Does money from selling a car count as genuine savings?

Generally, no. Most lenders see it as a one-off sale, not a saving pattern, and a good number exclude it in writing. A handful will count it, some only with proof the car was in your name or once the money has been held for a few months.

Can I still use car sale money for my house deposit?

Yes, normally it can form part of your deposit. It just needs something else alongside it to satisfy the genuine savings test, like a rental ledger or savings built up over time.

How many months of rental history do lenders need for genuine savings?

It varies. Several lenders accept three months of clean rent, one of the big banks wants 90 days through a registered agent with rent adding up to 5% of the price, and others want six months. Nearly all of them rule out payments more than seven days late.

Does my partner need to be on the loan to use our rental ledger?

At a couple of the big banks, yes: every tenant on the lease has to be a borrower. Most other lenders don't spell it out, so it's worth confirming with the lender before relying on it.

What if I don't rent and my deposit is mostly from selling my car?

Then it's harder. You'll more than likely need to build some savings over a few months, use one of the handful of lenders that accept car sale proceeds, or look at one of the few lenders that don't require genuine savings, which normally costs more in other ways.

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Does selling my car count as genuine savings?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 16 October 2026 · 2 min read

The short answer

Generally, no. The banks are going to go, well, you kind of need a car. Sell your car, buy a cheap old one, and try to buy a house a day later with that money as your genuine savings, and the banks are going to say no.

That doesn't mean the car money is useless. It can still go toward your deposit at most lenders, and a handful will even count it as genuine savings. At most of the panel, though, it can't be the bit that proves you can save, so we prove that another way, and if you're renting, a rental ledger is normally the easiest way around it.

The 60 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

Why a car sale doesn't count

Genuine savings is the bank checking that you can put money aside over time, because that's what tells them you'll keep up the repayments. A car sale is a one-off. It shows you owned something, not that you've been saving.

There's also the practical side. The bank assumes you need a car to get to work, so if you sell one, you're probably buying another, and that money is coming straight back out. A good number of lenders write it straight into their policy: proceeds from selling a car or other personal asset are not genuine savings, full stop.

The way around it: your rental ledger

There are other ways to verify genuine savings. If you're renting, we can use a rental ledger to prove what you've been paying. That rent is money you've reliably found every week, and a lot of lenders that lend above 90% of the property's value accept a clean rent history in place of the usual saving pattern.

Once the rental ledger ticks the genuine savings box, it generally doesn't matter that you've had to sell your car to fund the deposit. The car money becomes part of what you bring to the table, and the rent history does the proving. On camera I said 12 months of rent. A year will cover you almost anywhere, but most lenders ask for less, more on that below.

Where the banks actually split on this

On the car money itself, the panel is split. A handful of lenders accept car sale proceeds as genuine savings, some only with proof the car was in your name, like the title transfer, and one smaller lender only once the money has sat in your account for three months. Plenty of others exclude it outright. A couple of the big banks only count it as an extra contribution once your genuine savings has been proven some other way.

On rental history, the terms vary more than people expect. Several lenders want three months of clean rent. One of the big banks wants at least 90 days through a registered agent, with the rent paid adding up to 5% of the purchase price. Others want six months. A couple of the big banks want six months continuous through a licensed agent, and every tenant on the lease has to be a borrower on the loan, so if your partner is on the lease but not the loan, that path may not work. Nearly everyone rules out any payment more than seven days late, and at least one lender won't take a rental ledger at all.

If you're using the 5% deposit scheme, it can be tighter again. Several lenders want genuine savings on scheme loans at any deposit size, and at least one excludes asset sales from the 5% minimum entirely.

The honest bit: if you're not renting, it's harder

The rental ledger is the cleanest workaround, and it only works if you've been paying rent. If you're living at home rent free and your deposit is mostly car money, you're more than likely going to need to build up some savings the normal way first, over a few months.

That's not the bank being difficult. It's the bank checking you can handle a mortgage payment every month before they hand you one.

Selling the car to fund the deposit?

A 30 minute call. We look at where your deposit is coming from, whether a rental ledger can do the genuine savings work, and which lenders fit how you've saved.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

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Next question

Does my tax refund count as genuine savings?

Often, yes. Plenty of lenders count a tax refund as genuine savings.