BUY-TO-LET: RATE CUTS AND BIGGER LOANS
Buy-to-let pricing has moved in the right direction across a number of lenders this week, and several have lifted maximum loan sizes — useful for portfolio landlords looking to recycle capital.
Headline rate movements
- Aldermore dropped its BTL two- and five-year fixed rates by 0.20%, with pricing now starting from 3.99% on single residential investment properties and 3.94% across multi-property portfolios.
- TSB cut buy-to-let pricing by up to 80bps, mainly on two- and five-year fixes at 69% LTV.
- West One reduced selected residential rates by 0.55% and BTL rates by up to 0.30%, with five-year BTL fixes now from 4.39% and two-year fixes from 3.69%.
- CHL Mortgages lowered rates by up to 25bps on its short-term let products and up to 10bps on its limited edition BTL range. Limited edition single-dwelling deals start at 2.85%, with HMO and MUFB pricing from 2.95%.
- Darlington Building Society reduced rates across its BTL range by up to 50bps on selected products.
- Landbay trimmed selected 75% LTV five-year fixed Premier remortgage products and made 20bp cuts across 15 selected Core two- and five-year fixes at 75% LTV.
- Fleet Mortgages cut its 3% fee, 75% LTV five-year fixed range by 20bps — standard and limited company pricing now sits at 5.04%, with HMO and MUFB at 5.49%.
Bigger loans, looser criteria
- Accord now lends up to £1.5m on BTL at 75% LTV for experienced landlords (up from £1m), with first-time landlords able to borrow up to £1m.
- Landbay has lifted its maximum standard product loan size to £1.5m.
- Fleet Mortgages has removed its minimum income requirement for BTL applicants and extended the maximum mortgage term from 30 to 35 years. The height restriction on blocks of flats has also been removed.
- LendInvest has also dropped its minimum income requirement across its full range — standard BTL, limited company, HMO and multi-unit.
- HSBC has revised its rental calculation, allowing landlords to borrow more against rental income — worth a look for landlords previously squeezed by affordability stress tests.
Why this matters: combined, these changes meaningfully widen the field for portfolio landlords. If you have been told "no" on income, loan size or property type in the past 12 months, the answer may now be different.
BRIDGING: NEW PRODUCTS AND SHARPER PRICING
The bridging market continues to mature. The Bridging & Development Lenders Association reported loan books surpassing £13bn at the end of 2025, up from £10bn the year before. Pricing has tightened alongside that growth, and several lenders have launched new propositions over the past week.
New launches and promotions
- Aspen has expanded its Bridge-to-Let offering with a new five-year semi-commercial product at 75% LTV. Bridging rates are fixed from 0.79% per month for up to 24 months, followed by a serviced period from 6.94% per year. Loans up to £15m net.
- Lakeshield launched Flow, a new residential bridging product offering loans of £100,000 to £750,000, all priced at 0.75% per month — useful for cleaner, mid-ticket residential bridges.
- Glenhawk launched a Spring Promotion offering free valuation and legal fees across its bridging range, reimbursing borrowers up to £3,500 on completion.
- Together rolled out a new suite of commercial and semi-commercial products in response to rising demand.
Where pricing sits
As at April 2026, mainstream unregulated bridging deals are priced between 0.65% and 0.95% per month, with prime sub-60% LTV cases starting from around 0.55%. Larger loans above £2m can price below the prime band where lenders are competing aggressively. Complex cases — non-standard construction, higher LTV, or less certain exits — typically sit at 1.0% to 1.5%.
Exit strategy remains the single biggest underwriting question. Lenders increasingly want evidence — comparable sales, mortgage in principle, or rental projections — rather than a stated intention. Structuring this properly at application stage is consistently producing better terms and faster completions.
THE WIDER PICTURE
The Bank of England held the base rate at 3.75% on 19 March, in line with expectations. Following the conflict in the Middle East and the impact on swap rates earlier this year, market pricing has shifted — traders are now pricing in the possibility of two further hikes before year-end, taking rates to 4.25%. Before that disruption, the consensus had been for two cuts in 2026.
Two-year swaps have eased to around 3.40% (from 3.48%), with five-year swaps at 3.55% (from 3.64%). These are modest moves but enough to give lenders headroom for incremental pricing improvements — which is broadly what we are seeing.
For landlords, the practical takeaway is straightforward: do not wait for a perfect rate environment. The lenders adjusting criteria and loan sizes now are creating opportunities that were not available 12 months ago, and that is where deals are getting done.
RECENT CASE STUDY
BTL Mortgage — Portfolio Restructure
We recently helped a client restructure his property portfolio — releasing equity to clear debt on another property, leaving it unencumbered and ready to raise against for his next purchase. The result: the potential for 100% funding on the next deal.
What this gave him:
- A cleaner portfolio structure
- Stronger borrowing power for the next acquisition
- A clear, scalable path to growing the portfolio
Best of all, the client called afterwards to say how pleased he was with how smooth the process was — exactly what we aim for every time. ✅
HOW WE CAN HELP
Scale Property Finance places non-regulated mortgage and bridging finance for landlords, property investors and developers. We work across the whole-of-market, with direct access to the lenders highlighted above and many more.
Areas we regularly arrange finance for:
- Portfolio restructures and refinances
- Auction and time-sensitive purchases
- Refurbishment funding with a clear exit
- HMO, MUFB, holiday let and semi-commercial purchases
- Capital-efficient structures, including pathways to 100% funding on the next deal
