Proof of deposit — what a lender asks for, and why
Every UK lender has to see where your deposit came from. Not how much — where it came from. This is a legal check that applies to everyone buying a home, and it is not a judgement about you or your visa.
The check catches people out because nobody warns them about it. You save for three years, you have the money, and then someone asks for a bank statement from eight months ago that you never kept. So here is what to have ready.
What a lender usually asks for
Most lenders want to see the money arrive and then sit still. In practice that means:
- Bank statements covering the account the deposit is in. Three months is the usual ask. Six is not unusual if the money moved recently.
- Where each large payment came from. Anything that is not your salary will get a question. A transfer from a relative, a sold car, a closed savings account — all fine, all need a sentence and a document.
- Payslips, to show that what lands every month is what you say it is.
If the money has simply been in your account for a year, this takes ten minutes. If it arrived last month from three places, expect to explain all three.
"Seasoning" — what the word means
You may see the word seasoning, which just means how long the money has been sitting in your account. Some lenders like to see three months. It is not a rule across the market, and money that arrived last week is not a problem as long as you can show where it came from.
If the deposit is a gift
A gift from family is completely normal and lenders deal with it every day. What they need is a short letter — usually called a gifted deposit letter, a note from the person giving the money — saying three things:
- Who they are and how they are related to you.
- That the money is a gift and they do not expect it back.
- That they have no stake in the property.
The lender will also want to see where that person got the money. This surprises people, but it is the same check one step back.
If the money is coming from outside the UK
This is the part worth planning early, because it is where a purchase most often slows down.
Money from abroad is not a problem. Money from abroad that nobody can trace is. What helps:
- Bring it across before you apply, not during. Once it is in a UK account with a statement behind it, most of the difficulty disappears.
- Keep the paperwork from the other end — the account it left, the exchange record, the transfer receipt. A lender will accept a foreign bank statement; they will not accept a figure with nothing behind it.
- Be ready for a translation. If the statement is not in English, some lenders want a certified translation. Not all do, but the ones that do will not budge.
- Some lenders will not accept funds from some countries at all. That is a policy decision made by each lender's compliance team, and it is one of the practical reasons it is worth knowing which lender to approach before you apply rather than after.
What slows a case down
Three things, over and over:
- Cash deposits. Money paid in over a counter has no trail, and most lenders will not count it towards a deposit however genuine it is. If you are saving in cash, move it into your account steadily and early.
- A gap in the statements. One missing month means the lender asks for the whole set again.
- Money moved between several accounts just before applying. Every hop is another thing to evidence. Leave it where it is.
What to do now
Open your banking app and download the last six months of statements as PDFs, for every account with money in it. Save them somewhere you will find them again. That single step removes most of the delay from this part of the process.
If your deposit came from abroad, or from more than one place, that is worth talking through before you apply rather than after a lender has asked. Your first 30-minute call is free, and it is a sensible thing to spend it on.