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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Levi Winchester

You can now use Netflix or Spotify to help you get a mortgage - how it works

Savers hoping to get on the property ladder can now use their subscriptions services such as Netflix or Spotify to get a mortgage.

Leeds Building Society is the first lender to use data on Experian Boost when considering a mortgage application.

Experian Boost shares extra information with certain lenders to prove regular payments, including council tax and subscriptions to digital entertainment services.

The idea is that this could help boost your credit score - but this only works if a lender uses Experian Boost.

There are three major UK credit referencing agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion - and lenders will use at least one of these.

Boost was launched in 2019 and works through open banking technology, which connects your bank accounts to Experian. This is then connected to Leeds' lending systems.

Leeds Building Society said that during testing, 7.5% of applicants would have gained an improvement in their credit score by using Experian Boost.

Of course, there are other factors considered by lenders when assessing your mortgage application, such as income, employment status, and overall affordability.

Leeds Building Society has more than 800,000 customers.

The option to include Experian Boost in credit scores with Leeds Building Society currently relates to residential, single-applicant mortgage applications only.

Dual applicant Boost scores are due to go live soon, Leeds said.

Richard Fearon, chief executive at Leeds Building Society, said of the new announcement: "This will particularly help younger borrowers, first-time buyers and anyone on lower incomes who face the toughest challenge to prove their ability to repay.

"Often through no fault of their own, these groups can struggle to build a good credit score because they need to spend most of their earnings on rent and other regular payments. Indeed, the vast majority of existing Boost users are renters.

"Housing is at its least affordable point since our founding year in 1875, a sad indictment of decades of inertia over the UK's housing crisis. But we will continue to find ways we can help and put homeownership within reach of more people, just as we have for almost 150 years."

Sigga Sigurdardottir, managing director, consumer services at Experian, said: "Our partnership with Leeds Building Society further supports Experian's mission to improve financial inclusion for consumers.

"As many people across the UK face barriers to homeownership, we're delighted that Boost users can now use their boosted scores to help them get on the ladder, making that dream of home ownership more accessible for people across the UK."

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