On all properties built since January 2005, TSB has increased its previous cap of 0.1 per cent to the higher of 0.2 per cent of the market value or £500.

Estate management fees or rent charges are costs paid by homeowners on a private housing estate to maintain, renew and repair the shared amenities and spaces that their local council has not adopted.

Mortgage Solutions reported that TSB introduced its previous cap in February, after Santander, Barclays and Nationwide had all adopted a tough stance on costly freehold and leasehold fees.

The 2005 deadline is significant, said TSB at the time of reporting, because homes built after this year are more likely to have onerous clauses.

Buy-to-let applications for properties that do not meet the minimum Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) regulations will now be declined and will not proceed until the property has been improved to meet the minimum requirements.

The energy efficiency standards for a minimum EPC rating of E was introduced from 1 April for all residential privately rented homes in England and Wales.

Fire safety assessments

The bank said it cannot lend on properties with external walls and balconies consisting of potentially combustible materials, unless borrowers can provide an acceptable External Wall Fire Review report or EWS1 form to confirm the fire safety of the building with no remedial works being required.

TSB said it will accept the EWS1 form as an alternative to a full fire safety report for an individual property within a building. It must be accompanied by a letter from the fire safety expert who completed the report.

Any decision in principles for pipeline applications started before today, won’t be impacted by these changes.

Mortgage Solutions has reported on serious concerns and mounting delays for borrowers wishing to sell or buy properties requiring EWS1 forms and the government is pressuring lenders on the subject.

NatWest

NatWest has confirmed it will not accept a remortgage application from a borrower who is on a payment holiday.

In an update to its criteria, the bank said borrowers must be able to show they are able to maintain their payments.

Borrowers must finish their payment holiday period with their existing lender and make at least one full monthly scheduled payment after the holiday has ended.

HSBC has increased rates on its entire range of fixed rate 90 per cent LTV deals – the lender is one of the few still taking new business at that level.

Its two-year product with £999 fee is now at 2.44 per cent while the fee free version is at 2.69 per cent.

Five-year products are 2.74 per cent with the £999 fee and 2.94 per cent without, while its Premier Exclusive product with a £1,499 fee is at 2.71 per cent.

All products have a maximum borrowing limit of £400,000.

Skipton BS

Skipton Building Society has increased all three of its standard residential – purchase and remortgage deals at 85 per cent LTV – all have a maximum loan of £625,000.

The two-year fee free product has been increased to 2.34 per cent from 2.09 per cent.

The five-year fix with a £995 fee has risen to 2.39 per cent from 2.22 per cent, while the £1,995 fee version is at 2.29 per cent, up from 2.12 per cent.

The lender told Mortgage Solutions it had to withdraw the previous deals as they were “incredibly popular” and the tranche was filled “very quickly”.

“We’ve brought out a new product, which while competitive is a slightly higher rate than the previous one,” Skipton said.

It added that offering great products while protecting service levels was “an important balance for us as we continue to navigate our way through this extremely busy mortgage market”.

Platform

Platform has also conducted a significant product overhaul today with residential rates increased by up to 0.25 per cent and buy-to-let rates cut by up to 0.4 per cent.

Most notably, the 90 per cent LTV fee free five-year fix has been re-introduced with an increase of up to 0.20 per cent.

Two- and five-year fee free fixes at up to 85 per cent LTV have increased by up to 0.25 per cent, while the £999 fee versions have seen rates rise by up to 0.17 per cent.

The three-year fixed rate zero fee product at 85 per cent LTV has increased by 0.1 per cent.

In contrast, buy-to-let three-year fixed rates have been cut by up to 0.4 per cent for new business and product switches.

The Help to Buy offering is unchanged.

TSB

TSB has also made changes to its residential offering.

The lender published a notice saying it has made “various rate increases” but has not given any more details.

It has also temporary withdrawn it two-year fixed purchase product at up to 85 per cent LTV and the five-year fixed shared equity purchase deal at up to 85 per cent LTV.

TSB has increased rates on its residential mortgages and temporarily withdrawn all tracker products in a shake up of its product range. 

Effective from today, two- and five-year fixed house purchase mortgages from 0-80 per cent loan to value (LTV) have seen rate increases of up to 0.15 per cent. 

Rates now range from 1.39 per cent to 1.94 per cent. 

Two-year fixed remortgages at 0-75 per cent LTV have seen rates go up by 0.15 per cent and two-year shared ownership mortgages from 75-80 per cent LTV have had rate increases of 0.10 per cent. 

Across its product transfer range, the bank has reduced two- and five-year fixed rates within 0-80 per cent LTV tiers by up to 0.15 per cent. 

This includes the fee-free two-year fixed product transfer at 75-80 per cent LTV which has had its rate cut by 0.05 per cent to 1.69 per cent. There is also the 0-60 per cent LTV two-year fixed product transfer, which has been reduced by 0.10 per cent to 1.34 per cent. 

Barclays makes rate changes 

Barclays has raised rates on some of its purchase and remortgage products and introduced new deals. 

This includes the launch of a two-year fixed at 60 per cent LTV with a £999 product fee. This has a rate of 1.34 per cent. 

There is also a new remortgage offering, which is a two-year fixed at 60 per cent LTV with a £999 fee and rate of 1.34 per cent. 

The two-year fixed at 80 per cent LTV has seen a rate increase from 1.43 per cent to 1.6 per cent while the fee-free five-year fix at 85 per cent LTV has risen from 2.33 per cent to 2.49 per cent. 

A Barclays spokesperson said: “We regularly review of our mortgage offering, and today we have reintroduced some of our popular products following withdrawal last week. 

“As part of this same update the rates on a few of our existing products have seen an increase.” 

Effective from today, the fee-free purchase two-year fix has a rate of 2.14 per cent while the remortgage offering has a rate of 2.19 per cent. 

The two-year fixed remortgage with a £995 fee and free legals has a rate of 1.84 per cent. The 85 per cent LTV offering is also available as a five- and 10-year fix for purchase and remortgage.

Borrowers who require an 85 per cent LTV mortgage will also be entitled to the recently launched five-year fix with an early exit. 

Furthermore, TSB has withdrawn its buy to let house purchase and remortgage £995 fee products. 

Beverley Bradford, TSB’s head of intermediary mortgages, said: “We’re committed to helping people enter the property market and delivering a high level of service to ensure customers are getting the best experience when buying or remortgaging – giving them money confidence.  

“That’s why we’re pleased to reintroduce a number of products, including 85 per cent LTV, to support customers with a lower deposit.” 

The bank said it had made the change on a temporary basis to make sure it was “lending responsibly”.

Where a joint application is still affordable on the other borrower’s earnings, the furloughed applicant’s employment details should still be recorded but the income should be keyed in as £1.

The changes will be brought in from 20 July.

Barclays has also made changes to its income assessment.

The bank introduced new income multiple caps, which came into effect Wednesday 15 July.

For example, for sole applicants who earn £75,000 or more, or joint borrowers who earn £100,000 or more between them, the income multiple is 5.5 times, up to 85 per cent loan to value (LTV). For Help to Buy applications, the income multiple is 4.49 times.

Where the debt to income ratio is 20 per cent or more, the maximum income multiple cap is four times.

The maximum loan to value on part and part mortgages has been increased from 75 per cent LTV to 80 per cent LTV.

Non Barclays borrowers no longer need to be with the same employer for three continuous months before the mortgage application. The three consecutive months of employment can be with different employers.

The bank has also confirmed it will accept housing benefit as a source of income, but only if the benefit continues after the new mortgage completes. Barclays said in the majority of cases, housing benefit stops when the recipient moves out of rented accommodation.

Developed in response to the financial uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Fix and Flex mortgage is available up to 80 per cent loan to value (LTV) and allows customers to refinance or exit after three years at no cost. 

The mortgage will be available for residential remortgage customers from today and from 17 July, will be open to first–time buyers and home movers.  

Rates start from 1.99 per cent and the mortgage has no product or application fees. 

This product comes as a recent TSB survey on 2,000 Brits showed 40 per cent were worried about their finances since Covid-19 began, and a third were saving more for post-lockdown life. 

Roland McCormack (pictured), TSB’s director of mortgages said: “We understand that now, more than ever, people’s circumstances can change. Fix and Flex offers our customers the comfort of a fixed monthly payment with the ability to leave their mortgage deal after three years, without having to worry about an early repayment charge.  

“We want our customers to feel money confident and more in charge of their finances when they bank with us and this new product is designed to help them do exactly that.”  

The system is designed to save time and reduce re-keying errors for brokers, and integrates with any advice software and lender portal.

It means advisers at Quilter will now be able to access all TSB mortgage products and apply for them through their existing systems.

Mortgage applications are pre-populated with data already captured in advice and sourcing software.

Iress executive general manager, product, Andrew Simon (pictured), said: “It’s always been our goal to bring the industry together and Lender Connect has the potential to do that.

“Never before have lenders, distributors and intermediaries been able to interact seamlessly regardless of the platforms they are running.

“In bringing on board both sides of the value equation, we’re a huge step closer to achieving this goal.”

TSB mortgage distribution director Roland McCormack added: “TSB is committed to the intermediary market, and our pilot launch with Iress Lender Connect is a huge step forward in streamlining the end-to-end process for our broker partners.

“This is just the start of our journey to deliver two-way connectivity, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Iress and Quilter to transform the mortgage application process.”

With effect from 5.30pm on Wednesday 24 June, the rates on its large loan residential mortgage range for new customers will be cut by 0.6 per cent while existing customers will see rate reductions up to 0.4 per cent. 

Rates will now start from 2.49 per cent. 

For new buy-to-let customers, the 75 per cent loan to value (LTV) range has been reduced by 0.2 per cent and now range from 2.44 per cent to 2.64 per cent. 

The bank has also introduced £199 application fees for existing residential and buy-to-let further advance applications. The fee is payable upfront and non-refundable. 

For new buy-to-let business, product fees have increased from £999 to £1,499.  

Brokers must submit applications for current products by 5.30pm today. 

A spokesperson for Metro Bank said: “We’ve made some changes to our range of mortgages.  

“We remain as committed as ever to our mortgage customers and are confident that our products represent good value for both new and existing customers.” 

TSB reduces PT rates

TSB has reduced rates on its residential product transfer range, with reductions of up to 0.2 per cent. 

The bank’s two-year fixed product transfers at 75-85 per cent LTV have been cut by 0.2 per cent. 

At 75-80 per cent LTV, a two-year fixed now has an initial rate of 1.39 per cent with a £995 fee and 1.74 per cent with no fee. At 80-85 per cent LTV, rates are 1.44 per cent with a £995 product fee and 1.79 per cent with no fee. 

The five-year fixed product transfers at 80-85 per cent LTV have seen rates cut by 0.1 per cent and is now 1.84 per cent for the £995 fee option and 2.04 per cent for the fee-free equivalent. 

These changes are effective from 24 June.  

From today, the lender has reduced its stress interest rate from 7.25 per cent down to 6.6 per cent.

It is also requesting details of mortgage payment holidays on its coronavirus income impact form, with all cases where applicants are currently taking a break being referred to a underwriter for review.

TSB has also stopped accepting additional income through bonus, overtime or commission towards affordability assessment.

And it has limited the amount of unsecured debt consolidation it will accept to 20 per cent of the property’s value.

In a communication sent to brokers the lender said: “We’re making some changes to our lending criteria on residential mortgages to make sure we’re taking a responsible approach to helping our customers borrow well.”

It added that decisions in principle for pipeline applications started before today will not be affected by the changes.

A TSB spokesperson told Mortgage Solutions: “These are temporary measures to support our customers during these unprecedented times.

“They help our customers to borrow well and ensure the mortgages we provide are affordable to our customers.”

YBS Commercial Mortgages has returned its limited company buy-to-let lending criteria back to 75 per cent LTV. 

Existing customers who have been with the mutual for three years or more will be able to borrow up to an increased maximum loan size of £20m. 

New customers will have access to 75 per cent LTV borrowing up to £5m and for new customers borrowing at 65 per cent LTV, the maximum loan amount has increased from £5m to £15m. 

Tom Simpson, managing director at YBS Commercial Mortgages, said: “At a time when the economy is under pressure, we’re committed to supporting our existing and new customers and changing our lending criteria back to pre-lockdown levels show that we are taking confident action.  

“Our plans to expand the business are still on track, we have remained open for business during these challenging times and our commitment to be a stable, long-term lending partner for borrowers has not faltered.” 

TSB 

TSB is increasing rates on some two and five-year fixed deals, effective from 17 June. 

The bank’s five-year fixed mortgage with a £995 fee at 75-80 per cent LTV has seen its rate go up by 0.05 per cent to 1.79 per cent. The fee-free option has also gone up by 0.05 per cent to 1.99 per cent. 

Five-year fixed remortgages at the same LTV tier have also had rates go up by 0.05 per cent. Rates are now 1.79 per cent for the £995 option and 1.94 per cent for fee-free options across both free legals and no free legals with £300 cashback offerings. 

Two-year fixed remortgages at 60-80 per cent LTV have seen rate increases of 0.10 per cent with rates ranging between 1.34 per cent and 1.99 per cent. 

Beverley Bradford, TSB’s head of intermediary mortgages, said: “These changes are part of our regular review of our products as we continue to offer customers competitive and attractive rates to help them borrow well.” 

West Brom BS 

West Brom Building Society has withdrawn two, three and five-year fixed remortgage offerings between 60-85 per cent LTV and replaced some of them with lower rate deals. 

This includes a two-year fixed at 60 per cent LTV with a £999 product fee at 1.14 per cent, down from the previous equivalent offering with a rate of 1.24 per cent. 

At 85 per cent LTV, the two-year fixed remortgage with a £999 product fee has a rate of 1.59 per cent, previously 1.69 per cent. 

The five-year fix at 85 per cent LTV with a product fee of £1,495 which had a rate of 1.99 per cent, is now 1.86 per cent. 

For decisions in principle which have already been completed and are either at refer or accept stage, the society will be accepting them until close of business 23 June.