The full answer
What actually decides it.
Yes, and it is one of the most common ways a first property gets bought. A gifted deposit is ordinary, every lender has a process for it, and it will not by itself make your application harder.
A lender needs to be satisfied of two things: that the money is genuinely a gift rather than a loan, and that it came from where you say it came from. The first matters because a loan is a monthly commitment and changes your affordability, whereas a gift is not and does not. The second is anti-money-laundering, and it applies to everybody.
In practice the person giving it signs a letter – usually one the lender provides – confirming the amount, that it is a gift, and that they have no interest in the property and no expectation of being repaid. They also supply photo identification and bank statements showing the money and how it built up. That is their paperwork rather than yours, which is worth telling them early: people are often surprised to be asked for their own statements.
It does not have to be your parents. Grandparents and siblings are usually fine. A friend is where lenders start to disagree – some will accept it, some will not consider it at all – so if your deposit is coming from outside the immediate family, that is a criteria question to settle before you apply rather than a form to fill in later.
And if it is a loan rather than a gift, say so. Some lenders will accept a documented family loan. It is far better handled openly than discovered, because money arriving in your account without an explanation is what stops an application – not money that came from your mother.
Where lenders differ
- On who may give it, lenders disagree at the edges. Parents, grandparents and siblings are broadly accepted. A friend is the dividing line: some allow it, some will not entertain it.
- On loans rather than gifts, some lenders will accept a family loan with the terms set out in writing and some will accept only a true gift. If the money has to be repaid, that decides which list of lenders you are working from.
- On evidence they are much the same. Everybody wants a signed letter, identification and proof of funds. The forms differ; what they are asking for does not.
Written from Colin Wallace’s recorded interview with Joe Wallace, 24 August 2026 and reviewed by Colin Wallace.