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Newspage Raw

Limited company buy-to-let mortgage rules are easing: what are you seeing?

ended 22. October 2026

The Mortgage Works announced today (Thursday 22 October) that it is broadening its support for limited company landlords by allowing directors and shareholders to have more than one Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) financed through The Mortgage Works.

Last week, The Mortgage Works also made changes to its foreign nationals policy. The minimum remaining visa validity required for foreign nationals without Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) is 12 months (previously, it was 30 months). The Mortgage Works has also aligned its acceptable visa types to mirror those of Nationwide.

Foreign nationals with ILR also no longer need to have owner-occupier status where they are applying jointly to The Mortgage Works with either a UK citizen or an applicant who holds ILR.

All other criteria, including loan-to-value and address history requirements, remain unchanged.

Questions for Newspagers

  1. Are more of your landlord clients taking out limited company buy-to-let mortgages across several companies rather than one? What’s driving it?
  2. 2. Have clients been held back by lenders limiting directors to one SPV? Give us a real case if you can (anonymised).
  3. Has the 30-month visa validity rule stopped foreign national clients from getting buy-to-let finance?

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Pro
Stephen PerkinsVerified
Norwich Mortgage Broker and Managing Director at Yellow Brick Mortgages
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Allowing landlords to have more than one SPV with the same lender is a sensible change. Portfolio landlords do not always want every property sitting inside one company, particularly where there are different ownership arrangements, partners or parts of the portfolio, so the previous restriction could force perfectly good borrowers to use another lender simply because of how their businesses were structured.

That said, nobody should create extra companies just because mortgage criteria now allow it. The ownership structure should make sense commercially and with the landlord’s accountant, then the mortgage should fit around that rather than the other way round.
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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
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This is a sensible change because professional landlords do not always keep an entire portfolio inside one SPV. Different companies can be used for different ownership structures, partners, property types or future plans, so limiting the same directors to one financed SPV could unnecessarily restrict otherwise perfectly viable landlords.

The visa change is important too. Requiring 30 months remaining could rule out applicants who were legally resident, earning and investing in the UK simply because of the timing of their visa renewal. Moving to 12 months gives advisers far more room to work with genuine cases.

Neither change means weaker underwriting. It means removing criteria that could exclude good applicants for structural rather than financial reasons.

The best lender criteria still protect risk without creating obstacles that have very little to do with whether the mortgage is actually affordable.
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Pro
Tracey DixonVerified
Buy-to-Let Mortgage Specialist & Owner at Pure Mortgage and Protection
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A second company should prompt questions, not automatically close the door.

The Mortgage Works’ change is welcome. A landlord with several SPVs is not automatically a riskier borrower; what matters is the borrowing, rental income and financial position across the portfolio.

Allowing multiple companies gives landlords more flexibility where they have different investment partners or ownership arrangements. It should also give advisers more scope to find suitable finance.

The visa changes are positive too, although applicants must still meet the remaining criteria. Greater flexibility should mean looking more closely at the individual circumstances, while keeping lending standards robust.
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Richard DavidsonVerified
Mortgage Advisor at onlinemortgageadvisor.co.uk
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The growing burden of tax and tax rules is pushing more landlords towards limited company buy-to-let. Lenders can be more cautious with these cases, but I haven’t seen many purchasers who feel the need for multiple SPVs, given the extra costs involved. That tends to apply only to larger portfolios, and those landlords will need specialist lenders.

The 30-month rule hasn’t held foreign nationals back, as there are specialist lenders who cater for them, but the change is likely to open up much more competitive rates.
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Pro
Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
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From Bridging Loan Directory’s perspective, the useful question is what this changes for landlords planning to repay a bridging loan with a buy-to-let mortgage.

Allowing directors to have more than one property company financed through TMW could widen the refinancing options for some borrowers. A landlord’s existing involvement in another company should no longer rule out that lender on this criterion alone.

But eligibility is only part of an exit strategy. The property’s valuation, rental income and the lender’s remaining requirements still determine whether enough money can be raised to repay the bridging loan.

The visa changes may also broaden options for some foreign national borrowers. Brokers will need to check how the revised rules apply to each case.

These changes are welcome, but borrowers should establish a workable repayment route before taking out a bridging loan, rather than rely on criteria becoming more accommodating later.
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Platinum
Elliott CulleyVerified
Director at Switch Mortgage Finance
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A sensible move from The Mortgage Works (TMW) to remove their limit on only allowing 1 limited company to be on the books. This will generate more business for TMW and removes a rule which didnt make much sense. Many landlords prefer to split properties between limited companies, with other business partners, etc, so this is welcome news. Reducing the restrictions on foreign nationals is another positive move. More and more foreign nationals are starting to look into investment properties and this will help open up more options.