In short: A home loan pre-approval usually lasts 90 days, sometimes up to six months. When it expires, the lender does not cancel your file; it re-verifies your income, expenses, liabilities and credit with fresh documents. If nothing has changed, renewal takes a few days. If rates have risen or your circumstances have moved, your approved figure can shift, so have it renewed before you make an offer rather than after.
Key takeaways
- Most pre-approvals are valid for 90 days; a few lenders offer 120 days or six months.
- Renewal means fresh payslips, statements and a new credit enquiry, not a new full application.
- If the assessment rate has risen since your pre-approval, your maximum figure will fall even with identical income.
- New debts, job changes and higher spending on statements are the usual reasons a renewal comes back lower.
- Renew before you make an offer; an expired pre-approval is not something to discover during a finance clause.
Pre-approval expiry causes more panic than it deserves. Buyers assume they are back to square one. In practice a renewal is a lighter process than the original application, provided you have kept your documents and your finances tidy. This post explains what the lender re-checks, what can change the number, and how to keep a search that runs past 90 days on track.
Why pre-approvals expire
A pre-approval is the lender's assessment of you at a point in time, subject to a property and final checks. Payslips age, statements age and the credit report is a snapshot. Lenders set an expiry so they are never relying on stale information. It also caps how long a rate or policy setting applies, which matters to the lender when rates move.
Read home loan pre-approval for how the initial process works, and MoneySmart's home loan guidance for the regulator's view of what lenders must check. Note that some lenders issue "system" pre-approvals without a credit officer reviewing the file. Those are quicker but weaker, and are more likely to change at renewal. A fully assessed pre-approval, where an assessor has reviewed documents, is worth more and renews more predictably.
What the lender re-verifies
| Item | What they ask for | What can change the outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Two latest payslips, latest income statement | Job change, probation, reduced hours, bonus not repeated |
| Expenses | Three months of statements | Higher spending, new subscriptions, gambling, BNPL |
| Liabilities | Card and loan statements | New card, limit increase, car loan, personal loan |
| Credit | New credit enquiry | New defaults or enquiries since the last check |
| Savings | Current balances | Deposit spent or reduced |
| Rates and policy | Nothing from you | Assessment rate or lender policy changed |
The renewal is usually a shorter form or a simple request through your broker with updated documents attached. Turnaround is commonly two to five business days. Keep the documents checklist current from day 60 onward so you can renew on the day it expires.
How a rate change shifts your figure
Lenders assess at your rate plus 3 percentage points. If rates have risen 0.25% since your pre-approval, the assessment rate rises with them, and the same monthly surplus supports a smaller loan.
For illustration, a borrower pre-approved for $600,000 at a 6.00% rate is assessed at 9.00%. If the rate moves to 6.25% and the assessment rate to 9.25%, the same surplus supports roughly $587,000, about $13,000 less. A 0.50% rise takes it to around $574,000. The effect is modest per step but real, and if you were pre-approved at the top of your capacity for a specific price, it can be the difference between an approval and a shortfall. The borrowing power calculator lets you test different rates, and the RBA cash rate and your mortgage explains how a cash-rate change flows through to lender rates. The Reserve Bank publishes its decisions and cash rate history at rba.gov.au.
The reverse is also true. If rates have fallen since your pre-approval, the renewal may come back higher.
The renewal that comes back lower
When a renewed figure drops and rates have not moved, it is almost always one of these:
- A new liability. A car loan approved in month two, or a card limit increase accepted from a bank offer. See how credit card limits cut your borrowing power.
- Spending on the new statements. A holiday, a wedding, a run of takeaway. Lenders use the higher of their benchmark or your declared expenses, and if the statements show more, the assessor uses more.
- Income change. New job on probation, a contract ending, overtime that dried up. Even a promotion can complicate things if the new role has a probation period.
- Savings spent. A deposit that fell from $80,000 to $60,000 changes the LVR and may add LMI.
- A credit file event. A missed payment or a new enquiry from another lender.
Each of these is fixable, but it takes time, and time is exactly what you do not have when you have found the house. The how to improve your borrowing power guide lists the levers.
Renewing during a purchase
If you have signed a private-sale contract with a subject-to-finance clause and the pre-approval has expired, the formal application simply proceeds with fresh documents; the lender treats it as a new assessment on the property. The risk is time. Finance clauses in Victoria commonly allow 14 days, and a renewal plus valuation can eat most of that. Tell your conveyancer immediately so they can request an extension of the finance date from the vendor before it passes, not after.
At auction there is no finance clause and no cooling-off. Bidding on an expired pre-approval is a serious risk; our auction finance checklist sets out why the renewal must happen before auction day, and what happens if finance falls through explains the consequences of an unconditional contract you cannot fund.
Keeping a long search on track
Buyers in Craigieburn and Mernda regularly search for four to six months. A simple routine keeps the finance ready:
- Diarise the expiry date and start renewal a week before it.
- Save payslips and statements each month in one folder.
- Do not open, increase or apply for any credit. Decline card limit offers.
- Keep spending steady; the statements in the last three months before renewal are the ones the assessor reads.
- Keep the deposit in one account and leave it alone.
- Tell your broker about any job change before it happens, not after.
If your pre-approval was with one lender and rates or policy have moved against you, renewal is also the moment to ask whether another lender now suits better; our home loans page explains how we compare them. A broker can compare without you lodging multiple applications, which matters because each application adds an enquiry to your credit file, as explained in credit scores and home loans.
Frequently asked questions
Does an expired pre-approval affect my credit score?
The expiry itself does not. The renewal usually involves a new credit enquiry, which is recorded. One renewal every 90 days is normal and assessors expect it. What hurts is multiple applications to different lenders in a short period, so renew with the same lender unless there is a reason to move.
Can I extend a pre-approval without new documents?
Occasionally, for a short period, if the lender's policy allows and your original documents are still within their age limits. Most lenders want at least updated payslips and a fresh statement. Ask before it expires; an extension request is easier than a renewal after the fact.
What if my pre-approval expires the week I find a property?
Renew immediately and tell the agent you are pre-approved and finalising updated paperwork. If the sale is private, include a subject-to-finance clause with enough time. If it is an auction, do not bid until the renewal is back unless your broker confirms the file is unchanged and the lender has verbally confirmed the position.
Should I get pre-approved before I start looking, given it expires?
Yes. Knowing your real figure before you inspect saves wasted weekends, and agents take pre-approved buyers seriously. If your search is likely to be long, ask for a lender with a 120-day or six-month validity, and plan one renewal into the home buying process.
Talk to GNT Finance
If your pre-approval has expired or is about to, send us the updated documents and we will renew it, and tell you honestly if anything has moved. Book a free consultation or call Gorakh Timilsina on 0426 403 703. There is no cost to you for our home-loan service in most cases.
Written by Gorakh Timilsina
Founder, CEO & Senior Mortgage Consultant at GNT Finance. Gorakh started as a broker assistant, spent years as a senior credit officer assessing loan applications, and now helps Melbourne families get the right loan approved. English, Nepali and Hindi spoken.