Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.

Mortgage rates rise across major lenders as tenanted homes hit the market

Major UK lenders are increasing mortgage rates as higher swap rates feed through into fixed-rate pricing, and Moneyfacts expects further rises in the coming days. Separately, Mortgage Strategy reports that more than 8,500 tenanted homes are currently on the market — a development letting agents and inventory clerks should watch closely.

Lenders reprice across the board

HSBC and NatWest have already increased rates this month. A 0.25 percentage point rise on a typical £250,000 two-year fix would add around £38 a month to repayments, putting further pressure on borrowers hoping for rates to fall.

Nationwide will increase selected fixed and tracker mortgage rates by up to 0.20 percentage points from 10 September, affecting first-time buyer, home mover, remortgage, switching and additional borrowing products. Its cheapest two-year fix will rise from 4.48% to 4.63%, and the five-year fix from 4.50% to 4.59%.

Barclays, TSB, Skipton Intermediaries, Nottingham Building Society and The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries are also raising rates. TSB is increasing fixed purchase and selected remortgage rates by 0.15%, and Barclays by around 0.20%. Two- and five-year swaps are around 0.20 percentage points higher than a month ago.

Buy-to-let products affected

Halifax Intermediaries, BM Solutions, Accord Mortgages and InterBay are raising rates from 9 September, with increases of up to 0.12% for selected Halifax purchase products, 0.29% for BM Solutions buy-to-let and 0.25% for Accord buy-to-let. InterBay will withdraw its existing buy-to-let range and replace it with higher-priced products. Further rate rises remain possible as lenders respond to elevated funding costs.

Market and sector updates

Mortgage Advice Bureau has cut its full-year adjusted profit before tax forecast by £5.4m to £38m, after the expected recovery in UK house purchase activity failed to materialise. UK purchase transactions were 3% lower in the first seven months of 2026.

According to the Lloyds House Price Index, UK house prices fell 0.2% in August to an average £298,468, with annual prices down 0.4% — the first year-on-year fall since November 2023. Prices fell across southern England, led by declines of 1.6% in the South East and 1.5% in Greater London. Northern Ireland recorded the strongest annual growth at 6.9%, and Scotland rose 3.5%.

Renters' Rights Act: PRS database rollout

The UK Government will begin rolling out its private rented sector database across England from December, with landlord registration phased regionally through to November 2027 as part of the second phase of the Renters' Rights Act. The database aims to give tenants greater transparency and councils better enforcement information, and the Valuation Office will take responsibility for initial challenges to rent increases.