Compare Mortgage Rates from Leeds Building Society Against the Market

Compare Leeds Building Society mortgage rates online

Founded in 1875, Leeds Building Society is a mutual that offers a range of products to help its customers save, buy their own home or remortgage. According to data released by UK Finance, they are the 12th biggest mortgage provider in the United Kingdom, with a market share of 1.3% and outstanding mortgage balances of 20.4 billion.

You can compare the latest rates from this lender against more than 90 others by using our free mortgage sourcing tool below:

What kind of mortgages do they offer?

Leeds Building Society offers a range of residential mortgages, including fixed-rate, tracker, discounted rate and other types of variable rate deals. They also offer buy-to-let mortgages for various property types, from holiday lets to houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs).

Their mortgage range includes specific products for:

• Remortgaging
• First-time buyers
• Existing customers
• Right to Buy, Shared Ownership and First Homes scheme customers

Leeds Building Society’s lending criteria

The exact eligibility requirements you will need to meet will vary depending on the type of mortgage you are applying for, but you can find their general criteria below:

• Deposit requirements: The minimum amount of deposit Leeds Building Society will accept is 5-10% of the property’s value, under most circumstances.
• Credit history: Can lend to borrowers with some forms of bad credit, such as county court judgements (CCJs) and repossessions, on a case-by-case basis. Acceptable adverse items include one missed mortgage payment within 12 months, and one satisfied CCJ or default up to £500 if repaid before 
• Age: The maximum age you can be at application is 85, or 85 at the end of the term. Stricter age caps apply for Shared Ownership and interest-only mortgages.
• Self-employed borrowers: Will need at least two years’ accounts and affordability will be based on average earnings over that period. Retained profit is not considered
• Income: Six months’ continuous employment needed for main and second jobs. Variable pay (overtime/bonus/commission) is treated as 50% for affordability unless contractual. Benefits accepted but capped as primary household income; maintenance only included if court-ordered or via CMS

What interest rates to expect

Leeds Building Society's mortgage rates are generally competitive with other regional building societies. The exact rate they will offer you will depend on the amount of deposit you have, the overall strength of your application and the type of product you choose.

How much will they let you borrow?

Leeds Building Society will typically cap your maximum borrowing at 4.5 times salary if you are a first-time buyer or the LTV exceeds 85%. However, their Income Plus range (five-year fixed) is available to first-time buyers as well as home movers and remortgages. This allows borrowing of up to 6x household income for some higher income thresholds at up to 95% LTV for first time buyers, and 90% LTV for movers/remortgages.

The maximum mortgage they can offer is up to £2 million.

You can enter you income into our calculator below to get a rough idea of what your maximum borrowing could be from lenders across the market:

Buy-to-let mortgage criteria

The criteria to get a buy-to-let mortgage from Leeds Building Society is as follows:

• Rental income: Basic rate taxpayers will need an interest cover ratio of 125%, higher rate taxpayers 145%, and additional rate 150%. They also use a standard stress test of 7%, although this percentage can vary depending on LTV.
• Deposit requirements: You will need at least 20% deposit to get approved, with some property types such as holiday lets needing at least 25%.
• Portfolio size: Portfolio landlords will only be approved by Leeds Building Society if they have no more than 10 buy-to-let properties on their books.
• Credit history: Will accept some types of bad credit, such as debt management plans, with conditions; but serious issues including recent debt relief orders or bankruptcies may trigger a rejection unless they were discharged over six years ago.
• Age: Leeds Building Society has no upper age limit for buy-to-let mortgage applicants either at application or at the end of the mortgage term.

What kind of reviews has Leeds Building Society had?

Leeds Building Society has generally positive reviews from its mortgage customers, with a current average rating of 4.4/5 on TrustPilot and 3.6/5 on Smart Money People.

Pros and cons

The table below shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of Leeds Building Society as a mortgage lender at a glance, to give you an idea about whether they are the right choice for you:

Get independent advice about Leeds Building Society mortgages

The most important thing to take on board here is that you need to compare Leeds Building Society mortgage range with that of other lenders across the market. Limiting yourself to just one lender could mean missing out on more suitable deals elsewhere.

There are brokers on our team who have a working relationship with this building society. They know their product range well and can compare them with every competitor across the market on your behalf to help you decide whether they are the perfect fit for you.

Here are just some of the reasons you should use us for your mortgage comparison needs:

• Our mortgage brokers are whole-of-market
• They often have access to exclusive rates and deals
• We are 5-star rated on leading review websites
• Your first consultation is FREE

Ready to see how Leeds Building Society's latest rates compare to deals from across the and speak to one of our brokers about their products? Get started here.