According to the National Landlord’s Association (NLA), mortgage lenders and brokers are being too silent regarding the Prudential Regulatory Authority’s (PRA) changes to buy to let lending.
The NLA claims that despite the regulatory changes to lending criteria in addition to the application process for portfolio landlords, more than 55% remained oblivious.
Discoveries from the NLA’s quarterly Landlord Panel, reveal that just eight per cent of landlords expressed that their lender had been in contact regarding these changes. Furthermore, only 16% of landlords had been contacted by their broker.
Almost 68% of landlords claimed to have had no contact from either their lender or broker regarding such changes. Instead, findings show that lenders and brokers concentrated their efforts on larger portfolio landlords, with 26% of portfolio landlords reporting that their broker had been in contact, and nine per cent confirming that their lender had made contact.
Richard Lambert, CEO at the NLA commented:
“The PRA’s changes will greatly affect the ability of landlords to find new finance and continue to provide good quality affordable housing to those who need it”.
The NLA says that it’s vital landlords are supported through the changes, having issued broad advice earlier in the year urging landlords to contact their mortgage broker or bank before committing to any new property or finance.
“We hope that that the reason such a significant number of landlords haven’t been contacted is because their existing deals are simply not yet close to expiry. However, it’s in lenders’ and brokers’ own interests to speak to landlords about the changes sooner rather than later, otherwise, it could mean a missed opportunity in terms of new business.
“If landlords don’t get the right support and information about how the changes will impact their existing loans, then it could mean higher finance costs that many just won’t be able to absorb”.