It has been reported that many would be buyers who thought that they might be shut out of the mortgage market due to proposals that were put forward by the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, may be thrown a lifeline because of delays in approving the proposals.

For many people, including first time buyers, those on lower incomes, and self employed people, the proposals may have left them out in the cold when it came to getting a mortgage because of the FSA’s determination to crack down on lax lending amongst banks and make lending criteria far more stringent.

The plans put forward by the FSA included making far more detailed checks on applicants, and working out their chances of affordability over the term of the mortgage, factoring in the chances of base interest rate rises. This would mean that many people would be deemed as being unsuitable because of their finances, and would therefore struggle to get a mortgage.

The plans by the FSA caused an outcry from the mortgage industry, with the Council of Mortgage Lenders stating that the new proposals were unfair and unnecessary, adding that they would result in many people being left high and dry when it came to getting onto the property ladder. It has now emerged that the FSA’s own Consumer Panel has stated that a more indepth review of the proposals is required, which has resulted in the implementation of these proposals being delayed.

Final proposals will now be released next summer, and this has bought extra time for the people that may have been worried about exclusion as a result of the plans.

Adam Phillips from the Consumer Panel said: ‘We welcome the FSA’s decision to take more time in assessing the full impact of the MMR. It is essential that the regulator assesses the possible unintended consequences and side-effects of its proposals for the rest of the market.’