HTB widens criteria for specialist BTL, holiday let and semi-commercial lending

The lender said this highlighted its “increased appetite for new business”. 

For semi-commercial products on transactions where the property split and is less than 65 per cent commercial by value, HTB will lend up to 75 per cent LTV.  

Previously, if the commercial aspect of a property was more than 50 per cent, the maximum LTV available was 70 per cent. 

The lender has removed restrictions on the maximum number of units allowed for a holiday let as well as the maximum loan amount. This will now be subject to the bank’s existing exposure limit, which is currently £25m.  

Additionally, HTB will no longer require previous experience for holiday let borrowers. 

The lender will now accept cases where properties are let for emergency housing, rehabilitation or social transitional purposes, provided there is a credible professional operator providing appropriate management. 

For mortgage debentures, where a loan is agreed between a borrower and a lender that is registered at Companies House, HTB has increased the threshold to £2m. 

Chris Daly (pictured), managing director, specialist mortgages at Hampshire Trust Bank, said: “At HTB, we regularly review our proposition to ensure it is satisfying the needs of our property investor clients and reflects the changing requirements of the professional investor community. 

“The cumulative effect of today’s changes to our specialist buy-to-let, holiday let and semi-commercial mortgage criteria are significant, simplifying our policies as well as extending our appetite both to new sectors and within our existing products.”