Supporting Landlords with Upfront Costs: Why Cashback Makes a Difference

In today’s private rental sector, landlords face a growing array of upfront costs that can significantly impact their ability to invest or reinvest in buy-to-let properties. 

Whether it’s taxation, conveyancing fees, valuation fees, licensing requirements - especially for HMOs - or navigating increasingly complex compliance frameworks, the financial outlay required before keys are even in tenants’ hands can be substantial. At Fleet Mortgages, we’ve taken an important step to ease that burden.

We recently introduced a new £1,000 cashback feature on our 75% LTV two-year and five-year fixed-rate HMO and multi-unit block (MUFB) products. This move isn’t just about product enhancement, it’s about providing practical support to landlord borrowers at a time when that support is genuinely needed.

Landlords investing in HMOs or MUFBs often have more hoops to jump through compared to standard buy-to-let properties. Local authorities may require licensing, planning permissions are frequently more stringent, valuation fees are usually higher than standard property valuations because HMOs are more complex, and overall purchase and set-up costs tend to run higher.

That’s where cashback can make a real, tangible difference. This isn’t theoretical support, it’s a contribution that can be used immediately, helping to cover licensing fees, legal bills, or renovation costs that are often essential to getting properties tenant-ready.

Our decision to introduce cashback is backed by our consistent conversations with advisers and landlords, who tell us these early-stage costs are one of the biggest pain points when structuring a deal.

It’s part of our job as a specialist lender to find solutions that don’t just meet criteria but address these deeper borrower challenges. We believe £1,000 cashback can help to tip the balance for many landlord borrowers, particularly those adding to, or restructuring, their portfolios in a competitive market.

Of course, this comes at a time when rental yields remain strong across the country, as our Q1 2025 Rental Barometer clearly shows. The average yield across England and Wales now sits at 7.4%, with particularly strong figures in the North East (9.2%), North West (8.4%) and Yorkshire (8.1%).

While yields in some regions dipped slightly from the previous quarter, year-on-year growth remains broadly positive, pointing to a stabilised but profitable rental landscape. What’s more, tenant demand continues to outstrip supply, fuelling rental growth and keeping yield levels strong.

This yield environment provides further encouragement for landlords, especially those seeking to offset recent changes such as the increased stamp duty surcharge. That additional 2% could easily add thousands of pounds to a purchase, reinforcing the importance of any product features that can help reduce financial pressure elsewhere. Cashback is one such lever.

At Fleet, we continue to lead on five-year fixed-rate pricing compared to our peer group and are proud to offer both fee-based and percentage-based options, depending on what suits the borrower’s circumstances best. Our experience in this specialist sector, combined with resources such as our recently-published ‘Guide to HMOs: Licensing, Planning & Article 4’, positions us to support advisers navigating this more complex part of the market.

So, if you’re working with landlord clients, this new cashback offer is another way Fleet is delivering value in real terms. Talk to your BDM or get in touch with us directly to see how we can help you structure the right deal for your clients and keep their investment plans moving forward.

Everything starts with a good conversation. Get in touch with our team today.

Call 01252 916 800

Email sales@fleetmortgages.co.uk  

https://www.fleetmortgages.co.uk 

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