Gifted Deposit Letter
22/10/2021
(Last Updated: 29/11/2023)
223,402
7 min read
Your mortgage lender requires a gifted deposit letter during the conveyancing process if you are obtaining a gift from your parents or a friend. The reason for the letter is so that the mortgage lender can prove that the money is a gift and not in fact a repayable loan. The document is also known as a deed of gift.
The gift letter for mortgage should be completed and provided to the conveyancing solicitor along with the gifter's proof of ID, address and proof of funds. We explain in this article here - How to prove source of funds.
"Dear Sir/Madam,
The money we paid to our son is a gift.
Kind regards.
Mum and Dad"
All too often parents or friends gifting money email something similar to the solicitor as their declaration the deposit is a gift. Sadly when the solicitors receive these emails they invariably tell the children to inform the parents a simple statement like this isn’t sufficient for the purposes of the mortgage lender and that the parents have to send the information in the correct format.
For example: We are assisting our daughter, whose full name is Kirstie Smith, in their purchase of 41 An Example Road, B4 1NE.

For example: We are gifting her £25,000.
For example: We understand that by gifting the sum to her, that our action is a gift of love and affection.
For example: We declare that the gifted deposit is unconditional, non-repayable and does not give us any rights over the property and will not prejudice the security of their Mortgage Company, Nationwide Building Society.
If you are a parent gifting money to a son or daughter and you don't want their partner to make a claim on the deposit, then you can:
For example: We hereby confirm that at the date of this Declaration we are solvent, our assets exceed our liabilities and we have no reason to believe that we will become bankrupt.
For example: We hereby confirm that we are aware that your solicitor cannot provide us with any legal advice in this matter and we have been advised by your solicitor to obtain independent legal and financial advice before proceeding further.
The gift letter for mortgage should be completed and provided to the conveyancing solicitor along with the gifter's proof of ID, address and proof of funds. We explain in this article here - How to prove source of funds.
Is this a gifted deposit letter?
"Dear Sir/Madam,
The money we paid to our son is a gift.
Kind regards.
Mum and Dad"
All too often parents or friends gifting money email something similar to the solicitor as their declaration the deposit is a gift. Sadly when the solicitors receive these emails they invariably tell the children to inform the parents a simple statement like this isn’t sufficient for the purposes of the mortgage lender and that the parents have to send the information in the correct format.
How do you write a gifted deposit letter?
We include a gifted deposit letter template, explain what each part means and how to sign/witness.7 stages of a Gifted Deposit Letter?
- 1
Who, relationship and address
For example: We are assisting our daughter, whose full name is Kirstie Smith, in their purchase of 41 An Example Road, B4 1NE.

- 2
Gift amount
For example: We are gifting her £25,000.
- 3
The reason for the gift
For example: We understand that by gifting the sum to her, that our action is a gift of love and affection.
- 4
The gift is not repayable
For example: We declare that the gifted deposit is unconditional, non-repayable and does not give us any rights over the property and will not prejudice the security of their Mortgage Company, Nationwide Building Society.
How do you ensure your gift isn't shared with the partner?
If you are a parent gifting money to a son or daughter and you don't want their partner to make a claim on the deposit, then you can:
- state in your gift letter that it is a gift just to your son or daughter; and
- the buyers can get a deed of trust to confirm how much the joint owners individually own in the property. The deed would protect the money invested in the property if the relationship breaks down.
- 5
You are solvent
For example: We hereby confirm that at the date of this Declaration we are solvent, our assets exceed our liabilities and we have no reason to believe that we will become bankrupt.
- 6
Independent Legal Advice
For example: We hereby confirm that we are aware that your solicitor cannot provide us with any legal advice in this matter and we have been advised by your solicitor to obtain independent legal and financial advice before proceeding further.
- 7
Signed and witnessed
Are your children buying a home using a gifted deposit?
We don't charge any extra if they are receiving a gifted deposit to help pay for their home, unlike so many other conveyancing solicitor firms. In addition to that, the purchase will be protected by our No Sale, No Fee Policy.Frequently Asked Questions
LENDER-TEMPLATE
NATIONWIDE
LEGALLY-BINDING
CONTENT

Written by:
Andrew Boast
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.

Reviewed by:
Caragh Bailey
Caragh is an excellent writer in her own right as well as an accomplished copy editor for both fiction and non-fiction books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey and mortgage related articles.
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