According to the Telegraph, the number of mortgages available to buy-to-let investors has dropped 5% in December alone.

This is due to a drop in demand from private investors, more taxation and further regulation. In total 1,408 deals are available down from 1,482.

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Even more worrying is that mortgages with a 25% deposit, which is the bread and butter mortgage product for buy-to-let landlords, was cut by 10%. Now only 540 such deals are available to investors.

Again, this in part is reflective of lenders expecting landlords to invest more in their deposits to meet the regulatory requirements now in place, particularly from January 1. Lenders need to ensure that borrowers can meet the 5.5% stress test, which in the past has generally been 5%, for shorter term mortgages.

We know already that many lenders have already increased rental over from 125% to 140%-145% to ensure landlords can pay the increased they will need to pay from April if they are a higher rate tax payer.

From September, the rules change again and now private landlords with 4 or more properties will be subject to even more checks. Lenders need to look more holistically at the portfolio and their circumstances. Again, this may lead to further products being pulled due to the effort and time needed to offer and complete on these mortgages.

Given that so much is going on in the mortgage space now I would honestly recommend speaking to a mortgage broker if you are considering remortgaging or buying a new property.

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