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Mortgage guides and support

If you've bought a buy-to-let property there are things you need to arrange before you can rent it out. There are tenant checks and the tenancy agreement to organise, legal obligations to meet and the property management side of things to sort out too.

Tenant background checks

To reduce the possibility of you choosing bad tenants, you can do some background checks. These should include checks on:

  • proof of identity
  • previous address history and current address
  • credit history and income; and
  • references from previous landlords and employers.

If a letting agent's sorting this out for you, it's worth asking them what checks they're doing. If you're organising it yourself you could pay for online tenant checks through the National Residential Landlords Association.

Gas & energy efficiency certificates

You're responsible for ensuring your property has a:

Safety checks

You have a legal duty to ensure your property is safe. Any electrical equipment you provide has to be safe along with electrical fittings, such as light fittings, plugs and switches.

By law you're also required to install smoke and carbon monoxide detector alarms.

If you're providing soft furnishings these must be compliant with UK fire safety standards.

Tenancy agreement

When you find tenants you need to get them to sign a tenancy agreement. It is known as an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) in England, an Occupation Contract in Wales and a Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) in Scotland. The agreement usually states:

  • the names of the tenants and the landlord
  • the property address
  • the deposit required
  • the rent price and date of payment
  • the length of the tenancy
  • the tenant and landlord's obligations

You can find guidance for creating a tenancy agreement with the relevant jurisdiction at: 

Tenancy deposit or bond

When you receive a deposit from your tenants, you have to place it into one of the government-backed deposit schemes within 30 days and tell the tenants where it's held. If there's a dispute at the end of the tenancy the deposit will remain in the scheme until it's resolved.

Information on tenancy tenancy deposit protection is available on gov.uk.

Instead of a tenancy deposit, some tenants may have a bond guarantee. This is a written agreement provided by the tenant's local council stating that they'll cover the cost of damage or unpaid rent up to a specified amount.

Property management

Your property needs to be kept in good working order throughout a tenancy. If anything goes wrong it's your responsibility to get it fixed within a reasonable amount of time.

Insurance to cover the breakdown of appliances which commonly go wrong, such as the boiler or fridge is a good idea. And, if the property you're letting out is freehold, landlord building insurance to cover the structure of the building gives you added protection - it's often required by buy-to-let lenders. You should also get landlord contents insurance too, if your property is furnished.

If you're looking for finance for a rental property, take a look at the buy-to-let products we offer.

Existing Residential Mortgage Customers

If you decide to let your property, you'll need to talk to us first by calling the Consent to Let team on 0345 835 3381 . They will guide you through the application process.

Flexible features of your mortgage and helpful service information

Read our FAQs on mortgage statements

Common questions and answers for existing customers

Making extra payments - your options

Interest-only mortgages repayment plan advice

What happens after you apply for a TSB Mortgage

Questions about repaying your mortgage?

Read common repayment questions and answers

Information on mortgage interest, charges and calculations

If you're having trouble paying your mortgage, there are a variety of options available that may ease your situation and ultimately help to resolve the issue.

How to manage financial difficulties

If you already have a mortgage with us you may be able to take your deal with you.

How we can help you keep your deal when buying a new home

Remortgaging to us? We may be able to help with your standard legal work costs.

Information on legal work and conveyancing

Global PATRIOT Act information

New mortgage?

Understand account fees, valuations fees and repayment charges

Tariff of mortgage charges

Already a TSB Mortgage customer?

Variable rates are the normal interest rates that we charge for our mortgages when your fixed or tracker rate deal comes to an end.

Understand variable mortgage rates

Need to make changes to your mortgage?

Understand if there might be charges

The latest Bank of England Base Rate

Before you apply

Fixed-rate funds are limited and these mortgage deals can be withdrawn at any time.

Please check the date the rate is fixed until as, depending on when your new loan starts, it may not be exactly 4 years - it may be slightly more or slightly less.

At the end of your fixed-rate period, the rate on your loan will switch to the Homeowner Variable Rate, which at that time, could be higher or lower than the rate you will have been paying and may vary over the remaining term of your mortgage.

Please be aware that we require signed documentation to be returned and processed by the 23rd of each month. Any new applications from the 20th onwards will have their documents sent from the 1st of the following month.

Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC)

APRC stands for Annual Percentage Rate of Charge and takes into account all the costs of a loan - giving you the overall cost for comparison. An APRC is calculated in a standard way to allow you to compare different mortgage offers, including those from other lenders. The APRC includes important factors such as:

  • the initial interest rate you must pay
  • how you repay the loan
  • the full length of the mortgage term
  • frequency and timing of mortgage payments
  • certain fees associated with the mortgage

It is important to remember that these APRCs are calculated using average figures so each individual loan will have slightly different APRC. The actual APRC that will apply to your mortgage will be calculated when you get a personalised quote.

Things to bear in mind

  • Mortgage deals often change, so if you're returning to look at a product that you were interested in before, the pages shown are updated with the latest ones available
  • These mortgages can be withdrawn at any time. Funds can only be reserved when we have your completed application
  • TSB Bank tracks the Bank of England base rate

TSB Bank plc. Registered office: Henry Duncan House, 120 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4LH

TSB mortgages are only available in Sterling for the purchase and remortgage of property, raising capital and carrying out home improvements or repairs within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Our mortgages are secured by way of legal mortgage or, if the property is located in Scotland, by way of standard security against the property you purchase or borrow against. TSB mortgages can be made available up to a maximum term of 40 years. We can also work out a minimum affordable term for you based on a repayment mortgage.

An assessment of your property's market value is needed if you are taking out a mortgage with us. We will choose a professional valuation surveyor to value your property for which a fee may be payable by you. This is separate from any additional valuation or survey that you may want to pay for and the approach to surveys may vary in different parts of the UK, for example in Scotland we may rely on the Home Report.

We have a range of fixed-rate and tracker (variable-rate) mortgages. For details, click here. Some of our rates are linked to the Bank of England Base Rate (sometimes called the Bank Rate), which is set by the Bank of England. For further information, visit the Bank of England website. When the base rate changes, our linked rates will also change. Details of when and by how much will be shown in your mortgage offer.

You will need to make repayments every month. The number and amount of each repayment will be shown within your mortgage offer. There are standard charges for setting up and running your mortgage, which will also be shown in your mortgage offer. You may incur additional costs, for example if you do not keep up with repayments, make an early repayment or you ask for additional borrowing or new services. We'll always tell you of any charge in advance. See the TSB tariff of mortgage charges.

You must pay everything you owe by the end of your mortgage term. This includes having to repay your loan, pay any costs and charges that become due and typically pay interest on all of them. In certain circumstances, for example because of the way we calculate monthly payments to four decimal places and then round the payments to the nearest penny, compliance with the terms and conditions of your mortgage does not ensure that you will pay everything you owe and we may change your monthly payments to ensure that you do so.

You have the right to pay the mortgage early, either fully or partially, subject to any early repayment charges as shown in your mortgage offer.

You must make sure there is suitable buildings insurance in place as long as you have this mortgage. However, you are not obliged to buy this insurance from TSB. If you do not have suitable buildings insurance, you will be breaking the mortgage agreement and we may take legal or other action and you will have to pay the costs of that. If you fail to pay these costs it may lead to you losing your property.

Representative Example

Representative examples are in our mortgage rates guides and these will be available when you view details of our mortgage deals.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

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Start your application online

If you are a first time buyerhome mover or looking to remortgage, you can start your application online and a qualified Mortgage Adviser will give you a call to go through the details

Subject to status and lending criteria 

Speak to an adviser

Request a call back from a Mortgage Expert who can arrange a convenient time to discuss your mortgage needs via video, telephone or face to face.

Call us

To talk to us about a new mortgage, call us on
0800 056 1088

Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and 9am to 2pm on Saturday.

Stamp Duty

Learn about Stamp Duty Land Tax and understand how to calculate it with our complete Stamp Duty Guide.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Important information

Lending is subject to status and lending criteria, UK resident and 18+.

We've signed up to The Standards of Lending Practice: www.lendingstandardsboard.org.uk.