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A couple looks at their home loan options, considering they have bad credit.
Source: Kateryna Onyshchuk/Shutterstock.com

What is a bad credit home loan?

Bad credit home loans aren't a distinct product category, but rather a general term for mortgages available to borrowers with a low credit score. They are usually offered by specialist lenders and tend to have higher interest rates and fees than standard home loans.

Getting a home loan with bad credit

When you apply for a home loan, your credit score—which reflects your history of paying off loans and bills—is one of several factors lenders will consider. They need to be satisfied you can repay the loan, so a history of missed payments or defaults doesn’t exactly help your case. If you have a low credit score or a questionable credit history, you might find the big banks and other major lenders reluctant to lend to you, or only offering you loans with lower loan-to-value ratios (LVR). 

In such cases, lenders that specialise in bad credit home loans that might be more willing to deal with you. The products they offer are generally more expensive though, with higher interest rates and fees. 

If you’re hoping to buy with a smaller deposit, some non-bank lenders may charge you a ‘mortgage protection fee’ instead of lenders mortgage insurance (LMI). This fee might be upfront or ongoing, and if you have poor credit you might have to pay more.

Mortgage brokers often have experience helping borrowers with poor credit. If you’re looking for a bad credit home loan, brokers could be particularly useful as they’ll probably have a better idea of the best lenders for you to apply with.

Bad credit home loan lenders in Australia

There are a few lenders in Australia, predominantly non-banks, that advertise products with a flexible credit assessment. Some of the most prominent are:

  • Pepper Money
  • Liberty Finance
  • Australian Mortgage Options (AMO)
  • Resimac

Should you get a bad credit home loan?

If your credit history's not too flash, you might face higher rates and fees on the home loans you’re able to get. It’s worth considering whether you’d be better off waiting until you’ve improved your credit score to apply for a home loan. Most marks are automatically removed from your credit report after a few years, so as long as you pay all your bills in that time, your score should improve.

If you can’t or don’t want to wait, a bad credit home loan could provide a short term solution before you refinance to a lower rate.

If you’ve had trouble managing credit in the past, you might want to seek out financial advice before committing to a home loan. Free financial counselling is available through the likes of the National Debt Helpline or the Mob Strong Debt Helpline.

How to improve your credit score

There are a few ways you might be able to improve your credit score:

  • Check your credit report for any errors
    If you find anything that’s incorrect, contact the credit reporting body and get them to fix it. 
  • Make sure you pay any existing debt repayments and bills on time.
  • Try to limit how many applications you make for credit products, as any ‘hard’ application may be recorded on your report and impact your score.
  • Consider lowering the limit on your credit cards.

Harry is Canstar’s Senior Finance Writer. He’s a money nerd who's been working in the finance comparison industry since completing a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Queensland. He has written hundreds of finance articles, and his work has been featured in publications like The Guardian and Your Investment Property magazine. He’s also made several guest appearances on podcasts and radio discussing the latest economic and product news. Harry has also completed RG146 (Tier One), qualifying him to offer general financial advice in areas including investing and insurance.


Harry’s an enthusiastic chess player and reads too many history books, while his moods are unreasonably tied to the performances of Liverpool FC.

Important Information

For those that love the detail

This advice is general and has not taken into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider whether this advice is right for you.

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