In its Mortgage Saver Review report, Trussle found that the self-employed made up 23 per cent of all specialist cases received by lenders. Since the company was set up in 2015, it has seen applications from self-employed borrowers rise by 54 per cent.

Despite this, the self-employed are less likely to get a mortgage application approved than other types of specialist borrower.

Some 89 per cent of borrowers with bad credit are approved for a mortgage compared to 86 per cent of retirees and 76 per cent of self-employed applicants. Those with a small deposit were also looked on more favourably than borrowers who work for themselves, enjoying an 85 per cent approval rate.

First-time buyers had the best approval rates overall at 90 per cent.

Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at Trussle, said: “The government encourages entrepreneurship, but the mortgage industry is not keeping pace with how fast the self-employed sector is expanding. This group is being let down time and time again with a challenging and confusing mortgage journey, which is resulting in less mortgages being approved by lenders.

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“Enough is enough. The industry must work collaboratively to update its requirements and close this ‘mortgage access gap’ to support the self-employed.

“We’re using our own data to design flexible products for specific under-served groups, like the self-employed. This will be a significant step in our commitment to making mortgages fairer for all.”

See YourMoney.com’s Top tips for self-employed workers applying for a mortgage for more information.