The lender will now allow the borrower to use the sale of the mortgaged property as the repayment strategy; the maximum loan-to-value on any interest-only or part and part mortgage is 60%.
Alongside this change, residential mortgage borrowers can now choose a five-year loan term which was previously set at a minimum of 10 years.
School fees must be included in the assessment of the applicant’s outgoings, which could previously be left out, in a move which the lender said would bring it in line with the industry.
On its buy-to-let range, the maximum loan size has increased from £300,000 to £500,000. The maximum total portfolio value has increased to £1.5m up from £900,000.
The minimum income level of buy-to-let applicants has been lowered from £35,000 to £25,000.
The changes will also affect Post Office mortgages.