Approvals for house purchase rose to 42,116 from 39,203 in March, the highest figure since June last year.

"There was a significant pre-election jump in mortgage approvals which we would expect to continue in the coming months," said Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA.

The BBA data are generally a good guide to trends in more comprehensive Bank of England lending figures due on Tuesday but do not include lending by mutually owned building societies, which accounts for almost a third of mortgages.

The BoE data showed mortgage approvals inched down in March after rising for three straight months.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by John Stonestreet)