No buy-to-let finance for one in five landlords

Three in 10 landlords (31%) say they will look for additional buy-to-let lending or to re-mortgage in the next three months, yet many may not gain access to finance, according to new findings from the National Landlords Association (NLA).

Over two thirds (67%) of landlords rely on a buy-to-let mortgage to fund their portfolio, but the findings show that one in five – or approximately 300,000 – landlords have not been able to expand due to difficulties in accessing buy-to-let finance over the last year.

Furthermore, six in 10 landlords (59%) say that lenders fail to consider their individual circumstances, or that current buy-to-let lending criteria is too conservative (56%).

There are two ways a landlord can obtain a buy-to-let mortgage, either by going direct to a lender or by using the services of a broker, and the NLA believes it is vital that landlords have access to a wide range of products in order to find the one most appropriate solution for them.

NLA chairman Carolyn Uphill said: “A significant number of landlords are having trouble accessing finance and expanding, which is a major concern because the private sector is vital in meeting the ever increasing demand on housing at the moment.

“Many landlords are frustrated as lending criteria is too prescriptive. There’s no one-size-fits-all mortgage, and as the leading landlord association in the UK we understand that landlords need access to a range of products that meet their specific individual circumstances.

“NLA Mortgages provides a free on-line buy-to-let mortgage search facility which sources from over 600 mortgage products to help landlords find the best product to suit their needs. Mortgage schemes that are not available in the general marketplace are also available through NLA Mortgages – all via the NLA website.”