Two in five landlords with buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages intend to refinance over the next 12 months, research commissioned by Paragon Bank has found.

The survey of nearly 600 landlords by Pegasus Insight found that just over a quarter (26%) have a mortgage on all of their rental properties, compared to 43% who own outright and 31% who have a mix of owned outright and mortgaged.

Of those with a mortgage, 38% intend to either remortgage or product transfer over the period, refinancing an average of 2.9 buy-to-let loans each, which the bank said highlighted the opportunities for brokers to help landlords review their borrowing requirements, release equity for property improvements or raise finance for further investment.

The refinancing market is expected to remain active as five-year fixed-rate mortgages taken out during the property boom of 2021 and 2022 mature. UK Finance data shows that £18.2bn was lent for BTL purchases in 2021, followed by £17.4bn in 2022, while £62bn of outstanding fixed-rate BTL mortgages are due to mature in the year to August 2027.

Louisa Sedgwick, Paragon Bank managing director of mortgages, said: “Remortgaging accounted for three quarters of buy-to-let business during the first half of 2026 and I would expect refinancing to remain a significant feature of the market given the record levels of new business during 2021 and 2022, when landlords took advantage of the stamp duty holiday.

"For brokers, that creates an opportunity to work with landlords ahead of upcoming maturities, looking across their portfolios at refinancing requirements as well as wider borrowing needs, such as releasing equity for property improvements or future investment.

“Upcoming maturities also give brokers an opportunity to look beyond the immediate refinance and consider a landlord’s wider portfolio funding requirements. That could include raising capital against unencumbered properties or releasing equity from existing investments to finance improvements or support further investment, subject to lending criteria and affordability.”

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