Retirement: Banks offer 'later life' mortgages to meet UK ageing population

In all, 19 banks and building societies are offering later life deals.

The news is a welcome boost for the elderly, who have spent years struggling to find lenders willing to provide them with mortgages.

Last week, Nationwide launched a new range of retirement mortgages to help older borrowers boost their retirement income and provide them with more flexible options to use the equity in their property.

This week, Santander increased the maximum age and term on its range of buy-to-let mortgages, to meet the demand from its older customers.

Santander has increased the maximum age at the end of the mortgage term from 75 to 85 and the maximum mortgage term on its buy-to-let range from 25 years to 40 years.

This means that someone retiring at the age of 65 could potentially take out a buy-to-let mortgage with Santander for 20 years – provided they meet the bank’s criteria for lending.

Previously, the oldest you could be to take out a mortgage for the maximum term of 25 years was 50.

Now, someone deciding to become a landlord at the age of 45 could borrow for four decades before the loan needs to be repaid.

Analysis by consumer group Which? of data from Moneyfacts found that, of 2,057 buy-to-let deals currently on the market, almost two-thirds, 65 per cent, have a maximum age at the end of the term of 85 and above.

A Which? spokesman said: “This means there are plenty of options for older buy-to-let borrowers – 55 per cent of buy-to-let deals are available to those aged 50 at the start of the loan.

“However, a fair chunk have low maximum ages and shorter maximum terms. We found 230 deals, 16 per cent of the market, are only available to those aged 35 or under at the start of the loan.”

Landlords are facing a raft of new rules and regulations this year.

They have been forced to improve the energy efficiency of properties or face a potential fine, while in June the Government ban on charging tenants lettings fees will kick in.