Bank of England seeks to rein in landlord lending

The Bank of England has recommended tighter lending criteria for buy-to-let mortgages and it is monitoring for signs that risks are accelerating.

The Prudential Regulation Authority — the UK’s main banking supervisor and part of the central bank — published guidelines yesterday to guard against a loosening of underwriting standards and bring all lenders into line on the affordability of buy-to-let loans.

The assessment should include a minimum, stressed interest rate of 5.5%, and will curb growth of the £200bn (€253bn) market.