Mortgage lenders are rejecting people because they have children.
One in six families who have applied for a mortgage in the last 10 years say they have been offered a smaller loan or even rejected because of their childcare costs.
When asked if they believed they were turned down for a mortgage or offered a smaller loan than expected because of the cost of childcare, 17% of people surveyed for website uSwitch.com claimed they knew they had been.
Stricter mortgage rules introduced in recent years under the mortgage market review (MMR) mean many lenders take childcare costs into consideration as part of weighing up whether to grant a mortgage applicant a loan.
The rules were introduced to make sure borrowers could truly afford to repay their mortgages, even if interest rates were to rise, and ensure they were not just pinning their hopes on house prices going up.
More than two-thirds (68%) of those who believed they had been turned down for a mortgage or offered a smaller loan than expected because of the cost of childcare said they had tried at some point to hide the true cost of their childcare in an attempt to secure a better deal.
Some had relied on grandparents or friends to help to look after children to temporarily reduce their childcare outgoings while applying for a home loan.
uSwitch.com also said it found evidence of inconsistencies between lenders and the questions they ask to determine an applicant's eligibility.
More than two-fifths (41%) of families surveyed said their lender did not ask or take into consideration the ages of their children, to find out if costs may reduce in the near future. It said only 39% of families surveyed were asked how their childcare costs may change as their children got older.
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