Central Trust has extended its consumer buy-to-let products to borrowers in Northern Ireland.

The first and second charge lender says its range is “suitable for landlords who originally purchased the property with absolutely no intention to rent it out, or don’t own any other properties that are being rented”.

It adds that if a landlord “or, other family members, have lived in the property for a certain amount of time then a consumer BTL mortgage may well be appropriate”.

In April, the firm improved its consumer BTL offering, and revamped its existing automated valuation model criteria, which is now available for loans up to £100,000 at 80% LTV, subject to a confidence score of six and above.

Central Trust’s maximum LTVs on its zero and one status products for consumer BTL is 75% in Northern Ireland.

Central Trust commercial operations director Maeve Ward says: “We are constantly demonstrating how we serve the underserved and today’s news is a great example of this. We are one of a small group of special lenders who operate in Northern Ireland and can now offer our consumer BTL products in the region too.

“As a specialist lender, we are used to degrees of complexity in borrowers and cases and can take a more nuanced view to areas where there is traditionally a restricted lending appetite. For instance, we look at affordability and income in a more holistic way and can usually lend more than a building society. Similarly, we accept adverse credit as part of our strategy to help borrowers ‘repair and rebuild’. We also offer consumer BTLs on both first and second charges.

“We believe there will be real demand for our consumer BTL proposition in Northern Ireland. Advisers will find that we are willing to listen to the applicant’s story and apply a common-sense approach to lending.”