HMO landlords can borrow up to 80% loan-to-value on new broker-only deals from Kent Reliance.

Deals include two and three year fixed and discounted deals starting at 5.19% for HMOs, student landlords and limited companies.

Kent Reliance is one of just a handful of banks and building societies considering applications from landlords for HMOs.

Platform – the buy to let subsidiary of the Co-op Bank – has trimmed rates on two-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgages by 0.20%.

Loans are available up to 75% loan to value on the standard range and 65% LTV for ‘premier’ products.

The deals include a free valuation and free legal fees for remortgages.

BM Solutions has also shaved 0.20% from all buy-to-let mortgages – including fixed and tracker loans.

The lender – part of the Lloyds Banking Group – also cut the cost of borrowing by up to 0.30% on selected landlord mortgages earlier this month.

BM Solutions has introduced some new fixed rate products at 75% loan to value, with a fee option of £995 or 0.50% of the amount borrowed.

BM Solutions Phil Rickards, said: “This is our second round of price reductions in as many weeks. By launching some new deals and reducing all rates in the current range, we’re shaking up competition in the buy-to-let market.”

The Mortgage Works (TMW) has released a free affordability app for iPhone and iPad after launching Android and Blackberry versions last November.

The app calculates how much TMW will lend after landlords enter the estimated purchase price rental income on a property in to their smartphone.

Paragon Mortgages revealed one in four applications handled by intermediaries are for buy to let mortgages – up from one in five a year ago, according to the lender’s latest research.

The survey discovered 40% of landlords are taking loans to buy more investment properties, while 30% are remortgaging for better mortgage deals.

Mortgage brokers increased their buy to let business by 4.5% in the final three months of 2011, said the lender.