Lending criteria

Portfolio
Non-portfolio
Short term finance

Portfolio

Please note this is only a summary of our key criteria, for full information please see our Lending guidelines and submission requirements.

Maximum LTV loan amount

Maximum LTV Loan amount*
up to 65% £4,000,000
up to 70% £1,500,000
up to 75% £1,000,000
up to 80% £750,000

Any fees added to the loan will be taken into account for higher LTV applications and included within the maximum loan available and LTV calculations. The total amount of loan plus any fees added must not exceed 80% LTV.

*Varied for some products, see product features

Maximum aggregate borrowing

Normal total mortgage exposure per borrower £10,000,000 (including any fees added to the loans).​

A total mortgage exposure above £10,000,000 may be considered on a bespoke basis upon request.

Income

For limited companies with three or less mortgaged properties, and for houses in multiple occupancy / multi-unit block properties where the applicant has three or less mortgaged properties, we require a minimum combined gross annual income of £25,000 per annum.

We understand the specialist nature of a landlords’ income structure, so where a landlord or limited company has four or more mortgaged properties, and can’t meet the £25,000 minimum income, but can demonstrate they have sufficient income to cover their existing expenditure, we will consider and assess these applications on a case-by-case basis.

All income must be evidenced and can include:

  • Gross employment income
  • Taxable self-employed income
  • Occupational/private and state pension​

Income from state benefits and investments will not be considered, but may be taken into account when calculating the tax band applicable to an applicant.

The useable income figure in respect of Land and Property income will be derived by deducting the total amount of ‘Residential finance costs’ from the ‘Taxable profit for the year’ figure, in line with current tax calculation requirements.

Minimum loan amount

(excluding any fees that are added to the loan)​

£30,000

Minimum age

21 at application

Maximum age

85 at end of mortgage term

Property

Minimum property valuation - £75,000

Properties must have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate Rating of E, unless there is an applicable exemption.

This will be verified by Paragon and the acting solicitor and we will not be able to lend on any property that is found not to be compliant.

Properties divided into a maximum of 20 units are considered on an individual basis. HMO's will be considered.

Part commercial properties considered where there is a commercial element not exceeding 40% of total floor space.

For multi-unit properties, HMO's and part commercial properties, landlords must have a minimum of two years’ lettings experience, and must be submitted as portfolio applications, even if the customer is classified as non-portfolio under PRA regulation.

Please see our Portfolio lending guidelines and submission requirements for the minimum valuations that apply to multi-unit properties, HMO's and part commercial properties

Limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs)

Applications will be considered from limited companies and LLPs, and must be submitted as portfolio applications, even if the customer is classified as non-portfolio under PRA regulation.

Additional security in the form of a floating charge will only be required from companies that have material assets and business activities other than holding and letting residential investment property.​

Consumer buy-to-let

We will not consider applications that qualify as consumer buy-to-let mortgage contracts through our portfolio range. However, we do accept consumer buy-to-let applications through our non-portfolio product range.

For more information, please see our Non-portfolio lending guidelines.

Solicitors

We will normally instruct the applicant’s solicitors to act provided that the firm is registered on Lender Exchange, has agreed to our terms and conditions and has been accepted onto our conveyancing panel. For a full list of approved firms, please see our conveyancing panels for England and Wales and Scotland​

Alternatively, please contact New Business Enquiries 0345 849 4040 if you require any further information.

Forward funding facility

Professional portfolio landlords can apply for a forward funding facility free of charge. A facility will help to provide certainty for future business plans, and allows repeat business to be written on a simplified basis.  The facility letter will be issued for a specific amount, and will be valid for up to six months. An abbreviated subsequent property application form helps to reduce the amount of information required.

Please see our Forward funding facility information sheet for more details.

Affordability

Any fees that will be added to the loan will be included in the loan amount used in both current and future affordability calculations.

The gross rental income from the property should equal or exceed the Interest Coverage Ratio as determined using a combination of the tax band applicable to an applicant’s income and the property type.

  • The tax band applicable to the applicant with the highest income will be used
  • For limited liability partnerships, the tax band appropriate to the applicant (member) with the highest income will be used

The tax band and ICR levels are as follows:

Applicant type Single self-contained properties HMO's, multi-unit blocks and all other property types
Basic rate tax payer (20%) 125% 130%
Limited company 125% 130%
Higher rate tax payers (40%) 140% 145%
Additional rate tax payers (45%) 140% 145%

To cater for the PRA affordability regulations, we will now require a fully completed property schedule on all applications before we can carry out our underwriting assessment. We will also need to ask for more information about your customer’s income to enable us to apply the appropriate tax band and ICR to the affordability assessment. Depending on the profile of the case, we may also ask for a business plan and cash flow forecast.

Future affordability will be taken into account for all applications, and therefore may limit the maximum loan amount available. Before submitting an application, please ensure you use our online calculator to check how much we may be able to lend your clients.

The future affordability assessment will be based on our current understanding of interest rates going forward and rental inflation. We must be satisfied that the applicant(s) are able to withstand increases in mortgage interest rates, cover rental voids and be able to afford the mortgage now and after any fixed/discounted period expires.

Non-portfolio

Please note this is only a summary of our key criteria, for full information please see our Lending guidelines and submission requirements.

Maximum LTV loan amount

Maximum LTV Loan amount*
up to 80% £750,000
up to 75% £1,000,000

Any fees added to the loan will be taken into account for higher LTV applications and included within the maximum loan available and LTV calculations. The total amount of loan plus any fees added must not exceed 80% LTV.

*Varied for some products, see product features

Maximum aggregate borrowing

A lending limit of £1,000,000 (including any fees added to the loans) will apply and each applicant must own no more than three mortgaged residential investment properties, in both personal name or corporate entity, regardless of lender, including any proposed application.

Applicants

Applications will be considered for a maximum of two individuals in their personal names.

No limited company or limited liability partnership applications. This type of application must be submitted as portfolio, even if the customer is classified as non-portfolio under PRA regulation.

Property

We will not consider applications where the applicant is purchasing a property from an associated limited company.

Applications for houses of multiple occupation and multi-unit blocks must be submitted through our portfolio application process, even if the customer is classified as non-portfolio under PRA regulation.

Properties must have a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of E, unless there is an applicable exemption.

This will be verified by Paragon and the acting solicitor and we will not be able to lend on any property that is found not to be compliant.

Minimum age

21 at application

Maximum age

85 at end of mortgage term

Income

Applicant(s) should have a minimum combined gross annual income of £25,000 per annum.

The useable income figure in respect of Land and Property income will be derived by deducting the total amount of ‘Residential finance costs’ from the ‘Taxable profit for the year’ figure, in line with current tax calculation requirements.​

All income must be evidenced and can include:

  • Gross employment income
  • Taxable self-employed income
  • Occupational/private and state pension​

Income from renting property, state benefits and investments will not be considered, but may be taken into account when calculating the tax band applicable to the applicant.

Affordability

Any fees that will be added to the loan will be included in the loan amount used in both current and future affordability calculations.

The gross rental income from the property should equal or exceed the Interest Coverage Ratio as determined by the tax band applicable to an applicant’s income. The tax band applicable to the applicant with the highest income will be used.

The tax band and ICR levels are as follows:

Applicant type Applicant ICR
Basic rate tax payer (20%) 125%
Higher rate tax payers (40%) 140%
Additional rate tax payers (45%) 140%

To cater for the PRA affordability regulation, we will now require a property schedule to be completed as part of the online application in every case (a copy of this is available on our documents page for your information). We will also need to ask for more information about your customer’s income to enable us to apply the appropriate tax band and ICR to the affordability assessment.

Future affordability will be taken into account for all applications, and therefore may limit the maximum loan amount available. Before submitting an application, please ensure you use our online calculator to check how much we may be able to lend your clients.

The future affordability assessment will be based on our current understanding of interest rates going forward and rental inflation. We must be satisfied that the applicant(s) are able to withstand increases in mortgage interest rates, cover rental voids and be able to afford the mortgage now and after any fixed/discounted period expires.

Consumer buy-to-let

We will accept applications that qualify as consumer buy-to-let mortgage contracts, subject to appropriate criteria being met.

More information concerning consumer buy-to-let can be found here.

Short term finance

Please note this is only a summary of our key criteria, for full information please see our Lending guidelines and submission requirements.

Maximum loan amount

Purchase/Remortgage : £1,000,000

Minimum loan amount

Purchase/Remortgage : £30,000

Property

We will take a first legal charge and will normally consider most types of traditionally constructed residential property in England, Wales or Scotland.

Minimum property valuation: £50,000

Mortgage term

Standard refurbishment

Minimum term Maximum term
1 month 6 months

Light refurbishment

Minimum term Maximum term
1 month 9 months

Heavy refurbishment

Minimum term Maximum term
1 month 12 months

Loan to value (LTV)

Refurbishment type Maximum LTV based on initial loan where interest is rolled up Maximum LTV based on end loan balance where interest is rolled up Maximum LTV based on initial loan where interest is serviced Maximum LTV where loan is >£750,000
Standard 70% 75% 75% 70%
Light 70% 75% 75% 70%
Heavy 65% 70% 70% 65%

Solicitors

We will normally instruct the applicant’s solicitors to act provided that the firm is registered on Lender Exchange, has agreed to our terms and conditions and has been accepted onto our conveyancing panel. Please see our conveyancing panel for a full list of approved firms.

Alternatively, please contact New Business Enquiries 0345 849 4040 if you require any further information.

Income

Applicants should have a minimum combined gross annual income of £25,000 per annum. However, we understand the specialist nature of a landlords’ income structure, so we will consider and assess all applications on a case-by-case basis. ​

All income must be evidenced and can include:

  • gross employment income
  • taxable self-employed income

State benefits and investment income will not be considered.

Minimum age

25 at application

Maximum age

75 at end of application

Repayment methods

Interest only loans with the repayment type of either monthly payments or gross rolled up interest are available.

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