The Lender's View: Inside the Buy-to-Let Market with Accord Mortgages

Mark sits down with Chris Hill, Head of Sales at Accord Mortgages, for a frank look at what lenders are actually seeing in the market right now — from swap rate movements and landlord behaviours to the EPC deadline that more investors should be planning for.

What the Market Looks Like Right Now

The signing of the Middle East peace deal shifted markets immediately. On the morning of recording, two-year swaps had dropped around 10 basis points to roughly 4.06%, with five-year swaps at 4.10%. Brent crude was sitting at $83 a barrel — still $13 above pre-crisis levels, but $40 off its peak. Gas costs in wholesale markets were already down around 6%.

For landlords, this matters because swap rates drive fixed-rate mortgage pricing. The direction of travel is positive, but the market is waiting for sustained stability before lenders move aggressively on pricing. That stability, if it holds, could make the next six months a genuinely compelling window — improving rates, potentially motivated sellers, and pent-up demand starting to return.

Should You Wait or Move Now?

The honest answer is: it depends on your position and your goals.

Chris Hill's view is that there are opportunities on both sides right now. Reduced demand in the purchase market means some landlords may be able to acquire at below market value. At the same time, rates are in a gradually improving trajectory. The question is whether saving a quarter or half a percent on rate outweighs the opportunity to buy more cheaply today.

The maths shifts with property value. At £100,000 with a proportionally small mortgage, yield is strong and rate sensitivity is lower. At £250,000+ with a £200,000 mortgage, a quarter-percent rate movement is a meaningful number. Know which conversation you're having before you decide whether to wait.

What Makes a Good Landlord in a Lender's Eyes

Accord operates in the small-to-medium portfolio space — typically up to 10 or 15 properties. What they look for goes beyond whether the rent covers the mortgage.

Experience matters. A landlord with at least 12 months of mortgage-paying history demonstrates they can manage the operational reality, not just the numbers on a spreadsheet. Organisation matters too — clean credit history, no late payments, a clear portfolio structure. And the story matters: Accord do one in three of their mortgages outside their standard criteria, so a well-framed explanation of any complexity is often more valuable than trying to hide it. A quick, transparent conversation gets you to a yes faster — and to a no faster when that's the right answer.

Common Mistakes Landlords Make When Applying

The biggest one is incomplete disclosure. If there's something awkward in your background — a missed payment, an unusual structure, a gap in employment — bring it to the front of the conversation, not the back. Lenders like Accord are far more comfortable with a full picture presented upfront than with something emerging mid-underwriting that looks like it was being concealed. Being transparent, and framing the context properly, is almost always the better route.

The EPC Clock Is Already Ticking

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) requiring rental properties to meet EPC C by 2030 may feel like a future problem. It isn't. Chris Hill sits on the Green Mortgage Advice Initiative steering group and makes the point plainly: if you have ten properties and plan to upgrade one a year, four years isn't enough time. Landlords who are two years out from a mortgage review should be thinking now about whether that renewal is the right moment to raise capital for energy improvements.

The Energy Savings Trust has a free calculator to model where your properties sit today and what it would cost to reach compliance. The risk of leaving it late is a contractor shortage and inflated costs as 2030 approaches and everyone tries to act at once.