Mortgage Soup fires the questions at Rob Stanton, sales & distribution director at Landbay.

Mortgage Soup (MS): What do brokers need from buy-to-let lenders right now: consistency, clarity and confidence?

Rob Stanton (RS): Recent weeks have again underlined just how quickly the buy-to-let market can shift, with brokers navigating frequent repricing, changing lender positions and continued uncertainty around rates, regulation and landlord sentiment.

That kind of environment creates pressure across the market, not only for landlords trying to make the numbers work, but also for brokers who need to place cases with confidence and move quickly before conditions change again.

From Landbay’s perspective, what we try to do is be a lender that is consistently present with our products, service and communication. There has been no shortage of volatility in recent weeks, and while that can create short-term opportunities, it also tests how dependable lenders really are when brokers need certainty most.

In that context, we believe the lenders that stand out are those that can combine competitive pricing with speed, clarity and a genuine understanding of broker needs.

MS: How is the professionalisation of the landlord space shifting the market?

RS: There has been a lot of debate around the future of buy-to-let, particularly as tax pressures, regulatory reform and affordability challenges continue to shape landlord behaviour. However, the underlying need for rental accommodation has not disappeared, and that is why the sector continues to show resilience even as the operating environment becomes more complex.

What is changing, as the question says, is the profile of the market. Landlords have become more professional, more deliberate in how they structure their borrowing and more focused on long-term sustainability.

That means brokers are increasingly dealing with clients who are thinking carefully about cash flow, ownership structures, property type and yield.

For lenders, that creates a clear responsibility. The role is no longer just to provide access to finance, but to support brokers with a specialist proposition that reflects the realities of a more professional, more considered landlord borrower profile.

MS: Why is remortgage flexibility such a major priority right now?

RS: One of the clearest themes in the current market is the importance of remortgage activity, as landlords look to meet affordability and manage monthly costs in a higher-rate environment.

For many clients, there is more to refinancing than simply securing a new rate; it is about preserving cash flow and maintaining certainty.

That is why speed and flexibility have become so important, and where product design and operational capability start to matter just as much as headline pricing.

Features such as Landbay has introduced – AVMs and assisted legal options, for example – can make a significant difference, particularly on remortgage business, because they help reduce both time and upfront costs at a point when landlords are paying very close attention to both.

MS: Is speed enough, or does clarity matter just as much?

RS: Broker expectations have risen considerably, and understandably so. In a fast-moving market, brokers want their answers to be as quick as they are clear.

They want to know what criteria mean in practice, whether a lender is likely to stay in the market, how quickly a case can move and whether there is someone available to support them when a scenario becomes more complicated, especially in buy-to-let, where cases can be much more complex.

In that kind of environment, speed on its own is clearly not enough. It may not even be desirable or required. Brokers tell us they want, and need, consistency. A lender may have an attractive product one day, but if communication is poor or service is unpredictable, that can quickly undermine trust.

This is why lenders that offer a combination of accessibility, specialist knowledge and stable service levels are likely to be the ones that brokers return to repeatedly.

MS: Why is complexity becoming more common in buy-to-let cases?

RS: Brokers are increasingly seeing cases involving larger portfolios, specialist property types and more structured approaches to ownership and tax. That reflects the wider direction of the sector, as landlords respond to changes in tax, regulation and returns by taking a more strategic approach to how they acquire, hold and refinance property.

There is also continued, and growing, appetite in areas such as HMOs and multi-unit freehold blocks, where yield remains a key driver for maintaining viable returns. For brokers, this creates both opportunity and responsibility. More complex cases require more rounded advice, while lender choice becomes increasingly important.

Not every structure will fit every lender, and not every lender will have the criteria, systems or support needed to handle that business smoothly. As a result, lender specialism is becoming increasingly important.

MS: Does technology really improve outcomes for brokers and borrowers?

RS: The focus on technology in the mortgage market should be on whether it genuinely improves the experience for brokers and borrowers, not just whether lenders are investing in it.

In-house systems offer agility, enabling quick repricing and process streamlining. However, technology must serve a purpose; if it does not improve certainty, speed or usability, it risks becoming little more than a talking point.

For brokers, the best technology is often the least visible. It is the kind that shortens timeframes, reduces friction, supports quicker decisions and gives greater confidence that a case can proceed without unnecessary complications.

That is especially important in a specialist market where timing, nuance and case management all matter. In those situations, excellent technology can be a genuine differentiator.