Mortgage pre-approval in New Zealand: how it works, what lenders check and how long it lasts

Written by Henry Smith · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-09-09 · Reviewed annually, or sooner if the rules it describes change.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Mortgage pre-approval is a free, no-obligation indication from a bank of what it may lend you, and at ANZ and ASB it is valid for up to three months, or 90 days, from the date of issue (ANZ; ASB; retrieved 9 September 2026). What a bank will actually offer also depends on the Reserve Bank's loan-to-value and debt-to-income restrictions, which apply on top of the bank's own assessment of you.

What pre-approval actually is

Banks call it different things: ANZ and ASB use "pre-approval", while BNZ and Kiwibank both use "conditional approval" for essentially the same product. It is an indication of how much a bank may lend you, based on the financial information you provide, subject to conditions you still need to meet before a full, unconditional loan approval is given (BNZ, Getting conditional approval, retrieved 9 September 2026). It is not a guarantee of finance for a specific property.

How long does pre-approval take in NZ?

Timing depends on the bank and how quickly you supply the required documents; none of the major banks we checked publish a fixed processing time for pre-approval itself, since it depends on identity checks, proof of income and proof of deposit. What is published is how long the resulting approval then lasts, covered below.

How long is mortgage pre-approval valid for in NZ?

At ANZ, pre-approval is valid for up to three months; at ASB, home loan pre-approvals are valid for up to 90 days from the date of issue (ANZ; ASB; retrieved 9 September 2026). BNZ and Kiwibank's own conditional-approval pages, which we checked directly, do not publish a specific validity period, so confirm the exact expiry with your own bank or broker rather than assuming a figure.

The table below sets out what each bank we checked publishes about validity and cost.

Pre-approval is free at every bank we checked, and the table below compares what is actually published about how long it lasts.

Bank	What it's called	Cost	Published validity
ANZ	Pre-approval	Free	Up to 3 months
ASB	Pre-approval	Free	Up to 90 days from issue
BNZ	Conditional approval	Free	Not published on the page we checked; confirm with BNZ directly
Kiwibank	Conditional approval	Free	Not published on the page we checked; confirm with Kiwibank directly

(Each bank's own current page, retrieved 9 September 2026; see References.)

What happens if my pre-approval expires before I find a house?

ANZ specifically advises contacting your Home Loan Coach to have your financial position reassessed if you are still house hunting once pre-approval lapses (ANZ, retrieved 9 September 2026). A reassessment checks whether anything about your income, expenses or the lending environment has changed since the original approval.

What banks check for pre-approval

What do you need to get pre-approval?

ANZ asks for proof of identity (photo ID), proof of your deposit, proof of income (bank statements, payslips or an employment contract, or financial statements if self-employed), and a review of your expenses, including three months of bank statements for any non-ANZ accounts (ANZ, retrieved 9 September 2026). BNZ's conditional approval process similarly asks for evidence of earnings, savings and investment history, assets, and, for a refinance, the most recent three months of loan statements (BNZ, retrieved 9 September 2026).

What credit score do you need for a mortgage in NZ?

Not published as a fixed minimum by the banks we checked; lenders assess your overall financial position, not a single published credit score threshold, and each bank applies its own lending criteria on top of the Reserve Bank's restrictions covered below.

Can my bank pre-approve a mortgage?

Yes, this is exactly what pre-approval (or conditional approval) is: an indication of how much your own bank, or a bank you are applying to as a new customer, may lend you, based on the information you provide (ANZ, retrieved 9 September 2026).

Can you be denied a mortgage after being pre-approved?

Yes. Pre-approval is subject to conditions, and full loan approval is a separate step; a change in your financial position, the specific property you choose (for example, its valuation or type of title), or new information that comes to light during full assessment can all affect the final decision, which is why pre-approval is described as an indication rather than a guarantee (BNZ, retrieved 9 September 2026).

The 2026 lending rules that sit behind every bank's decision

Even with a strong application, every registered bank in New Zealand operates within Reserve Bank restrictions that cap how much high-risk lending it can do overall, which is separate from your own individual assessment.

What is the LVR restriction in NZ right now?

For owner-occupier lending, no more than 25 percent of a bank's new lending can go to loans above 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LVR); for investor lending, no more than 10 percent can go to loans above 70 percent LVR, and the Reserve Bank confirmed these settings unchanged in its most recent annual review (RBNZ, Reserve Bank maintains Loan-to-Value Ratio settings, published 14 August 2026, retrieved 9 September 2026).

The table below sets out the current LVR and DTI settings together, since both apply to new lending at the same time.

RBNZ's LVR and DTI settings apply on top of a bank's own criteria, and the table below is the current picture for both.

Restriction	Owner-occupier	Investor
LVR "speed limit" (share of new lending that can be high-LVR)	Up to 25% can be above 80% LVR	Up to 10% can be above 70% LVR
DTI "speed limit" (share of new lending that can be high-DTI)	Up to 20% can be above a DTI of 6	Up to 20% can be above a DTI of 7

(Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Loan-to-value ratio restrictions, last updated 19 December 2025; Understanding debt-to-income restrictions, last updated 23 December 2025; retrieved 9 September 2026.)

What is a debt-to-income (DTI) restriction, in plain terms?

DTI restrictions limit how much a bank can lend relative to your annual gross (before-tax) income minus any existing debt; borrowing above 6 times your income (owner-occupier) or 7 times (investor) is classed as high-DTI, and banks can only allocate a limited share of new lending to high-DTI borrowers (RBNZ, Understanding debt-to-income restrictions, retrieved 9 September 2026). For example, a household earning $120,000 with $20,000 of existing debt reaches the high-DTI threshold at $700,000 of borrowing (6 x $120,000, minus $20,000).

Do LVR and DTI restrictions apply to a first home?

The general restrictions apply to most new lending, but Kāinga Ora loans, including First Home Loans, are specifically exempt from both the LVR and DTI restrictions, along with construction loans for a newly built home purchased from the developer within 6 months of completion, portability (moving a loan to a new property without increasing it), and refinancing that does not increase the loan value (RBNZ, Loan-to-value ratio restrictions; RBNZ, DTI explainer; retrieved 9 September 2026).

How often does the Reserve Bank review these settings?

Annually, as part of its macroprudential policy framework, though it can review sooner if conditions warrant; the current settings were confirmed unchanged in the review published 14 August 2026, with the next review intended for around 12 months later (RBNZ, retrieved 9 September 2026).

How pre-approval fits with the rest of buying a house

Pre-approval usually runs alongside, not before, the other steps in this cluster, and the table below shows a typical order.

Most buyers work pre-approval, a builders report and conveyancing at roughly the same time, and the table below sets out a typical sequence.

Step	Typical timing
Mortgage pre-approval	Before you make an offer, so you know your price range
Builders report	After an offer is accepted, usually as a contract condition
Conveyancing engaged	Before or as soon as an offer is accepted
Full (unconditional) loan approval	Once all contract conditions are satisfied
Insurance arranged	Before settlement

(QuoteHub's own summary of the typical NZ buying sequence; each linked guide carries its own sources.)

Does pre-approval guarantee I'll get the loan for a specific house?

No. Pre-approval is an indication based on your own financial position, not an approval of a specific property; full, unconditional approval still requires the bank to be satisfied with the actual property, such as its valuation, title type and any building report findings (BNZ, retrieved 9 September 2026).

What this page does not cover

This page compares published bank pre-approval terms and the current Reserve Bank lending restrictions; it is not personal lending advice, and how much a specific bank will lend you depends on your own income, expenses, deposit and the property itself. It is also a good moment to review what income protection insurance actually covers, since a mortgage is usually the largest new fixed cost a household takes on. It does not cover the builders report or conveyancing steps that typically run alongside finance, or general house insurance, covered separately on insurance on settlement day. QuoteHub's read is that a pre-approval's expiry date is easy to lose track of during a slow house hunt, and worth calendaring the moment you get it. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Where to go next in this cluster

Our buying-a-house checklist hub sets out every step in order. For the physical building side, see a builders report in NZ, and for the legal side, conveyancing cost in New Zealand. Once finance is confirmed, insurance on settlement day covers what must be in place before the keys change hands. For the wider insurance picture around a first home, see insurance for first-home buyers, first-home buyer insurance in New Zealand, life insurance with a home loan, mortgage life insurance in NZ and life insurance versus mortgage protection. Our mortgage protection guide, guide to mortgage protection, mortgage protection companies compared and the mortgage protection calculator cover the cover itself, alongside our life insurance guide, life insurance quotes NZ, life insurance calculator, life insurance quotes and making a will in New Zealand, or start a free comparison with a licensed adviser.

Adviser's view

Pre-approval reads like a guarantee once a bank puts a number on it, but it is only an indication based on your own finances, not an approval of a specific property, and full approval still depends on the valuation, title type and any building report findings once you make an offer. QuoteHub's read is that treating a pre-approval figure as fixed, rather than as a moving indication with an expiry date, is where house hunters most often get caught out.

Henry Smith, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Mortgage Pre-Approval NZ: How It Works, How Long It Lasts. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/buying-a-house/mortgage-pre-approval-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.