There’s been a dramatic 28.6% rise in the number of buy to let properties repossessed, latest figures show.
Some 900 buy to let properties were taken back on behalf of lenders in the third quarter of 2025 – the latest figures available.
The data comes from UK Finance, the trade body for mortgage lenders.
Ironically the shock figure comes in an otherwise surprisingly optimistic market snapshot.
In Q3 2025 there were 59,467 new buy to let loans advanced in the UK, worth £10.9 billion.
This was up quite significantly compared with the same quarter in the previous year, 22.7% by number and 28.2% by value.
The average gross buy to let rental yield for the UK in Q3 2025 was 7.15%, compared with 6.93% in the same quarter in the previous year.
The average interest rate across all new buy-to-let loans in the UK was 4.85% in Q3 2025.
This was 15 basis points lower than in the previous quarter, and 37 basis points lower than in the same quarter of 2024.
Reflecting the downwards movement in interest rates, the average buy to let interest cover ratio (ICR) for the UK in Q3 2025 was 215%.
This was up from 195% in Q3 2024.
The number of BTL fixed rate mortgages outstanding in Q3 2025 was 1.44 million, 2.3% up on a year previously.
In contrast, the number of variable rate loans outstanding fell by 9.7% to 488,000.
At the end of Q3 2025 there were 10,420 BTL mortgages in arrears greater than 2.5% of the outstanding balance.
This was down 850 from the previous quarter.
