Single or joint: which report do you need?

Single report — £250

Use a single report when only one person’s borrowing capacity is in issue. Typical examples: one party wishes to retain the family home and needs to show they can take on a mortgage in their sole name; or one party needs to show what they can borrow to rehouse.

The report assesses that person only. It does not comment on the other party’s capacity.

Joint report — £450

Use a joint instruction when both parties need an assessment. Despite the name, this is not a joint-mortgage application and it is not a combined affordability figure. It is two independent reports, prepared together, each based on that person’s own income, deposit and commitments.

Keeping the assessments separate is important. It preserves confidentiality, gives each solicitor a clean document, and lets the court compare two like-for-like figures produced on the same methodology.

When a joint instruction is usually better

Where housing need on both sides is in dispute, where both parties may wish to retain or purchase, or where the court has directed capacity evidence for each party. A joint instruction is also the more economical route: two single reports at £250 would be £500; a joint instruction is £450.

Nil or limited capacity

Sometimes the honest answer is that a person cannot currently obtain a mortgage, or can obtain only a very limited one. That is still a useful report. The court needs to know that as much as it needs a large borrowing figure. We will say so, and we will say why — for example adverse credit, insufficient income after commitments, or a short employment history.