The Bank of England says buy-to-let accounted for 8.0 percent of gross mortgage advances in the second quarter of 2026, down 0.9 percentage points on Q1 and its lowest share since 2024 Q3.
The fall came even as total gross mortgage advances rose 11.1 percent quarter on quarter to £77.4 billion. New commitments edged up 1.4 percent to £79.2 billion, so the latest release separates a stronger overall lending market from a smaller landlord slice of it.
That split gives landlords a timely read on credit conditions. Finance was available in greater volume between April and June, but buy-to-let borrowers did not keep pace with owner-occupiers, leaving lenders and brokers to compete for a thinner share of completed advances as pricing has become less predictable.
Buy-to-let share falls as advances rise
The Bank’s quarterly Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics covers lending reported by about 340 regulated mortgage lenders and administrators. Its 8.0 percent buy-to-let figure includes house purchase, remortgage and further-advance business, rather than new purchases alone.
That distinction matters. A landlord may still find a lender willing to refinance or fund a selected purchase, but the figures point to less buy-to-let activity within the total market. The Bank also reported that non-regulated mortgage balances in arrears, which include buy-to-let loans, fell 3.4 percent in the quarter to £4.2 billion – the lowest level since 2023 Q2.
It is a change from the first quarter, when Landlord Knowledge reported that mortgage commitments had risen while completed advances fell. Q2 reversed the overall-advances result, but the buy-to-let share moved the other way. That is a practical warning against treating a headline rise in mortgage lending as evidence of a broad landlord-finance recovery.
Higher borrowing still shapes landlord decisions
The release also shows how buyers are adapting to affordability pressure. Mortgages above 90 percent loan-to-value made up 8.4 percent of gross advances, the highest share since 2008 Q2, while 47.5 percent of advances exceeded 75 percent LTV. Those measures chiefly describe residential lending, but they help explain why owner-occupier demand took a larger portion of the market.
For landlords, rates and rental cover remain more decisive than headline lending volume. Recent lender rate rises linked to higher swap costs show why a Q2 increase in completed lending should not be read as a promise of cheaper autumn remortgages.
The Bank of England’s Q2 release also recorded a £19.7 billion value of outstanding mortgage balances in arrears, down 1.9 percent on the previous quarter. The lower arrears stock is encouraging, although it does not remove the need for landlords with expiring fixes to test payments against current rather than historic rates.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s June report on Q1 mortgage commitments, which found forward lending demand had improved despite a fall in completed advances. The new figures suggest that activity did carry into Q2, but buy-to-let did not take the same share of the uplift.
What this means for landlords
- If you are remortgaging this autumn: compare products early and allow time for underwriting, because total lending growth has not translated into a larger buy-to-let share.
- Watch for: whether Q3 data shows the 8.0 percent buy-to-let share stabilising or falling again as lenders reprice fixed deals.
- Bottom line: the credit market improved in Q2, but landlords should judge finance by rental cover, fees and the live rate – not the headline rise in gross advances.
Editor’s view
More mortgage activity is welcome, but the split in the Bank’s data is the part landlords should notice. Lending is growing without a matching improvement in buy-to-let’s share, which makes careful product selection more important than broad optimism about the market.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 9 September 2026
Sources: Bank of England Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics 2026 Q2
Related reading: BoE says Q1 mortgage commitments rose 11.5% as advances fell
