Accord Buy To Let has made changes to criteria and documentation requirements, in a move designed to improve the service and speed of turnaround.

The minimum income requirement is moving to £25,000 per application, as opposed to at least one applicant requiring £25,000 minimum income providing greater flexibility for landlords.

The intermediary lender is also reducing the number of years’ evidence required from self-employed applicants from three years to two years. To further improve processing time, Accord Buy To Let is asking brokers to prioritise SA302 and tax overview documentation for all self-employed applicants, although an Accounts reference will be accepted where the preferential paperwork is not available.

In addition, the Accord Buy To Let contractor criteria has been updated to align with all residential applications.

Chris Maggs, senior commercial manager at Accord Buy To Let, said: “We have reviewed our criteria to improve the service we provide to brokers. These changes will not only increase turnaround times, but will make our products more accessible to a broader range of landlords.

“These latest updates come at the end of a very exciting year for Accord Buy To Let. In the last 12 months we’ve made efficiencies to the application process by replacing signed declarations with a tick box to ensure we can keep our turnaround times as low as possible. We’ve also improved our proposition with the launch of an 80% LTV range, increased maximum age and term and introduced a new income and tax-based Income Cover Ratio (ICR) of 125%.

“Landlords have had a number of challenges to face over the last few years, and it’s likely for the short term at least there will be continued uncertainty, but we are constantly looking for ways we can support the sector and help more property owners grow their businesses.”