He points to the Renters Reform Bill and a raft of new rules that have raised the bar for being a landlord just as financing costs have surged.
“Previously, if you were paying £400 a month for a mortgage and the rent you were getting was £1,500, you’re still getting £1,500,” he told Mortgage Introducer. “But your mortgage payment has doubled, so now you’re paying eight, 900 pounds because of how expensive the buy to let mortgages have become.”
Many borrowers who locked into ultra‑low rates around 1% are now refinancing at 4–5%, a shift Ajaz says has “completely killed” margins on some single‑let portfolios.
‘Crazy’ fees push leverage higher than landlords realise
On top of the headline rate shock, product fees in BTL have also “been crazy,” he warned.
When landlords add large percentage‑based arrangement fees to the loan, their true leverage can quietly creep well beyond the headline loan‑to‑value. “When someone is doing a 75 percent mortgage, technically their mortgage is 78, 79 percent,” he says.