Accord Mortgages has lifted rates across its landlord product transfer range by up to 12 basis points, while loosening its criteria for limited company directors and workers on zero-hours contracts.  

Yorkshire Building Society’s broker-only unit says its buy-to-let changes include:  

• Two-year product rates will rise by up to 7bps  
• Three-year product rates will rise by 4bps  
• Five-year product rates will rise by 12bps  

A spokesperson for the mutual says that in “a volatile market” these changes “have been made in order to balance broker service, customer needs and our own financial position”.  

The lender has also made lending standard changes that will now see it use the share of net profits for self-employed limited company directors, and income from zero-hours contracts for specific key workers to calculate loans “where their income is sustainable”.  

It says 100% of limited company directors’ salary and share of profits is now allowable as an alternative to their directors’ salary and dividends, where they have more than a 50% shareholding in their company.   

It adds that 60% of zero-hours contractor income will be considered, for the following key workers — NHS bank nurses and locums, care home workers, supermarket employees, HGV drivers, retained/on-call firefighters, armed forces reservists and supply teachers.  

Also, up to 100% of income from annuities can be considered in applications.  

The lender says that up to 60% of the following benefits can be taken into account for borrowers who have a main income that exceeds the total of their benefits: benefit types — personal independence payments, industrial injury disablement benefit, carers allowance, national insurance contributions-based employment support allowance and disability living allowance.  

These changes apply to BTL as well as residential mortgage applicants, where their personal income is being factored in for top-slicing purposes.  

Accord Mortgages senior manager, new propositions, Nicola Alvarez says: “We’ve listened to our brokers and researched the market to pinpoint some of the measures that can best help them to help their clients who have more complex incomes, while continuing to lend responsibly.  

“This builds further on our commitment to common-sense lending, and we hope this latest list of changes provides some additional flexibility to assist more brokers to support people in achieving their homeownership aspirations.”