Free tool for UK landlords
Tap through the questions while you view a property. It flags the things that worry mortgage lenders, affect the value, or make a property harder to resell, then gives you a summary you can save as a PDF to talk through with your broker.
A prompt sheet, not a survey or advice. This tool helps you ask the right questions on a viewing. It is not a survey, a valuation, or legal or mortgage advice, and it cannot confirm whether any particular lender will lend, as lender policies vary and change. Always get a RICS survey and instruct a solicitor, and speak to a qualified mortgage broker about your own situation before relying on anything here. Useful official starting points: GOV.UK: Buying and selling a home and RICS: find a surveyor.
The questions in the checker come from the things that catch buyers out. Here is the plain-English version of why each one matters, so you know what you are looking at on a viewing.
A property is harder to mortgage when something narrows the pool of lenders, lowers the loan to value, or stops a loan altogether. The usual culprits are a short lease, high or escalating ground rent, non-standard construction, spray foam insulation, a flat above a takeaway or pub, cladding with no clear EWS1 rating, a self-contained annex, a flat under 30 square metres, and title problems.
None of these necessarily kills a deal, but each is worth knowing before you offer, because it can change the price you should pay or the lenders you can use.
Lenders worry about noise, smells, security and resale when a flat sits above or next to a business. Hot food takeaways, pubs, bars, betting shops and funeral parlours are the hardest, and many lenders cap the loan to value at around 70 to 75 percent or decline.
A busy parade can feel like a plus to a buyer, but a lender sees a smaller resale market, so it is one of the things people most often get caught out by.
Many lenders want roughly 85 years or more remaining, and a lease under about 70 years becomes harder to mortgage and starts to lose value. New build leases usually start at 125 years.
A short lease can be extended, but that costs money and takes time, so factor it into your offer. Also check the ground rent: many lenders flag anything above about 250 pounds a year, or ground rent that doubles or rises with RPI.
Spray foam sprayed onto roof timbers stops a surveyor inspecting the roof structure and can trap moisture against the timbers. Because of that, most lenders now decline or ask for it to be removed and the roof re-inspected before they will lend.
If you spot spray foam in the loft, treat it as a serious flag and raise it with your broker early, as it is one of the fastest-growing reasons mortgages fall through.
Many buy to let lenders dislike a self-contained annex or a second kitchen because they worry the space could be let separately, turning one home into effectively two units. That narrows the lenders who will consider it.
It is an easy thing to miss on a viewing, so it is worth asking whether any outbuilding or annex is self-contained.
An EWS1 form records a fire safety check of a building's external walls and cladding. A B2 rating usually stops mainstream lending, while A1, A2, A3 and B1 are generally accepted.
An EWS1 is generally needed on buildings over 18 metres, and between 11 and 18 metres where there are risk factors such as cladding or balconies. If a flat has cladding and no clear rating, treat it as unknown and check before offering.
If a property is sold with a protected or regulated tenant, that tenancy depresses the value and limits the new owner's ability to gain possession, so many lenders dislike it, and they are cautious about vulnerable tenants too. Buying with any tenant in situ means you inherit their tenancy, so check the agreement, rent and deposit protection.
Leased solar panels are a separate catch: owned panels are usually fine, but a leased roof needs the lease to meet UK Finance specifications and lender consent, and some lenders will decline.