How much equity release you can get depends mainly on your age and your home's value, and only a lender's offer gives the real figure for you.

The honest answer to how much equity release you can get on your home is a set of things lenders weigh, not a single percentage. If you would rather have a qualified equity release adviser work through your own age, home and plans, use the form on this page and your details go to one FCA-authorised adviser firm. Asking costs nothing.

This guide explains what decides the amount, what the published market figures do and do not tell you, and how far calculators can take you. The lenders quoted below tie the amount to your age and home rather than to a fixed share of its value, so no percentage is given here. The guide also sets out the costs of borrowing more. For how equity release works from start to finish, see our guide to equity release in the UK.

The short answer: what decides how much you can release

The lenders quoted here agree on the main inputs. Legal & General says on its own lifetime mortgage page: "The amount you can borrow is based on your age and the value of your home, but this might be less when you come to apply." Aviva's calculator asks for "your age, the type of home you live in and how much it's worth." Taking the factors one at a time:

  • Age of the youngest borrower. On a joint plan, Legal & General tells users to "enter the age of the youngest applicant". As a general direction, older borrowers can usually release a larger share of their home's value than younger ones. A lender's calculator or an adviser will show the figure for you.
  • The value and type of the property. A lender sets a minimum value. For its own lifetime mortgage, Aviva's eligibility list on its calculator page (checked 18 October 2026) says you must "own a home in the UK that’s worth £75,000 or more"; that is Aviva's criterion alone, and its minimum loan is in the questions below. How the home is valued is covered in how a lender values your home, and some property types have their own pages, such as flats and leasehold homes.
  • Health and lifestyle. The Equity Release Council, the trade body for the sector, notes that "Some people may be able to release larger lump sums due to impaired health". Plans built around this are called enhanced lifetime mortgages; see what an enhanced lifetime mortgage is. Ask an adviser how much more your circumstances might allow.
  • Any mortgage you still have. Aviva says applicants must "be mortgage-free, or have a small mortgage left on your home" and that any leftover mortgage must be paid off, which "you can use the money released from your home to do". What is left to borrow then depends on that balance; see equity release with an existing mortgage.
  • Protecting some inheritance. The Council says you can "elect to protect some of the value of your property as an inheritance for your family". Aviva says that setting aside part of your home's value "will lower the amount you can borrow".
  • Which lender and product. Each lender sets its own criteria. Legal & General says of its calculator: "The amount you can release depends on your property, its value and your individual circumstances."

Income usually counts for less than it would on an ordinary mortgage. MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, says there is no affordability assessment for equity release, unlike a standard mortgage. That is a general description, though: Legal & General's own product table gives the maximum loan on one of its plans as "Determined by your age, affordability and property value", so on at least one plan income does come into it. Minimum and maximum ages are covered in equity release age limits.

What the market figures show, and what they do not

The Equity Release Council publishes lending data every quarter. In the Q2 2026 release, covering April to June 2026, new lump sums averaged £113,779, new initial drawdowns £63,642 and new drawdown reserves £56,893. The Council describes its data as "the most comprehensive picture of activity encompassing all provider firms".

Read these as what customers took in that quarter, not as what you could borrow. They are averages across every new plan, with different ages, homes and needs behind them. They are amounts in pounds, not a share of property value. The Council's other statistics are discussed in what the Equity Release Council's market reports show.

Two of the three figures relate to drawdown, which works differently from a lump sum: you take an initial amount and keep a reserve to draw on later. The Council describes an option "to increase the amount you have borrowed as and when you want to, up to the maximum limit agreed with the plan provider". Drawdown lifetime mortgages explains how that reserve works, and borrowing more on an existing plan covers the later top-up.

Equity release calculators: what they can and cannot tell you

Lenders publish calculators, and many people start with one. Aviva's says that an adviser will take more details from you, "which means you could borrow more or less than the amount provided here". Legal & General's says: "This is an estimate." So a calculator is a first sense of scale, not an offer.

Some points to know before using one:

  • It is one lender's product. Aviva's calculator is for Aviva's lifetime mortgage, and Legal & General's is for its own. Neither tells you what other lenders would offer.
  • You may be asked for contact details. Legal & General says: "We’ll ask you to register your details so we can show you the calculation." Other calculators may ask for the same, so check what each does with your details before you enter them.
  • Your choices change the amount. As above, protecting part of your home's value lowers what you can borrow. Legal & General's calculator also asks whether you would "be able to make monthly interest payments until I retire"; see interest-only lifetime mortgages.
  • A calculator does not show the cost. The amount released is only half of a decision. What it will cost depends on the interest rate and how long the loan runs, which equity release interest rates and how compound interest builds up explain.

A home reversion plan has its own calculation, since the provider buys all or part of your home; the Council says the provider takes your "age and your health" into account. How much cash a home reversion plan can give covers it.

A calculator cannot see your health, your existing mortgage or what you plan to use the money for. A qualified equity release adviser can go through all of those together. If you would like that, the form on this page is a quick way to be introduced to one; it takes a minute or two.

Why the maximum is not the same as the right amount

Being offered a large sum does not make a large sum sensible. Every pound released is a pound of loan, and what you release now shapes what is left later. These are the trade-offs to weigh whatever the amount:

  • A bigger loan means a faster-growing debt. Where interest rolls up, it is charged on the amount borrowed and on the interest already added (Aviva's description of its own lifetime mortgage), so each extra pound taken today carries its own compounding cost. Timing matters too: MoneyHelper points out that starting a plan younger means a longer loan, so more interest has time to build up.
  • Less is left to pass on. When the plan ends, what is owed comes out of the home first, and anyone you leave the property to receives only what remains. The bigger the release, the more that usually takes; how equity release affects inheritance covers protecting a share.
  • Benefits may change. Equity release could affect means-tested state benefits, local authority grants and Council Tax reductions. Equity release and benefits sets out how released money is treated.
  • Taking too much is hard to undo. Agreements may carry early repayment charges. Council members' products must let customers make some repayments free of charge, though only within the provider's lending criteria, so how much can be paid back without an early repayment charge depends on the plan; see repaying equity release early.
  • Set-up costs add to the bill. MoneyHelper puts fees for advice, solicitors, valuation and arrangement at between £1,500 and £3,000 in total; equity release fees breaks them down.

One ceiling does exist on what you can end up owing. Products from Equity Release Council members carry a no-negative-equity guarantee, which caps the debt at the home's value after reasonable sales costs if the home sells for the best price reasonably obtainable and the loan's terms have been kept (the Council's standards). It does not protect an inheritance, and it binds Council members rather than every firm. The Council also expects advisers to explain how changes in house values may affect your plan. Taking less, or raising the money another way, is part of the same decision, and the pros and cons of equity release weighs it more widely.

How you find out your actual figure

Your own figure comes from a lender's offer, and two professionals stand between you and it whatever the amount. The first is a qualified equity release adviser, who works through your circumstances with you; MoneyHelper says to check that your adviser is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The second is a solicitor, since independent legal advice is part of the Council's standards for all equity release customers. Council members follow that standard; it is not a law binding every firm.

For the steps themselves, see how to get an equity release quote, how to find and check an adviser and why you need a solicitor. The amount is worked out differently for a lifetime mortgage and a home reversion plan; the two compared explains how.

Scotland. This page covers the whole UK. What differs in Scotland is the legal form of the security: Scots law requires a loan secured on a home to be embodied in a standard security (section 9 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970), rather than the mortgage charge used elsewhere in the UK.

Questions people ask about how much equity release you can get

What percentage of my home's value can I release?

The lenders quoted here describe the amount as depending on age and property value rather than as a fixed share of the home. A qualified equity release adviser can find out what is available on your own home.

How does my age change what I can release?

Age is a main input: Legal & General says the amount "is based on your age and the value of your home", using the youngest applicant on a joint plan. Older borrowers can usually release more of their home's value; a calculator or adviser will show by how much for you. Age limits themselves are covered in equity release age limits.

Can I release more if I am in poor health?

Possibly. The Equity Release Council says "Some people may be able to release larger lump sums due to impaired health". How much depends on the lender and the condition; see enhanced lifetime mortgages.

What is the average equity release amount?

In Q2 2026 the Equity Release Council reported an average new lump sum of £113,779 and an average initial drawdown of £63,642. These are averages across all new plans, not what you can borrow.

Can I release the whole value of my home?

Not with the lenders quoted here: they set a maximum. Legal & General's product table gives its maximum loan as "Determined by your age and property value." (with affordability added on one plan) rather than a fixed share, and Aviva says that setting aside part of your home's value for your family "will lower the amount you can borrow". Whatever is released, the loan and interest are repaid from your estate, so a smaller inheritance follows.

Can I use equity release to remortgage?

Aviva says any leftover mortgage must be paid off, and that you "can use the money released from your home to do this". Equity release is otherwise a different product; see equity release compared with remortgaging.

Is there a minimum amount?

It varies by lender. MoneyHelper says "most lenders say a minimum of £10,000" for a lump sum, and Aviva says applicants for its lifetime mortgage must want to borrow at least £15,000.

Next step

If you would like to know what might be possible on your own home, and what it would cost your family, the form on this page lets a qualified equity release adviser pick that question up with you. Independent legal advice from a solicitor comes later, before any plan completes.

Sources: Equity Release Council, Lifetime Mortgage; Equity Release Council, Professional Standards & Guarantees; Equity Release Council, Q2 2026 market bulletin; MoneyHelper, What is equity release?; Aviva, Lifetime mortgage calculator; Aviva, Equity release; Legal & General, Lifetime mortgages; legislation.gov.uk, Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, section 9. Accessed 18 October 2026.