Gatehouse Bank has widened the eligibility criteria on its range of buy-to-let (BTL) products, including an increase to the maximum age at the end of the term, which is up from 85 to 99 years.

The UK bank, which offers Shariah-compliant ethical savings, said the 99-year age limit will not apply to customers who rely on non-rental income to meet affordability criteria. Where there is a reliance on personal income, the bank added that the maximum age would remain at 85.

Gatehouse suggested its change to the upper age limit is designed to remove financing challenges for older clients, who would otherwise have no problem passing affordability tests.

Gatehouse also indicated it would now allow refinancing within six months of purchase for all BTL customers, subject to an enhanced due diligence process.

The bank’s BTL products for expats and international residents have been amended also, with the maximum finance-to-value increasing from 75% to 80%, to bring it in line with products for UK residents.

The minimum finance amount has also been reduced to £60,000, down from £75,000, while the minimum property value has reduced from £100,000 to £75,000 for expats and international residents.

Gatehouse CEO, Charles Haresnape, commented: “We are always looking at ways to improve our BTL and home purchase plan ranges to ensure we make the application process as easy as possible for our brokers and customers.

“We are able to make the latest changes to our criteria because of our human approach to underwriting, which means we take our customers’ full financial circumstances into account.”

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