Propertymark and Paragon Bank celebrate buy-to-let anniversary
Thirty years after the launch of the UK’s first buy-to-let mortgage products, Propertymark, is celebrating the role the sector has played in supporting investment in private-rented homes.
Buy-to-let was launched to the public in October 1996. The concept was developed through collaboration between the Assocation of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), its members and established UK banks and mortgage lenders, with the aim of creating a mortgage product specifically designed around the needs of landlords and the income generated by rented property.
At launch, eight mortgage lenders formed the original buy-to-let panel. The number of buy-to-let mortgage products available through ARLA grew rapidly, reaching more than 300 by the end of the scheme’s fourth year.
By the end of the fifth year of buy-to-let, more than three million rental properties had been offered by ARLA letting-agent members across the UK and sold to more than 2.5 million new investors and landlords. The concept has now become an established part of the UK housing market.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, commented:
“The creation of buy-to-let was a landmark moment for the private-rented sector. It demonstrated what can happen when agents, lenders and the wider industry work together to solve a real housing problem.
“Thirty years later, the challenges facing the sector are different, but the fundamental need for sufficient, good-quality rental homes has not changed. Supporting responsible landlords and professional agents must remain central to housing policy if we are to maintain choice for renters.
“The anniversary is therefore not just an opportunity to look back. It is a reminder that constructive collaboration between the property profession, lenders and policymakers can deliver lasting change.”
Pictured: Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark
Paragon was also involved from the beginning. The bank wrote its first mortgage for a landlord in 1995, a year before the term buy-to-let was formally adopted.
Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank, said:
“Thirty years ago, buy-to-let was a new idea designed to solve a very practical problem: how to give landlords access to finance that reflected the realities of renting out property.
“The market has changed enormously since 1996, but the underlying principle remains just as important. A healthy private-rented sector needs responsible landlords, professional agents and lenders that understand the particular requirements of property investment.”
Propertymark is a professional body for estate and letting agents, commercial agents, auctioneers, valuers and inventory providers, which has 18,000 members.
Pictured: Louisa Sedgwick, managing director of mortgages at Paragon Bank
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