Mortgages
Remortgage to Buy a Second Property, Buy to Let or Second Home
Remortgaging to buy a second property: releasing equity for a buy to let, second home or holiday let, how both loans are assessed, stamp duty and the risks.
- Published
- 8 Oct 2026
- Last reviewed
- 12 Oct 2026
- Reading time
- 20 min
Expert advice on remortgaging to buy a second property
Speak to a Mortgage Lane adviser about your options.
In short
Yes, a remortgage for a second property can raise the deposit, stamp duty and costs, or sometimes the whole price, from the equity in your home. Your home lender checks that the larger mortgage is affordable once the new property's costs are counted. On a buy to let, a second lender also tests whether the rent covers its own loan at a stressed interest rate.
What is a remortgage to buy a second property?
A remortgage to buy a second property is a residential remortgage or further advance that raises extra borrowing on your main home to fund the purchase of another property. The money usually pays the deposit, the stamp duty and the purchase costs of a buy to let, a second home, a holiday let or a home for a family member, and occasionally the whole price. It is a form of capital raising: the lender lends against the equity in your home, which is its value less the mortgage already secured on it. Homeowners who use equity to buy another house in this way are assessed twice, once for each loan, and both assessments have to pass before the purchase can go ahead.
The remortgage on the home you live in is a regulated mortgage, because at least 40% of the property is used as a dwelling (legislation.gov.uk: Regulated Activities Order, article 61). The lender assesses it under the Financial Conduct Authority's conduct rules for mortgages, MCOB, which require it to take full account of your income and your committed spending, including the costs of the new property (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6). The second property usually has its own mortgage. A buy to let mortgage is assessed mainly on the rent, and for buy to let lending outside the FCA's rules, banks and building societies follow the Prudential Regulation Authority's underwriting standards, SS13/16 (Bank of England: SS13/16 buy to let underwriting standards). A second home mortgage on a property you will use yourself is assessed on your income. Lenders set their own rules on which capital raising purposes they accept, including whether they accept a deposit for a buy to let, so the purpose is declared and checked with the lender before you apply.
The structure is the reverse of let to buy. With let to buy mortgages, your current home becomes the rental and the new purchase becomes your home, whereas here you stay in your home and the second property is the new purchase. Both draw on the equity in the home you own now, but the lender tests and the tax position differ. Our hub page on how to release equity from your home compares a remortgage, a further advance and a second charge for each purpose. This page deals with using the money to buy another property.
On top of the extra borrowing, a buyer who keeps their home usually pays the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax for an additional dwelling in England and Northern Ireland, 5 percentage points on top of the standard rates as at October 2026, and Scotland and Wales charge their own equivalents. Both properties are then financed by borrowing, with part of the investment secured on your home, and in any month the second property earns nothing the home mortgage still has to be paid from your income.
Mortgage Lane arranges remortgages to fund buy to let deposits, second and holiday homes, purchases for children or parents, and portfolio growth, alongside the buy to let or second home mortgage on the new property. We plan the two loans together, so that the remortgage raises what the purchase needs, and we apply for the second mortgage at the same time with a lender whose criteria fit the property and how it will be used.
Remortgage rates for a second property
Remortgage rates for a second property are set by each lender on its residential range, by product and loan to value (LTV) band, and raising more moves the loan up the bands. A remortgage that takes the mortgage from 37.5% to 52.5% of the home's value, as in the worked example below, can sit in a different band from the current deal, and product fees vary in the same way. The second property's mortgage is priced separately, on the lender's buy to let or second home range, with its own loan to value bands and fees.
The combined cost of both loans belongs in the comparison, set against the property's expected return. A lower rate on the remortgage is little use if the rent supports too small a buy to let loan, and a lower buy to let rate is no help if the larger home mortgage fails affordability. Where your current deal still has an early repayment charge, weigh the cost of leaving it against a further advance from your current lender or a second charge mortgage from another lender, both of which leave the existing deal in place (MoneyHelper: second charge mortgages). Our fixed term mortgages page explains how fixed rates are priced and when a deal's charges end.
Using equity to buy another property? Get in touch with your home's value, your mortgage, the property you want and its expected rent, and we will structure both loans together.
Raising £60,000 on a £400,000 home with a £150,000 mortgage takes the loan from 37.5% to 52.5% of the value, which can put the remortgage in a different price band from the current deal.
Second property capital raising criteria
Lenders check the same points on every second property case, and each sets its own limits for them. The rows on regulation, affordability, the rental test and stamp duty rest on published rules, checked in October 2026: the Regulated Activities Order and MCOB for the remortgage, the PRA's SS13/16 for buy to let lending by banks and building societies, and the published rates of HMRC, Revenue Scotland and the Welsh Government for the land taxes. The income multiple, rental cover, stress rate, buy to let loan to value and credit rows are Mortgage Lane's experience on the cases we arrange. The other rows describe how lenders differ, and the lender's underwriting decides each case.
The home lender's affordability assessment sets the first limit. In our experience lenders lend up to 5 times gross income less outgoings, and up to 6 times for professionals and on specialist products, with terms running to 40 years. The second property's mortgage and running costs count among those outgoings, so a buy to let or a second home reduces what the same income supports on the home. Loan to value sets the second limit: each lender has its own maximum for capital raising, and the most the remortgage can raise is the lower of that maximum and what affordability supports.
Past credit problems narrow the choice of lenders for the remortgage and for the second mortgage, and in our experience adverse credit lending on a home usually stops at around 90% loan to value. Our pages on remortgage with bad credit and bad credit buy to let mortgages cover each side.
Second property capital raising criteria
| Criterion | How it works |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Buy to let deposit, second home, holiday let, family purchase or portfolio growth. Lenders set their own rules on which capital raising purposes they accept, so the purpose is declared and checked before applying. |
| Regulation | A remortgage or further advance on the home you live in is a regulated mortgage. A buy to let mortgage on a property let to tenants who are not family is generally outside the FCA's mortgage rules, as a holiday let mortgage usually is where your own use is limited; a property a close family member lives in is regulated. |
| Residential affordability | The new total mortgage on your home plus the second property's mortgage and running costs, assessed on your income under MCOB 11.6. |
| Income multiple | In our experience up to 5 times gross income less outgoings, and up to 6 times for professionals and specialist products. |
| Loan to value on your home | Each lender sets its own maximum for capital raising. The remortgage is the lower of that limit and what affordability supports. |
| Buy to let rental test | The rent is tested against the buy to let mortgage interest at a stressed rate. SS13/16 sets a 5.5% minimum over the first five years unless the rate is fixed for five years or more, and lets lenders use personal income to supplement the rent. |
| Rental cover and stress rate | In our experience 125% for companies and basic-rate taxpayers and 145% for higher-rate taxpayers, at 5.5% on a two-year fix and 4.5% on a five-year fix. |
| Buy to let loan to value | In our experience up to 85% loan to value on the buy to let. |
| Second home mortgage | Assessed on income, with both mortgages counted. Normally regulated, because you will live in it for part of the time. |
| Holiday let | Holiday let lenders assess projected letting income and limit personal use. The furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended in April 2025. |
| Stamp duty | As at October 2026, higher rates 5 percentage points above the standard SDLT rates in England and Northern Ireland, an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement in Scotland and higher LTT rates in Wales. |
| Existing deal | A remortgage during a fixed or discounted period can trigger an early repayment charge; a further advance or a second charge leaves the existing deal in place. |
| Credit history | Both loans must accept it. In our experience adverse credit lending on a home usually stops at around 90% loan to value. |
Types of second property, and how each is assessed
The same remortgage can fund five different purchases, and the purchase decides which second mortgage applies, how it is assessed and whether it is regulated.
Buy to let
A remortgage to buy a buy to let usually funds the deposit and costs, with a buy to let mortgage for the rest of the price. Each lender assesses its own loan: the home lender on your income, with the buy to let's costs counted, and the buy to let lender on the rent. Homeowners who release equity for a buy to let deposit therefore need a rent that passes the second lender's test as well as an income that passes the first. At banks and building societies the rent is tested against the mortgage interest at a stressed rate by an interest cover ratio, and SS13/16 lets lenders use personal income to supplement the rent. SS13/16 also expects lenders to allow for the landlord's tax on the rent, so a higher-rate taxpayer can need more rent for the same loan. A buy to let mortgage on a property let to tenants who are not family is generally business lending outside the FCA's mortgage rules, unless it is a consumer buy to let, which has its own regime. For a first purchase, our page on first time landlord mortgages covers the landlord side in full, and the buy to let mortgage guide explains the products.
Get in touch with the property and the rent you expect.
Second home
A home you will use yourself, such as a city flat for work or a weekend home, is financed by a second residential mortgage assessed on your income. Because you will live in it for part of the time, it is normally a regulated mortgage, and the lender's affordability assessment counts both mortgages and both sets of running costs. A remortgage to buy a second home can raise the deposit or, where equity and income allow, the whole price. The stamp duty higher rates apply to a second home as they do to a buy to let, and lenders set their own criteria for lending on one.
Get in touch with your income and the property.
Holiday let
A property let short term to holidaymakers is financed by a holiday let mortgage, assessed on projected letting income rather than a tenancy. A remortgage for a holiday home works in the same way as for a buy to let: the equity funds the deposit and costs, and the holiday let lender assesses its own loan. Lenders set their own limits on how much the owner can use the property, as our guide to a holiday let mortgage allowing personal use explains. Where the property is let as a business and your own use of it is limited, a holiday let mortgage is usually business lending outside the FCA's mortgage rules, under the investment property loan exclusion (legislation.gov.uk: Regulated Activities Order, article 61A); where you or a family member will also use it as a home, it can be a regulated mortgage instead. Our Airbnb mortgages page deals with short-term letting through online platforms. The furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended on 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and on 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax, so holiday lets are now taxed like other residential lettings, including the restriction on relief for mortgage interest (GOV.UK: abolition of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime). Our holiday let mortgages page covers the lending in full.
Get in touch with the property and its projected letting income.
Buying for family
Buying for a child at university, or for a parent, can be arranged as a purchase in your name that they live in, as a let to them at a concessionary rent, or as help towards a purchase of their own, and the structure decides both the mortgage and the tax. A mortgage on a property your spouse, partner, parent, brother, sister, child, grandparent or grandchild will live in is a regulated mortgage even where they pay rent, because each of them is a related person under article 61 of the Regulated Activities Order, and the investment property loan exclusion in article 61A cannot apply when a related person lives there. That case needs a regulated family buy to let in place of an ordinary buy to let mortgage, and our page on regulated buy to let mortgages covers it.
If you remortgage to help children buy a home of their own instead, the money can be a gifted deposit, a share in a joint purchase, or support alongside a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage, where you are a borrower but not an owner. Our gifted deposit mortgages page covers the first of these, and our page on family help mortgages compares all three. Who is on the title also decides the stamp duty: where a buyer who already owns a home is on the title, alone or jointly, the higher rates usually apply to the whole purchase (GOV.UK: buying an additional residential property), while a supporting borrower who is not on the title does not trigger them.
Get in touch with who will live there and who will own it.
Buying the whole property with your home's equity
Where equity is large, some buyers fund the whole second purchase from the remortgage, leaving the new property unmortgaged. Affordability on your home then carries the whole cost: the home lender assesses the larger mortgage mainly on your income, lenders differ on whether they count any rent the property earns, and your home secures the entire investment. On the worked example further down this page, funding the whole £180,000 purchase this way would mean raising £195,000 including the stamp duty and costs, which takes the mortgage on the £400,000 home to £345,000, or 86.3% loan to value. Whether that is possible depends on the lender's capital raising limit and on your income.
Get in touch with your equity and your income.
A mortgage on a property that a child, parent or other related person will live in is regulated even if they pay rent, so it needs a regulated family buy to let rather than an ordinary buy to let mortgage.
Costs and affordability of a second property
A second property adds a land tax, a second affordability test and a different tax position on the interest, and each depends on where the property is and how it will be used. Affordability on a second property is tested twice, once on your home and once on the new loan, and the land tax is paid from the cash raised before either property earns anything.
Stamp duty surcharge, ADS in Scotland and LTT in Wales
A buyer who already owns a home and keeps it usually pays the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax on a second property in England and Northern Ireland. As at October 2026 the higher rates are 5 percentage points above each standard band, so the surcharge is 5% of the whole price. They apply to a purchase of £40,000 or more where the buyer will also own another residential property worth £40,000 or more (GOV.UK: buying an additional residential property). The standard bands are nil up to £125,000, 2% to £250,000, 5% to £925,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above (GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax residential rates). Married couples and civil partners are treated as buying together for this test, and if any one buyer has to pay the higher rates, the whole purchase does. This second home stamp duty applies to a buy to let, a second home and a holiday let alike.
Scotland and Wales have their own taxes. In Scotland, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax carries an Additional Dwelling Supplement of 8% of the whole price for transactions on or after 5 December 2024, on purchases of £40,000 or more (Revenue Scotland: Additional Dwelling Supplement); our mortgages in Scotland page has a calculator for it. In Wales, Land Transaction Tax has had higher residential rates since 11 December 2024 of 5% up to £180,000, 8.5% to £250,000, 10% to £400,000, 12.5% to £750,000, 15% to £1.5 million and 17% above (Welsh Government: Land Transaction Tax rates and bands). Northern Ireland uses Stamp Duty Land Tax, and our page on mortgages in Northern Ireland covers the local buying process. The table shows the tax on the £180,000 buy to let used in the worked example below. Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice, and a conveyancer or tax adviser confirms the figure on a purchase.
Tax on a £180,000 second property in each nation
| Nation | Tax | At the standard rates | As a second property | Extra for owning another home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Northern Ireland | Stamp Duty Land Tax | £1,100 | £10,100 | £9,000 |
| Scotland | LBTT and the Additional Dwelling Supplement | £700 | £15,100 | £14,400 |
| Wales | Land Transaction Tax | £0 | £9,000 | £9,000 |
Residential affordability and the rental stress test
The home lender assesses the remortgage on the larger mortgage together with the second property's costs. MCOB requires the lender to take full account of your income net of Income Tax and National Insurance, your committed expenditure and your household's basic living costs, and to allow for interest rates rising over at least five years unless the rate is fixed for five years or more. A second home's mortgage, council tax and running costs come off the income available for the home mortgage. For a buy to let, lenders differ on whether they set any of the rent against the buy to let's costs when they assess your home, so the same case can produce different figures at different lenders.
The buy to let mortgage has its own test: under SS13/16, banks and building societies check whether the rent covers the mortgage interest using an interest cover ratio, take account of letting costs and the landlord's tax on the property, and assume an interest rate of at least 5.5% over the first five years unless the rate is fixed for five years or more. The PRA records 125% as the industry standard minimum ratio. In our experience lenders use 125% for companies and basic-rate taxpayers and 145% for higher-rate taxpayers, with stress rates of 5.5% on a two-year fix and 4.5% on a five-year fix, and lend up to 85% loan to value on buy to let. Our buy to let mortgages page covers the rental test and the products.
Tax on the interest
Individual landlords no longer deduct mortgage interest on a residential let from their rental profit. Since 6 April 2020 they have received a tax reduction at the basic rate, 20%, on all of their finance costs instead, under the finance cost restriction (GOV.UK: restricting finance cost relief for individual landlords). Interest on a remortgage of your home can count as a finance cost of the letting business where the borrowed money paid for the buy to let, because interest is allowable only where it is paid wholly and exclusively for the property business (HMRC Property Income Manual: PIM2052). HMRC judges that by what the money was used for, not by what the loan is secured on (HMRC Business Income Manual: BIM45685). The part of the remortgage that refinances your own home stays private borrowing. Your accountant works out the figure under HMRC's rules, and Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice.
The Renters' Rights Act
In England, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the tenancy a buy to let is let on. From 1 May 2026, assured shorthold tenancies are no longer available for private lets, existing ones have become assured periodic tenancies and section 21 'no fault' possession has ended, so a landlord who needs the property back uses the section 8 grounds (GOV.UK: assured tenancy forms from 1 May 2026). Buy to let lenders have been updating their conditions for periodic tenancies, and the exact requirements vary by lender. The Act applies in England only, and a landlord letting the second property elsewhere follows that nation's own law: Wales has occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (Welsh Government: housing law has changed), Scotland has the open-ended private residential tenancy (gov.scot: private residential tenancy information for landlords), and Northern Ireland has its own private tenancy law (nidirect: private rent and tenancies).
How a remortgage to buy a second property is arranged
- Plan both loans. The equity available in your home, the deposit, the stamp duty and the purchase costs worked out together, with the rent or your income tested against the second mortgage before anything is applied for, so the remortgage raises what the purchase needs.
- Remortgage. A residential application to a new lender, or a further advance request to your current one, with the purpose declared: the lender needs to know the money is for another property, and its affordability assessment includes the new property's costs. Any early repayment charge on your current deal is weighed against a further advance or a second charge (MoneyHelper: getting a further advance).
- Second mortgage. The buy to let or second home application made in parallel, with an agreement in principle and the lender's valuation of the second property, so that both offers are in place before you commit to the purchase.
- Completion. The remortgage completes first and releases the funds to your conveyancer; the purchase of the second property then completes with the deposit from the remortgage and the second mortgage.
Equity into a buy to let: the arithmetic
A homeowner can buy a second property without using savings, but the borrowing across the two properties more than doubles and the family home carries part of the investment.
Step 1. The cash needed
An illustrative case, not a product or an offer: a homeowner in England with a £400,000 home and a £150,000 mortgage buys a £180,000 buy to let with a 25% deposit. They keep their home, so the purchase pays the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax: 5% of the first £125,000 and 7% of the remaining £55,000, which is £10,100. The legal, valuation and other costs of £4,900 are an illustrative figure; actual costs depend on the property and the firms instructed. The remortgage has to raise the deposit, the tax and these costs.
Step 1 figures
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Deposit at 25% of £180,000 | £45,000 |
| Stamp Duty Land Tax at the higher rates | £10,100 |
| Legal, valuation and other costs (illustrative) | £4,900 |
| Cash needed, raised by the remortgage | £60,000 |
Step 2. Both loans after completion
The remortgage raises £60,000, taking the mortgage on the home from £150,000 to £210,000, and a buy to let mortgage funds the other 75% of the purchase price.
Step 2 figures: both loans after completion
| Loan | Amount | Property value | Loan to value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home mortgage before the remortgage | £150,000 | £400,000 | 37.5% |
| Home mortgage after the remortgage | £210,000 | £400,000 | 52.5% |
| Buy to let mortgage | £135,000 | £180,000 | 75.0% |
| Both properties together | £345,000 | £580,000 | 59.5% |
The home moves from 37.5% to 52.5% loan to value, and the buy to let sits at 75%. Across both properties the borrowing is £345,000 against £580,000 of property, a combined loan to value of 59.5%.
Step 3. The rental test on the buy to let
The buy to let lender tests the rent, not the homeowner's equity. Suppose the property is expected to let for £900 a month, an illustrative figure. The table shows the largest loan that rent supports at the rental cover and stress rates we see on the cases we arrange, set against the £135,000 needed.
Step 3 figures: the largest buy to let loan a £900 rent supports
| Rental cover | Stress rate | Largest loan | Against the £135,000 needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125%, company or basic-rate taxpayer | 5.5%, two-year fix | £157,090 | £22,090 to spare |
| 145%, higher-rate taxpayer | 5.5%, two-year fix | £135,423 | £423 to spare |
| 125%, company or basic-rate taxpayer | 4.5%, five-year fix | £192,000 | £57,000 to spare |
| 145%, higher-rate taxpayer | 4.5%, five-year fix | £165,517 | £30,517 to spare |
A higher-rate taxpayer buying in their own name passes on a two-year fix with £423 to spare, so a slightly lower rent from the valuer would cut the loan below £135,000 and leave a larger deposit to find. A five-year fix gives more room, and at 125% the same rent supports the loan on either fix.
Step 4. If the rent stops
On these figures the home mortgage payment rises from £894.45 to £1,252.23 a month over 25 years at 5.2%, the illustrative rate used across our guides, which is not a product rate. The extra £357.78 a month is the cost of the £60,000 raised, and it is due from your income whatever the second property earns, as are the buy to let mortgage payments if the property is empty. Without using savings, the homeowner now owns a second property, with total borrowing more than doubled from £150,000 to £345,000 and £60,000 of the investment secured on the family home.
What decides the case
Check both loans together: residential affordability on the bigger home mortgage, the rental test on the new one, the stamp duty surcharge, and whether your income can carry the home mortgage if the rent stops. Where your current deal has an early repayment charge, a further advance or a second charge can change the cost, and our page on second charge mortgages covers that route. A landlord who will have four or more mortgaged buy to let properties is assessed as a portfolio landlord under SS13/16, which our page on portfolio mortgages covers.
Related topics
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First time landlord mortgages: how the rental stress test sets your loan, why your tax band matters, stamp duty, company ownership and the Renters' Rights Act.
Release Equity From Your Home, Remortgage and Equity Release
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Portfolio Mortgages, Portfolio Landlord Rules and Stress Tests
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Second property equity calculator
The calculator shows the cash to raise from your home for a second property, the stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland, the new mortgage and loan to value on your home, the buy to let loan the rent supports and the total borrowing across both properties. The starting figures are the illustration on this page: a £400,000 home with a £150,000 mortgage, a £180,000 buy to let with a 25% deposit, £4,900 of costs and a £900 monthly rent. Enter your own figures, and set the higher rates box to 0 only if you will not own another home when you buy.
Frequently asked questions about remortgaging to buy a second property
Can I remortgage to buy a second property?
Yes, you can remortgage your home to buy a second property, raising extra borrowing for the deposit, stamp duty and costs, or occasionally the whole price. The FCA's rules require the lender to take full account of your income and committed spending, so it assesses affordability on the new, larger mortgage with the second property's costs counted. Lenders set their own rules on which capital raising purposes they accept, including whether they accept a deposit for a buy to let, so the purpose is declared and checked with the lender before you apply. The second property usually has its own mortgage, assessed separately by its own lender.
How much equity can I release to buy another property?
The equity you can release depends on your home's value, your current mortgage, the lender's maximum loan to value for capital raising and whether the larger mortgage is affordable once the second property's costs are counted. Each lender sets its own loan to value limit, and affordability is assessed under the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) rules, so the most you can raise is the lower of the two. In our experience lenders lend up to 5 times gross income less outgoings, and up to 6 times for professionals and on specialist products. On a £400,000 home with a £150,000 mortgage, raising £60,000 takes the mortgage to £210,000, which is 52.5% loan to value.
Can I remortgage to fund a buy to let deposit?
Yes, where the lender accepts that purpose. Lenders set their own rules on which capital raising purposes they accept, so a buy to let deposit is declared and checked before you apply. Two assessments then have to pass: the remortgage on your income and outgoings, with the buy to let's costs counted, and the buy to let mortgage on the new property's rent. The amount raised can cover the stamp duty and purchase costs as well as the deposit, and the more you raise, the more the home lender's affordability assessment has to carry.
How do lenders assess a remortgage for a buy to let?
Your residential lender assesses whether the larger mortgage on your home is affordable from your income, taking account of the buy to let's costs. The buy to let lender separately tests whether the rent covers the new mortgage under the Prudential Regulation Authority's (PRA) underwriting standards, which expect an interest cover test at a stressed rate of at least 5.5% unless the rate is fixed for five years or more (Bank of England: SS13/16). In our experience lenders use rental cover of 125% for companies and basic-rate taxpayers and 145% for higher-rate taxpayers, with stress rates of 5.5% on a two-year fix and 4.5% on a five-year fix.
Do I pay stamp duty surcharge on a second property?
Yes, a buyer who already owns a home and keeps it usually pays the higher rates on a second property in England and Northern Ireland, 5 percentage points above the standard Stamp Duty Land Tax rates on the whole price, as at October 2026. On a £180,000 buy to let that is £10,100, against £1,100 at the standard rates (GOV.UK: buying an additional residential property). Scotland charges an 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on top of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, and Wales has its own higher rates of Land Transaction Tax. The higher rates do not apply to a purchase under £40,000.
Is remortgaging to buy a buy to let risky?
Remortgaging to buy a buy to let secures part of the investment on your home, so if the rent falls short or the property is empty, the larger home mortgage still has to be paid from your income. Total borrowing across both properties rises substantially: a £150,000 mortgage on a £400,000 home can become £345,000 of borrowing across the home and a £180,000 buy to let. The risk is lower with a cash reserve, a rent that passes the lender's stress test with room to spare and an income that can carry the home mortgage on its own.
Can I remortgage to buy a holiday home?
Yes, you can remortgage to buy a holiday home, using the equity for the deposit and a second home or holiday let mortgage for the rest. A home for your own use is assessed on your income, with both mortgages counted, and is normally a regulated mortgage. One let to holidaymakers is assessed by specialist lenders on projected letting income, lenders limit how much you can use it yourself, and its mortgage is usually business lending outside the FCA's mortgage rules. Since the furnished holiday lettings tax regime ended in April 2025, a holiday let has been taxed like other residential lettings (GOV.UK: abolition of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime).
Do I need a mortgage on the buy to let too?
Not necessarily. The remortgage can fund just the deposit and costs, with a buy to let mortgage for the rest of the price, or the whole purchase if your equity is large enough, leaving the new property unmortgaged. If you fund the whole price from your home, your home secures the entire investment and your income has to support the larger mortgage, because the home lender assesses it mainly on your income and lenders differ on whether they count any rent. A buy to let mortgage spreads the borrowing across both properties and is assessed on the rent.
What is a second home mortgage?
A second home mortgage is a residential mortgage on a property you will use yourself in addition to your main home, such as a weekend home or a flat for work. It is assessed on your income, with the mortgage on your main home counted in affordability, and because you will live in it for part of the time it is normally a regulated mortgage under the Financial Conduct Authority's rules. A buy to let mortgage, by contrast, is assessed on rent, and a holiday let mortgage on projected letting income.
Can I remortgage to buy a home for my child?
Yes, you can remortgage to fund a home for a child, structured as a purchase in your name, a gifted deposit, a joint purchase or a joint borrower sole proprietor mortgage. A mortgage on a property your child will live in is a regulated mortgage even if they pay rent, because a child is a related person under the Regulated Activities Order (legislation.gov.uk: article 61), so an ordinary buy to let mortgage does not fit. The structure decides which mortgage applies, who pays the stamp duty higher rates and the tax position, so it is settled before buying. If a buyer who already owns a home is on the title, the higher rates usually apply to the whole purchase.
Will the second property affect my home's affordability?
Yes, your residential lender counts the second property's mortgage and running costs as commitments when it assesses the remortgage, and that reduces how much you can borrow on your home. The FCA's rules require the lender to take full account of your income net of tax and your committed expenditure (FCA Handbook: MCOB 11.6). For a buy to let, lenders differ on whether they count any of the rent against those costs, and on how much. A second home you use yourself brings its full costs into the calculation.
Can I use a further advance to buy a second property?
Yes, where your lender agrees. A further advance is extra borrowing from your existing lender, usually on its own rate alongside your current deal, so it can fund a second property's deposit while keeping your current fixed rate on the existing balance (MoneyHelper: getting a further advance). The lender assesses affordability on the total borrowing. Lenders' policies on further advances for buy to let deposits vary, so check the purpose with the lender first and compare the further advance rate with a full remortgage and any early repayment charge.
Should I remortgage or take a further advance?
Remortgaging usually suits you if your current deal is ending or a better rate is available elsewhere, and a further advance if your fixed rate still has time to run and leaving it would mean an early repayment charge. Compare the total cost of each route: the rate on the extra borrowing, any early repayment charge, product fees, and valuation and legal costs. A remortgage puts the whole mortgage on one new deal with any lender, while a further advance keeps your existing deal but limits you to your current lender's products and limits. Both are assessed for affordability on the new total. A second charge loan is a third option when your lender will not lend more.
Is interest on the remortgage tax deductible for a buy to let?
Since 6 April 2020, an individual landlord cannot deduct the interest from rental profit. Interest on borrowing that funded a buy to let, including a remortgage of your home where the money paid its deposit, gets a tax reduction at the basic rate of 20% instead. That interest can count as a finance cost of the letting business, because HMRC looks at what the money was used for rather than what secures the loan (HMRC Business Income Manual: BIM45685), and interest paid wholly and exclusively for the property business is allowable (HMRC Property Income Manual: PIM2052). Interest on the part of the remortgage that refinances your own home is private. Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice, and your accountant confirms the position.
How has the end of FHL tax rules affected holiday lets?
The furnished holiday lettings (FHL) tax regime was abolished from 6 April 2025 for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and from 1 April 2025 for Corporation Tax, so holiday lets are now taxed like other residential lettings. Individual landlords receive only a basic-rate tax reduction for mortgage interest on them, and the capital allowances and capital gains reliefs that applied to furnished holiday lettings have been withdrawn, with transitional rules (GOV.UK: abolition of the furnished holiday lettings tax regime). Holiday let mortgages are still available.
Will remortgaging trigger early repayment charges?
Remortgaging during a fixed or discounted period often triggers an early repayment charge, if your deal has one, because the existing mortgage is repaid before the deal ends (MoneyHelper: remortgaging). A further advance from your existing lender, or a second charge loan from another lender, can avoid the charge because the existing mortgage stays in place. You can also time the purchase for when your current deal ends. Before deciding, compare the charge with the cost of a further advance or second charge.
Can I buy a second property through a limited company using my home's equity?
Yes, you can remortgage your home and lend or invest the money in a limited company that buys the second property. The company takes a limited company buy to let mortgage, assessed on the rent, and the remortgage on your home is assessed on your personal income with the new borrowing counted. Mortgage Lane does not give tax advice, so confirm the tax position of the money moved into the company with an accountant before buying.
Does the Renters' Rights Act affect buy to let mortgages?
Yes, in England the Renters' Rights Act changes the tenancy a buy to let lender lends against, while the rental test stays the same. Since 1 May 2026 private tenancies have been assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, section 21 no-fault possession has ended and rent can be increased only once a year through the section 13 process (GOV.UK: Renters' Rights Act implementation roadmap). Lenders now assess periodic tenancies on property in England, and each sets its own tenancy conditions, so check the mortgage offer's terms before letting. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own tenancy law.
What happens if I can't let the second property?
If the second property is empty or the rent stops, you must still pay both mortgages: the larger one on your home and the one on the second property. Lenders' affordability and rental tests are meant to allow for this risk by testing the rent at a stressed rate and your income against the home mortgage, though the payments remain yours to make. A cash reserve that covers several months of both payments helps. For a second home you use yourself, its costs were already counted against your income when you borrowed.
Can I remortgage to buy a second property with bad credit?
Remortgaging to buy a second property with bad credit is possible with specialist lenders, but the lenders on both the remortgage and the buy to let or second home mortgage must accept your credit history, which narrows the choice of lenders and can mean a larger deposit. Lenders look at the type of each entry, its age, its size and whether it has been settled. In our experience adverse credit lending on a home usually stops at around 90% loan to value. Each lender's criteria and underwriting decide the case.
Should I use savings or equity for a second property deposit?
Using savings leaves your home mortgage unchanged. Using equity keeps your savings but adds borrowing secured on your home. The choice depends on the cost of the extra borrowing, the return on the savings and how comfortable you are with more debt on your home, and a mix of savings and equity is also possible. Whichever you choose, it helps to keep some savings as a reserve for empty periods and repairs.
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