how it compares with a trust deed.
- How Do You Rebuild Your Credit After Council Tax Arrears? Why the arrears themselves left no mark, what actually needs repair, how to check and correct your file, and what to avoid while you rebuild.
- Will A Wage Arrestment Affect Renting A Property? What a Scottish letting agent is allowed to check, why a reference cannot be charged for, what actually counts against you, and how to prepare.
- What Is A Time To Pay Order? The order that lets you pay a decree by instalments, how it differs from a direction, which debts qualify, and how it recalls an arrestment.
- How Do You Stop A Wage Arrestment In Scotland? The five formal routes that end an arrestment, what a statutory moratorium covers, and which to use first.
- How Much Can They Take From Your Wages In Scotland? The statutory monthly and weekly deduction tables, with worked figures showing what is taken and what is left.
- Does Bankruptcy Stop A Wage Arrestment In Scotland? Why sequestration ends an arrestment automatically, what the date of sequestration means, and whether money already taken comes back.
Written as general information about Scottish debt law rather than regulated financial or legal advice, and your own circumstances may change the answer. Free, impartial help is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland and National Debtline.