Buy to let, in personal or company names
From a first investment property to an established portfolio, including limited company structures and portfolio landlord criteria.
Buy to let is assessed on the property, not on you. Lenders test the expected rent against the mortgage at a notional rate and require it to cover a set multiple of the payment. Both of those assumptions are set by the lender, and both vary enough to change which properties are viable for you.
If you already hold several properties you also meet portfolio landlord rules, where the lender underwrites your whole holding rather than the property in front of them.
Personal name or limited company
Personal name
A larger pool of lenders, generally simpler underwriting, and lower arrangement costs. The rental stress test is usually harsher if you are a higher-rate taxpayer, which is what pushes many landlords toward the alternative in the first place.
Often right for one or two properties held alongside a normal job.
Limited company
A smaller pool of lenders and more expensive to arrange, but the stress test is generally applied more favourably and the structure scales better across a growing portfolio. Setting one up has consequences well beyond the mortgage.
Often right where you are building a portfolio rather than holding one property.
The rest of what decides your case
- Deposit
- Buy to let usually needs a larger deposit than a residential purchase, typically from 20 to 25 percent, and pricing generally improves as that increases.
- Portfolio treatment
- If you hold several properties, lenders assess the whole portfolio rather than each purchase in isolation. We structure borrowing across it accordingly.
- How this one affects the next one
- The way this purchase is arranged constrains what you can do afterwards. Worth deciding before you complete rather than discovering later.
- Where to get the tax answer
- We explain the mortgage consequences of each structure. For the tax consequences, speak to an accountant. Anyone telling you otherwise is overreaching.
A note on regulation
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of Buy to Let. We will tell you clearly whether the arrangement we are discussing is regulated or not.
Let's find out where you stand.
One conversation, no cost, and no obligation to go any further. We will tell you honestly what is possible before you commit to anything.