The Intermediary – July 2026 - Flipbook - Page 42
BUY-TO-LET
Opinion
Landlords are
still investing
I
t has become very easy to
frame the buy-to-let (BTL)
market purely around
the challenges landlords
face, whether that is tax,
regulation, higher mortgage
costs or future rental reform, but that
can lead to a very narrow view of what
is still a very active sector.
Recent data has shown almost six in
10 landlords continue to report strong
tenant demand, while Hamptons
has also reported the share of homes
bought by landlords across Great
Britain rose to 13.3% between January
and April this year.
At the same time, UK Finance
figures for the first quarter of 2026
showed buy-to-let mortgages in
arrears falling by 6% on the previous
quarter and by 24% year-on-year, with
arrears accounting for 0.47% of all
outstanding buy-to-let mortgages.
None of this means landlords are
operating in an easy market, and it
would clearly be wrong to suggest
higher costs and more complex rules,
such as those that come with the
Renters’ Reform Act, are not weighing
on decision-making, but it does show
the private rental sector remains vital,
resilient and full of advice needs.
For advisers that maers greatly
because landlord clients should not be
viewed only as mortgage customers
who need help at product maturity.
The landlord profile
One of the more obvious points in the
recent data is that landlord activity
is not about new investors piling into
the market, but oen about more
experienced landlords buying from
those who have chosen to sell.
Hamptons reported a record 23%
of homes bought by landlords so
far this year had previously been
let by the former owner, which
suggests stock is oen moving from
one landlord to another rather than
leaving or entering the sector in a
simple way. That points to a market
40
The Intermediary | July 2026
that is becoming more professional,
more selective and more focused on
whether the numbers really work,
particularly in regions where yields
remain strong enough to support
borrowing, maintenance, tax and
other running costs.
This is where advisers can add real
value, because these clients are oen
making long-term decisions about
portfolio shape, gearing, ownership
structure and future investment, not
simply choosing between two or three
mortgage products.
A landlord client may be looking
to buy again, sell part of a portfolio,
move property into a limited company
structure, refinance to raise capital,
improve energy efficiency, fund
refurbishment, or prepare for a future
exit.Those are not single-product
conversations, and advisers who treat
them as such may miss both the client
need and the commercial value within
the relationship.
Mortgage advice alone
The more complex the landlord
market becomes, the more important
it is that advisers take a fuller view of
the client’s wider position.
A buy-to-let mortgage review should
still cover rate, criteria, affordability,
rental calculation and lender fit,
but it should also prompt questions
about the client’s income, protection,
buildings cover, landlord insurance,
rent protection, personal borrowing,
family plans and longer-term aims.
This is especially important because
many clients do not see themselves in
neat advice categories.
A client who approaches a firm for
personal protection may also own
rental property, while a landlord
looking for a remortgage may have
no personal cover, no clear succession
plan and no proper review of how
their portfolio would perform if rental
income was interrupted.
That creates a clear role for joinedup advice across mortgage, protection,
AMY WILSON
is head of insurance products
at The Right Mortgage &
Protection Network
general insurance, even later life. It
also fits with the direction of travel
under Consumer Duty, because good
outcomes are much easier to evidence
when the adviser can show they have
understood the client’s wider needs.
Between transactions
For many landlord clients, the biggest
value an adviser can offer will not
always come at the point of purchase
or remortgage, but in the regular
contact that takes place between
those events.
A landlord’s position can shi
quickly as rents change, tenants move,
lenders adjust criteria and personal
circumstances alter, which means
an annual or semi-regular portfolio
review can be a highly useful.
These reviews do not need to be
over-complicated, but they should
create space to discuss whether the
current borrowing remains suitable,
whether the client intends to buy or
sell, whether the portfolio remains
profitable, whether insurance remains
fit for purpose, and whether there
are other needs the adviser or firm
can support.
The key point for advisory firms is
buy-to-let clients oen have a much
wider set of financial needs than
may be obvious at first glance. If
advisers are not asking those broader
questions, there is every chance
someone else will.
The buy-to-let market may be
changing, but the evidence suggests
it remains a strong and active part of
the housing sector, and for advisers
who are willing to look beyond the
mortgage itself, landlord clients
continue to offer one of the clearest
opportunities for deeper, longer-term
advice relationships. ●
