Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Solutions. Read the original article for full details.

Underwriting Bottlenecks Remain Key Challenge in UK Mortgage Process

The UK mortgage market has become faster and more digital, but significant friction remains in the process, particularly at the underwriting stage. Both brokers and lenders identify underwriting as the main operational challenge, according to research from Smart Money People.

The research, published in August 2026, found that 46.3% of brokers said mortgage cases most often stall at underwriting, making it the most common bottleneck. This was followed by the legal process at 27.1% and valuations at 20.4%. Lenders echoed this view, with 38.9% citing underwriting capacity as their biggest operational challenge, ahead of legal and conveyancing at 22.2%.

Despite advances in technology, brokers report that cases continue to stall and significant time is spent chasing updates from lenders. Only 4% of brokers said they do not need to chase lenders for updates, while more than half chase once or twice per case, and 41.6% chase three times or more.

Packaging quality is also a concern. Only 8.8% of lenders said that 61–80% of cases are fully packaged first time, and no lender reported that more than 80% of cases arrive fully packaged. More than half of lenders said that 40% or fewer cases are fully packaged on first submission.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s Mortgage Rule Review is currently underway, with priorities for 2026 including responsible lending, access for first-time buyers and underserved groups, later-life lending, innovation, and consumer protection. The research suggests that operational delivery is central to supporting better outcomes in the mortgage market.

For UK letting agents and inventory clerks, these findings highlight ongoing delays and unpredictability in the mortgage process, which can impact property transactions and tenancy timelines.