As some buy-to-let (B2L) lenders are not regulated by the PRA, there are problems caused in the marketplace that could ultimately lead to landlords having to tackle increased levels of regulation inf the future, according OneSavings Bank national account manager Emily Machin.

Speaking as a member of the specialist lending panel at the FSE Wales show, Machin said: “Having non-PRA regulated lenders does cause problems in the market. They can offer different pricing and rental calculations to PRA and other regulated lenders.”

Machin further added that, if market regulators keep looking at the B2L market due to some lenders not being regulated, this could result in more specific landlord regulation being introduced.

When asked whether she would like to see all B2L lenders regulated, Machin answered: “If all lenders were PRA-regulated I think the market would be singing from the same hymn sheet.”

During the conference, the panel was asked to review the current state of the buy-to-let market and whether recent figures from UK Finance, which illustrated a slight increase in completions, revealed something of a sector resurgence.

BM Solutions regional manager Matt Beacham said that the increase had been “relatively small” and the majority of B2L businesses, 75 per cent, was still remortgaging. Beacham further stated that there was a potential issue for advisers in the future, given the product choice of borrowers.

“Recent figures suggest that 50% of buy-to-let borrowers are taking out five-year fixes. For future earning potential for advisers this may leave a gap,” he added.

Machin stated that the figures proved the resilience of the B2L market.

“Even with all of the changes we’ve seen, we still have a £30bn market. Rather than a resurgence in the buy-to-let market, I think we’re probably seeing it stabilising.”

Furthermore, Machin said that the increasing specialist nature of the B2L market could benefit from greater technological improvement, stating that it is important for us to “streamline the process and make it easier for advisers to deal with us”, rather than following the “quite manual” process.

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