Santander has lifted the limit on the Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreements it will consider from 12 to 36 months.
The bank said the move gives renting families more certainty as landlords will not be able to increase rent six months into a tenancy.
It said landlords also benefit from the new policy, with a secure, regular income and the knowledge that their property will not be empty for any prolonged length of time while tenants move out and new ones are found.
Miguel Sard, director of mortgages at Santander said: “In areas such as London and the South East, property prices continue to rise and outpace wage growth significantly. Many renters aspire to take a step on the property ladder, but are resigned to ploughing their money in to rent, unable to save for a deposit.”
He added that he hoped the changes support social mobility and prevented the risk of homelessness.
Earlier this month, the bank introduced a soft credit check on all mortgage agreements in principle across its broker range, joining TSB and HSBC, the only other lenders to do so.
Now, the lender will only make an enquiry search of an applicant’s credit report, which is then held on file for 60 days but isn’t visible to any other financial institutions.
Once a full mortgage application is submitted, the hard credit check is carried out, which is visible to all on file.
Victoria Hartley is contributing editor at Mortgage Solutions, Specialist Lending Solutions, Your Money and Your Mortgage at London-based publishing company AE3 Media.
She has an MA in Radio from Goldsmiths after gaining a 2:1 in a Comparative American Studies BA at Warwick University. She also holds a TEFL qualification and taught overseas in Mexico and Japan from 1994 to 1997.
Her role includes editorial oversight of the news, analysis and features, event content management and strategic and editorial consultancy for the AE3 Media group. She is an experienced video, broadcast and live-event host and regularly chairs web and podcast debates and interviews.
Multiple award nominations have resulted in two wins: Santander Media Awards, trade journalist of the year and Headlinemoney Awards, mortgage journalist of the year (B2B). Here is one of the award-winning pieces: https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2011/07/21/exclusive-tale-bailey-fraud-witness/
Previous roles include editorships of Mortgage Solutions, consumer title What Mortgage and trade title Credit Today as well as a stint freelancing for a variety of outlets including The Guardian and Which? Money.