54% of brokers believe that they fully understand what the upcoming PRA changes for portfolio landlords entail, and what they will mean for their business, according to new research  from Kent Reliance.

The changes will see a new minimum underwriting standard introduced for landlords with four or more properties as of 1 October 2017. Under the new rules, portfolio landlords, and their brokers, will need to provide detailed information on the cash flows and costs arising from multiple tenancies.

However, with less than a month until the deadline, the survey by Kent Reliance (which is part of the specialist lending group OneSavings Bank) of more than 200 buy-to-let brokers found that 46% still don’t understand everything they need to. 13% admitted that they were aware of the changes but not when they are coming into effect, while 31% had heard of the new rules but didn’t fully understand how to apply them to their business and just 2% had not heard of them.

Those brokers that are already in the know are optimistic about the opportunities the new framework will create. 29% believe the PRA rules will increase future opportunities compared to 14% who think it will reduce overall buy-to-let transactions.

29% anticipate that more applications will be rejected in the short term, 23% believe the extra administrative burden will cause the application process to slow down, with just 4% predicting that it will have no impact at all.

Adrian Moloney, sales director at OneSavings Bank, said: “Brokers have had to get to grips a with a huge amount of regulatory change over the past 18 months including seismic changes to mortgage tax relief and stamp duty, so it’s understandable that some are still playing catch up, but with the PRA deadline looming, now is the time to buff up on the new rules and make sure clients are ready to comply.

“The new standards are business-as-usual for us as a specialist lender, but we know that brokers are going to have a lot more work on their plates, so we’ve done everything in our power to make life easier. Whether that’s through communicating our new lending criteria well in advance of the changes, or developing a dedicated tech-platform, brokers ease of doing business with us remain a key priority of ours.

“For those that still don’t feel confident in what these changes mean for their business, the time to get on top of it is now and we would encourage them to contact us as soon as possible so we can make the transition into the new landscape seamless for their business.”