In England and Wales, GOV.UK describes a mortgage agreement in principle as a written estimate of what you may be able to borrow, but its guidance does not state when one expires. The expiry date therefore cannot be established from that guidance alone; check the document or ask the lender how long its estimate applies.
Find the expiry date in your own agreement
Look for wording such as “valid until”, “expires on” or a period of validity in the agreement in principle, also called a decision in principle. The GOV.UK home-buying guidance explains what this document does, but does not state a standard validity period. If no date is clear, ask the lender when it ends and whether it needs to be renewed before you rely on it.
The date stated on your document is the starting point for checking whether you can still rely on the estimate. If it gives no clear date, ask the issuing lender whether the decision remains valid; the supplied GOV.UK guidance does not set a standard expiry period.
What expiry means for your home search
A decision in principle gives an indication of your budget while you look at properties; it is not the completed mortgage application. GOV.UK says buyers should obtain one before viewing, then make a full mortgage application once an offer on a property has been accepted. You can apply to the lender that issued the initial decision or to another provider.
If it expires before you find a home, the supplied guidance does not say that you have lost a mortgage offer: the document is an estimate, and the full application comes later. But you should ask the lender whether it will refresh or reassess the estimate before you use it to judge what you can afford. A renewed indication is not the same as approval of a loan for a particular property.
Why the estimate may need reviewing
A lender’s affordability assessment considers income and current outgoings, including changes that could affect whether monthly repayments are manageable. The guidance also notes that the amount a lender may offer can be influenced by credit history. These factors help explain why an older estimate should not automatically be treated as a current borrowing limit.
Budget is not just the headline loan amount: GOV.UK advises buyers to account for other costs, which can include mortgage costs, insurance, repairs, and—where relevant for a leasehold home—service charges and ground rent. Work out whether the overall purchase and likely monthly payments remain affordable, rather than setting a bid solely by the agreement-in-principle figure.
What to do if it has expired
Contact the lender named on the document and ask whether the agreement has expired, whether it can be renewed, and what information it needs to reassess the estimate. If your circumstances or the property budget have changed, explain that when asking. The available GOV.UK guidance does not specify a renewal process or promise that a lender will extend an agreement, so the lender’s answer and any new document matter.
Once you have an accepted offer, move on to the full mortgage application. GOV.UK says applicants will need to complete a form and show identification, proof of address and proof of income; self-employed applicants may need to provide additional evidence. Treat the agreement in principle as an early budgeting aid, and use the lender’s current response and full application process to establish the next step for your purchase.
Sources: GOV.UK — England and Wales · Bank of England