Dudley BS revamps BTL range to ‘encourage’ landlords

The firm’s new reduced rates start at 2.99% after rate cuts across the range and fixed rates were reduced by 0.30%.

Dudley also launched three and five year discounted products and removed early repayment charges on select products.

The society said it was responding to a BTL market which “needs encouragement” following recent tax changes.

Head of credit Jonathan Moore said: “Landlords have been in the firing line over the past twelve months because of the Stamp Duty changes and, with the tapering effect on tax relief due to start in 2017, it is important that lenders like the Dudley do everything that we can to provide the kind of products that offer value, flexibility and a common sense approach to underwriting BTL mortgages.”

BTL landlords were hit by a 3% Stamp Duty surcharge for second homes and buy-to-let purchases from April as part of the government’s effort to free up more homes for buyers.

They will be further impacted by government plans to slash investor tax relief on buy-to-let mortgage interest payments from April 2017, when rates will change from the marginal rate of tax to a 20% flat rate.

Additionally, latest changes to the Treasury’s Finance Bill could affect investors as the tax they are charged on selling their investments could be classed as income rather than capital gains, according to solicitors’ body the Law Society.

At the same time the Bank of England cut interest rates to a seven and a half year low of 0.25% in August, saying it expected lenders to follow suit.

Dudley, which works exclusively through intermediaries, prides itself on its commitment to underwriting loans manually. It was also among the first lenders to abolish upper age limits for applicants.

The firm’s latest set of results showed it had performed well in the 2015/16 financial year with pre-tax profits of £1.3m, up £448,000 on the previous year.

Its lending levels were up 10% from £52.2m in 2015 to £57.4m, and almost doubled the £27.7m it lent in 2013.

Apart from new rates Dudley also doubled the maximum loan on the majority of products to £1m and simplified its stressed rate calculation by removing the separate requirement for flats.

The minimum income per application was reduced to £20,000, while loan to value requirements on background residential property were removed.