Aviva have announced an intermediary update which is available below. Contact our team to find out how we can help you and your business.
Ground Rent:
enhancing our
lending criteria
We’re pleased to pass on some important news that means more customers can now qualify for an Aviva Lifetime Mortgage without needing to amend their lease due to ground rent levels.
This has happened because we’ve changed our lending criteria in line with recent changes in the legislation affecting ground rent on leasehold properties.
What’s changed?
- Customers who previously fell outside our ground rent rules may now be eligible without lease amendments.
- We’re currently updating our platform and lending criteria to reflect these changes. Rest assured, you can continue submitting cases as usual.
What are the new criteria?
Fixed ground rent
- Acceptable up to the higher of £250 (outside London) or £1,000 (London), or 0.2% of property value.
- More than 0.2% but less than, or equal to, 0.5% of property value – please complete our Flat enquiry form (if applicable) and contact the Pre-Sales Support Team for individual assessment.
Escalating ground rent
- Initial acceptance up to the higher of £250 (outside London) or £1,000 (London), or 0.1% of property value.
- Escalation must follow one of the accepted methods:
- Doubling no more frequently than every 20 years.
- Fixed increases no more frequently than every 10 years and below the equivalent of a doubling ground rent over 20 years.
- RPI-linked increases no more frequently than every 10 years.
- Any escalation clause outside these methods is not acceptable.
If the ground rent is more than the limits above or if the escalation terms require clarification, you’ll need to email our Pre-Sales Support Team.
Recent ground rent announcements
We are aware of the draft legislation announced in early 2026 to cap ground rents. As this evolves, we will keep our lending criteria under review. The updates outlined above represent our current interim position.