Buy-to-let lenders are cutting rates and widening criteria again, with Keystone Property Finance trimming fixed deals by up to 15 basis points, ModaMortgages launching products from 3.39 percent, Nottingham Building Society easing access for newer landlords, and Paragon Bank reintroducing an 80 percent loan-to-value option alongside new flat-fee five-year fixes.
Lenders are competing on both price and flexibility
Keystone has reduced pricing across parts of its fixed-rate range, with standard products at 70 percent loan to value now starting from 3.39 percent and specialist deals from 3.44 percent. At the same time, Moda has launched a limited-edition buy-to-let range from 3.39 percent for single lets and 3.49 percent for HMOs and multi-unit freehold blocks, available to both individual and limited company landlords.
Those changes matter because recent lender activity has not just been about small headline cuts. It has also been about deciding which landlord cases lenders still want to write. Nottingham Building Society has extended maximum mortgage terms from 35 years to 40 years and opened its range to first-time landlords, while Paragon has launched six limited-edition five-year fixed products with a flat £3,995 fee and reintroduced an 80 percent LTV option aimed at landlords needing more leverage.
For landlords, the message is that competition is returning in a more selective form. Standard single-let cases are still getting the sharpest pricing, but specialist properties, larger loans and newer landlords are no longer being shut out to the same degree.
Paragon adds leverage as rivals sharpen pricing
Paragon’s latest move is slightly different from the others because it is targeting loan structure as much as rate. Its new five-year fixes are available for loans up to £4 million, with pricing from 5.67 percent on single self-contained properties up to £1 million and from 5.79 percent above that level, rising for weaker EPC bands. It has also priced HMO and multi-unit block products from 5.92 percent and brought back an 80 percent LTV product from 6.60 percent with no fee.
That will not suit every landlord. A higher-LTV mortgage and a five-year fix can both make sense in the right case, but they also raise the cost of getting borrowing decisions wrong. What Paragon’s update does show is that lenders still see demand from landlords who want to keep investing, refinance larger portfolios or make purchases work even with thinner margins.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent report on buy-to-let rates hitting a two-year high as lenders pulled products, which showed how quickly confidence had been shaken across the market. The latest moves suggest some lenders are now testing how far they can reopen the taps without exposing themselves if funding conditions turn again.
Choice is improving, but the market still is not easy
The bigger picture for landlords has not changed overnight. Better pricing and broader criteria help, but borrowing costs are still elevated compared with the start of the year, and stress testing remains tighter than many landlords would like. Longer mortgage terms can lower monthly repayments, while flat-fee structures may work better on bigger loans, but neither fixes a poor investment case.
The real shift is that lenders are no longer responding in exactly the same way. Keystone is trimming rates. Moda is using breadth to win business. Nottingham is widening access. Paragon is targeting larger and higher-LTV cases. For landlords and brokers, that means product selection matters more again because the market is becoming differentiated rather than uniformly defensive.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re remortgaging soon: check live lender pricing again, because improved deals are starting to reappear in pockets of the market.
- If you’re a first-time or newer landlord: wider criteria from lenders such as Nottingham may open more routes to finance than were available a few weeks ago.
- If you need a larger or higher-LTV loan: Paragon’s latest range shows there is still appetite for more complex borrowing, but the pricing premium is clear.
- Watch for: short product shelf life and selective criteria, especially if markets remain jumpy.
- Bottom line: lender competition is returning, but it is returning unevenly, so landlords need to compare structure, fees and flexibility as well as rate.
Editor’s view
This is not a full market thaw, but it is a meaningful shift in tone. Lenders are no longer just defending margins – they are starting to show which landlord business they want back.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 10 April 2026
Sources: Keystone Property Finance, ModaMortgages, Nottingham Building Society, Paragon Bank
Related reading: BTL rates hit highest level in two years as 1,300 mortgage products pulled
