About Santander
Santander UK is one of the largest banks in Britain and is a wholly owned subsidiary of global banking firm Banco Santander. They offer a wide range of consumer and commercial services and have around 14 million active customers as of January 2024.
The latest figures from trade group, UK Finance, named Santander as the fourth largest lender in the UK, with an 11.4% market share. The bank did, however, cut their mortgage lending by £10 billion in October 2023, citing a slowing market as the reason for this.
What type of mortgages do they offer?
Santander’s UK arms offers the following types of mortgages:
- Residential mortgages: Including exclusive products for first-time buyers and borrowers who need support from their family to purchase a home.
- Remortgages: Including deals for borrowers who are switching to Santander from another lender, and exclusive products for existing customers.
- Buy-to-let mortgages: These mortgages are only available through Santander if the borrower is applying for one through a mortgage broker.
Santander’s residential product range is dominated by fixed-rate mortgages with 2, 3 and 5-year introductory rates periods, as well as 2-year tracker mortgages. Capital repayment and interest-only options are available.
Residential mortgage criteria
Below you will find a summary of the eligibility criteria for a Santander residential mortgage:
- Deposit requirements: Start at 5% of the property’s value (95% loan-to-value).
- Credit history: Some bad credit mortgage options are available. For example, Santander will consider applicants with CCJs or debt management plans if the issue was discharged 3-6 years ago, but more severe issues may trigger a rejection.
- Age: The maximum age a borrower can be upon application is 69, or 75 at the end of the application. If any part of the mortgage is interest-only, age caps are 64 and 70.
- Self-employed requirements: Self-employed applicants will need at least 2 years’ accounts to evidence their income for the affordability assessment.
Buy-to-let mortgage range
Santander’s UK buy-to-let mortgage range cannot be accessed with a mortgage broker, this is something Teito can help you with. Our brokers are buy-to-let specialists - not only do they have access to Santander deals, they can sometimes secure exclusive rates too.
Below you will find a summary of the key criteria for Santander’s buy-to-let mortgages:
- Deposit requirements start at 25%
- Available to first-time landlords
- Rental cover must be 125% for basic rate taxpayers or 140% for higher rate
- Santander don’t lend to portfolio landlords
- One applicant must have personal income of at least £25,000
Santander’s buy-to-let mortgages are fixed-rate deals with 2, 3 or 5-year initial rates periods.
What interest rates are available?
As a high street mortgage lender, Santander's mortgage rates are generally competative with other mainstream banks, and are lower on average than specialist lenders' ranges.
You can compare Santander's latest mortgage rates with more than 90 of their competitors across the market for free below, or have one of our brokers do it for you:
