Offa has changed its criteria on Sharia-compliant buy-to-let (BTL) finance to include first-time buyers.

The lender has also dropped the minimum age required to 18-years-old and applicants will need to earn a minimum of £18,000 per annum.

Customers with terms under five years will pay the standard rate plus 1%, while those with terms of five years or more will just pay the standard rate.

As part of the new criteria, portfolio clients will be subjected to more realistic stress testing, based on the average of current five-year fixed rate products, currently 6.6%, instead of the standard variable rate.

Offa has also made changes to allow British expats in Malaysia and Hong Kong to apply for Sharia-compliant BTL finance.

Offa chief commercial officer and managing director of retail finance Sagheer Malik says: “We strive to make our Sharia-compliant home finance available to the majority of people rather than just the richest among us, which means constantly working to make our services inclusive and affordable.”

“This is an example of our actions speaking louder than our words, as we now accept first time buyers for the first time, drop the minimum required age 18 and make our stress testing more transparent, along with many other changes to make applying for our finance straightforward, quick and easy.”