Despite the increase in interest rates, the Bank of England is breaking the rules on the availability of mortgages

Andrew Wishart of Capital Economics said the move would boost competition between banks, which was “little risk” when it comes to threats in the system.

“We’ve seen a lot of competition among mortgage lenders in recent months, which is probably why they’ve given preference to market share over lending standards,” Mr Wishart said.

However, he said the bank’s decision to lift the restriction could mitigate any drop in prices for homeowners instead of increasing greater risks. The affordability test risked forcing the market into a stronger contraction, he said.

“As variable interest rates have started to rise, they were probably worried that the test would become a big constraint on how much lenders can lend,” Mr Wishart said.

“The test itself could pretty much delay the size of the mortgages and thus how much people could offer for housing and ultimately the price.”

He expects the bank’s base rate to rise to 3 percent, which will slow the market and eventually force housing prices into the plant, even if the accessibility rule changes.

Yael Selfin, chief economist at KPMG UK, said the abolition of the test could be seen as a “counter-cyclical measure” that will ease the rules, just as banks are worried about a fall in the market. The change could reduce the impact of lenders’ own decisions to approve mortgages more prudently, thus supporting the market as it enters a more difficult phase.