HSBC and NatWest have raised mortgage rates since 1 September as higher swap rates filter through to lender pricing, according to Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, putting fresh timing pressure on landlords approaching a buy-to-let remortgage.
Moneyfacts said more lenders are expected to review fixed rates in the coming days. Its analysis comes after a period in which many borrowers had expected pricing to ease, rather than rise, and identifies higher funding costs rather than a change in Bank Rate as the immediate trigger.
A landlord whose fixed deal ends this autumn cannot assume that a rate quoted last week will still be available when the application is ready. Buy-to-let ranges do not all move in step with residential mortgages, but swap rates are a core input in fixed-rate pricing. A small shift can alter the rental-coverage calculation on a refinance, especially for a portfolio with several loans due at once.
Higher swap rates are reaching lender price lists
Moneyfacts said HSBC and NatWest were the biggest banks to increase mortgage rates at the start of September. It expects other lenders to examine their pricing after a renewed rise in swaps. Earlier this year, the largest high-street banks priced their lowest deals about 0.29 percentage points above the two-year swap rate, its analysis said.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, said lenders were under pressure to protect their margins as swap rates rose. She said the recent move had started to feed into fixed-rate mortgages and that more changes were expected in the coming days.
Moneyfacts calculated that a 0.25 percentage-point rise on a £250,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years would add about £38 a month, or £456 a year, where the two-year fixed rate moves from 5.63 percent to 5.88 percent. The example is not a buy-to-let illustration, but it shows how quickly a modest repricing can change borrowing costs.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s report last week on Huw Pill’s warning that higher interest rates may still be needed after the energy shock. The Moneyfacts update shows the market response is already appearing in product pricing, before the next Bank of England decision.
Not a repeat of March, but remortgage timing matters
The latest moves are more measured than the market disruption in March, when lenders withdrew many fixed deals after swaps rose sharply. Moneyfacts said only a couple of lenders, including Family Building Society, had pulled fixed mortgages from sale since the start of September. That limits the case for panic, but it does not remove the risk of a lender changing its buy-to-let range while an investor is comparing options.
Landlords should also separate a lender’s headline rate from the full refinance test. Fees, loan-to-value limits, rental stress tests and the valuation can all decide whether a lower-rate product is actually available. Landlord Knowledge reported last week that Paragon and United Trust Bank had cut selected specialist buy-to-let fixes; those reductions now sit against a less favourable wholesale-rate backdrop.
Springall said borrowers could secure a product transfer with their existing lender around six months before a remortgage is due. That is a useful starting point, though landlords with more complex properties or limited-company borrowing should compare the transfer against the wider specialist market and allow time for underwriting.
What this means for landlords
- If your fixed rate ends this autumn: get illustrations and a decision in principle early, then check how long the lender will hold the product.
- If you have several loans due: map expiry dates and rental stress tests rather than treating the portfolio as one refinance decision.
- Watch for: further fixed-rate changes after swap-market moves, even if Bank Rate itself does not change.
- Bottom line: the repricing is not yet a March-style withdrawal wave, but waiting for lower rates has become a more exposed strategy.
Editor’s view
Landlords have had a run of better product news over the summer, so the change in direction is significant. The sensible response is not to rush into a poor deal. It is to secure a workable option early enough to keep control if lender pricing moves again.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 8 September 2026
Sources: Moneyfactscompare.co.uk
Related reading: Huw Pill warns higher rates may still be needed after energy shock
