Santander aims to ‘better support’ BTL landlords by offering greater flexibility

Santander will now assess buy-to-let remortgages with 125% rental cover at 5% for borrowers who secured a mortgage before the Prudential Regulation Authority rules were introduced at the start of January.

The new move, which takes effect from today, is designed to prevent landlords from becoming mortgage prisoners.

To qualify for the lower affordability assessment applications, the property must have been acquired before 1 January 2017 with no additional lending taken out after this date, and the remortgage must have no increase in borrowing.

Brad Fordham, managing director of Santander for Intermediaries, said: “Some existing buy-to-let customers may be adversely affected following the new borrowing guidelines which were introduced across the industry earlier this year.

“Borrowers who have previously demonstrated they can meet affordability requirements may now find themselves restricted when it comes to remortgaging away from their existing lender.

“Through the introduction of these transitional arrangements, we hope to better support our BTL customers, helping them to secure the best product to meet their needs when they come to renegotiate their product.”

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