Do I definitely need to ask my IP?

Yes. Almost every IVA requires you to get your supervisor's agreement before taking on new credit or a lease above a set amount, and a car lease will be well above it. Skipping that step risks the arrangement itself.

Which leasing companies accept IVAs?

Not many of the mainstream ones. It's a specialist area, and it's got narrower rather than wider over the last few years as some of the larger lenders have pulled back from it. Our lending partner has been doing it since 1999.

Will you run a credit check?

Not to begin with. Your bank statements are read first. Only if that looks positive does a credit check happen, and that one is a full search, which will be recorded on your credit file. Be wary of anyone offering you a car with no check at all: if nobody runs a search, nobody sees your IVA, and nobody asks whether your arrangement allows it.

How long has my IVA got to have been running?

There's no fixed rule, but how far through you are does come into your IP's decision. Someone well into their arrangement with a clean payment record is in a stronger position than someone who has just started.

What if my IVA has finished?

Then you don't need permission from anyone, and you're in a stronger position than you might think. The arrangement will still show on your credit file, which is why the mainstream leasing companies will still turn you down, and that is why we exist.

Will leasing a car affect my IVA?

Done with your IP's agreement, it's simply another agreed monthly cost within your budget. And because your IVA shows on a credit search, no legitimate leasing company will set one up without that agreement, so it isn't something you have to manage on your own.

How long does the whole thing take?

You'll hear from us within one working day of sending your documents. After that it depends partly on how quickly your Insolvency Practitioner comes back to you, which is outside our hands.

Car Leasing With an IVA | Fresh Start Car Leasing

£299 to £399

a month, inc VAT

3 months

rental up front

36 months

road tax included

10,000

miles a year

We arrange car leases for people in IVAs regularly. It's some of the work our lending partner does most, at a time when a lot of the bigger lenders have quietly stopped. What follows is how it actually works, including the parts that might not go your way.

The short version

You can do this, but not on your own. Your Insolvency Practitioner has to agree first.
That isn't something you have to police yourself. Your IVA shows on a credit search, so no legitimate leasing company will set one up without your IP's agreement.
We get you a firm offer first, with exact figures on it, so your IP has something real to say yes or no to.
Your IP decides based on your budget: what you owe, what you're paying, and how the new payment fits alongside it.
Cars are £313 to £399 a month. You pay the first three months up front, which works out at just under £1,000 on our cheapest car and about £1,200 on the dearest.
Your bank statements are read before any credit check happens.

Why you can't just apply

Most people in an IVA already know they need permission for new credit. What catches them out is the order.

Your Insolvency Practitioner can't approve an idea. They can only approve a specific agreement: this car, this monthly payment, this term, starting on this date. Until those figures exist, there's nothing for them to assess. Ask them "can I get a car?" and the honest answer they'll give you is "bring me the numbers".

So the sequence runs the other way round from what people expect:

We check whether it's affordable.

You send three months of bank statements and a copy of your driving licence. Our lending partner's underwriter reads them himself. He's working out whether the payments would sit comfortably alongside everything you already pay, your IVA contribution included. No credit check happens at this stage, so if the answer is no, nothing has touched your credit file.

If it works, you get a firm offer.

A specific car, a specific monthly payment, the initial payment, the term and the mileage. In writing, with the actual figures on it.

You take that offer to your Insolvency Practitioner.

Now they've got something they can assess properly. This is the step you cannot skip.

Only when they've agreed does anything get signed.

You can't get this wrong by accident

People in an IVA often worry about this, so it's worth saying plainly.

Your IVA shows up on a credit search. Any legitimate leasing company will see it, and none of them will set up an agreement without your Insolvency Practitioner's consent, ours included. There is no version of this where you accidentally sign something you shouldn't have. The process protects you whether you know the rules or not.

The place to be careful is elsewhere. Some companies advertise cars with no credit check and guaranteed acceptance. If nobody runs a search, nobody sees your IVA, and nobody checks whether your arrangement allows the commitment you're taking on. That's how people end up in breach without realising it.

If a company tells you they won't check your credit, that isn't them doing you a favour. It's them not looking.

What your Insolvency Practitioner will be looking at

They're doing much the same job our underwriter does, from a different angle.

They'll look at your bank statements and your outgoing commitments, including the repayment plans you've already agreed, and work out whether another monthly payment genuinely fits. If it would leave you short, or put your IVA contribution at risk, they'll say no, and they'll be right to.

Cost isn't the only thing they weigh. How much you still owe, and how far through your IVA you are, both come into it. Someone three years into a five-year arrangement with a good payment record is in a different position from someone who started four months ago.

And practitioners vary. Different firms take different views, and there's no single rule that applies across all of them. Anyone who tells you they can guarantee your IP will agree is telling you something they can't know.

Will yours say yes?

We can't tell you that, and we won't pretend to.

What we can tell you is that it happens regularly, and that your chances are better when three things are true: the payment genuinely fits your budget, you've kept up your IVA contributions, and you can show why you need the car, usually to get to work.

It's also worth saying that a lease is often an easier thing for an IP to approve than a car bought on finance. There's no asset sitting inside your arrangement to be valued or argued about, and the cost is fixed and visible for the whole term. That's a simpler thing to sign off.

If your IP says no, that's the end of it for now, but it isn't necessarily the end of it forever. Circumstances change, and you're welcome to come back to us.

What you'll need

The first three months up front. Just under £1,000 on our cheapest car, about £1,200 on the dearest. There is no version of this without it, and we'd rather say that now than after you've sent us your documents.

Income from work. Employed or self-employed, £1,500 a month minimum after tax. Anything else you receive counts on top of that, but there has to be earned income there as well.

Payments up to date. Your IVA contributions and anything else you're paying. Past trouble is fine, which is the entire point of what we do. Being behind right now is the problem.

Three months of bank statements and your driving licence. That's all we ask for to start.

A full UK driving licence, and an address in mainland England or Wales. Scotland isn't impossible, but ask us first.

What it costs

Ordinary, practical cars: hatchbacks and small SUVs, two to three years old, with mileage already on them.

Car	Per month	To start	Term
Fiat 500	£313	£939	36 months
MG ZS	£319	£957	36 months
Vauxhall Corsa	£329	£987	36 months
Nissan Juke	£349	£1,047	36 months
Peugeot 2008	£389	£1,167	36 months

Every price includes VAT. Road tax is included for the three years at today's rates, and delivery and collection are free. Servicing, tyres, MOT and insurance are down to you. The mileage limit is 10,000 a year, 30,000 over the three years, and going over costs extra per mile.

At the end you hand the car back. There's no option to buy it.

See all our cars →

When we can't help

We'd rather put this on the page than discover it after you've sent us your bank statements.

You can't cover the first three months up front.
Your income is from benefits or other sources only, with no earned income alongside it.
You're behind on payments right now.
You drive more than 12,000 miles a year.
You've been declared bankrupt and haven't yet been discharged.

Questions people ask about leasing with an IVA

Yes, with your Insolvency Practitioner's permission. That permission has to come before anything is signed, not after.

Find out where you stand

Answer a few questions and send us three months of bank statements. We'll tell you within one working day whether this is likely to work, before any credit check, and before you need to speak to your IP about it.

Check if I qualify

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