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HTG Mortgages

HTG Mortgages

Buy to Let Mortgage Broker in Portsmouth

Last Updated: September 2026

Featured in The Telegraph • Daily Mail • The Times • Sky News

Portsmouth has the highest gross rental yield of anywhere I cover, at 6.50%, and it is the one local authority in the area where an average property clears the rental cover test lenders apply with real room to spare. UK Finance counted 282 new buy to let purchase loans in the city in 2025, worth £49.72m. I am a Winchester based broker and buy to let is most of my work.

Portsmouth has the highest gross rental yield in the area I cover, at 6.50%

282 new buy to let purchase loans written in Portsmouth in 2025, worth £49.72m (UK Finance)

28.6% of Portsmouth households rent privately, up from 24.7% in 2011 (ONS Census 2021)

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As featured in…

Harry Goodliffe, director and FCA-authorised mortgage advisor at HTG Mortgages, at his desk

Meet your Advisor

Harry Goodliffe

  • FCA Authorised
  • Director & Mortgage Advisor

“I‘m not about confusing jargon or passing you from person to person. From our first chat to the day you get the keys, you’ll deal directly with me. I‘ll keep you updated, answer any burning questions, and do everything I can to make the whole process as stress-free as possible.”

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How a Portsmouth buy to let case runs

1

Step 1

First Chat

We talk about the property, the rent it achieves or should achieve, and how you want to hold it. Nothing is charged for this.

2

Step 2

Research

I compare options across more than 120 lenders, including limited company and SPV, and run the rental cover test properly so you know before you offer whether the numbers work.

3

Step 3

Application

I submit the application and deal with the lender, the valuer and your solicitor.

4

Step 4

Completion

Your mortgage offer is issued and my flat £350 fee becomes payable. If no offer is issued, there is no fee.

About

Our approach.

What the numbers say about Portsmouth

Most Portsmouth buy to let pages tell you the city has strong rental demand and stop there. Here is the actual arithmetic. Using HM Land Registry and ONS UK House Price Index data for May 2026 and ONS Price Index of Private Rents data for June 2026, I ran the rental cover test across all 16 local authorities I cover. At 75% loan to value and a 5.5% stress rate, on a higher rate taxpayer in their own name at 145% rental cover, only two of the 16 pass on an average property. Portsmouth is the strongest of them, clearing by roughly £109 a month. Southampton is the other, at roughly £78. Gosport misses by £18. At the other end of the range, East Hampshire sits at a 3.44% gross yield and Winchester at 3.79%. These are averages for the local authority, not a valuation of any particular property, and every lender uses its own surveyor’s rent assessment, its own cover ratio and its own stress rate.

Rate Ending Soon

An average property clears the 145% rental cover test in personal name by roughly £109 a month, the strongest margin in the area

Rental Cover Shortfalls

One of the few places where buying in your own name is still a real option rather than an afterthought

Releasing Equity

A flat £350 fee, payable only once your mortgage offer is issued

Limited Company & Portfolio

I do not take HMO cases, which rules out a large part of the Portsmouth market. I will tell you that up front

Speak to an expert

Looking at a Portsmouth buy to let and want to know if the numbers stack up before you offer? Call me on 01425 203055 or email info@htgmortgages.com.

Get in touch

How I help Portsmouth landlords

Portsmouth is one of the densest rental markets in the south. ONS Census 2021 recorded 28.6% of Portsmouth households in the private rented sector, up from 24.7% in 2011. Because an average Portsmouth property passes the test in personal name, this is one of the few places where the personal name versus limited company question is genuinely open rather than settled in advance. A lot of brokers push everyone toward a company. On these numbers that is not automatically right here, and it is worth working through properly with your accountant. I am independent and whole of market across more than 120 lenders, I charge a flat £350 payable only on mortgage offer, and you deal with me from the first call through to completion.

Who I work with in Portsmouth

I work with first time landlords buying their first Portsmouth rental, landlords buying through a limited company or SPV, portfolio landlords with four or more mortgaged properties, people remortgaging a Portsmouth buy to let as a fixed rate ends, and accidental landlords who never planned to let a property and now need a mortgage that fits. I do not take HMO cases, which matters in Portsmouth because the city has a large HMO market, and I do not offer equity release.

Why use HTG’s mortgage services?

Available 24/7, so we are always there to help when you need us

We are an independently owned, whole-of-market mortgage broker offering first-charge mortgages

We provide unrivalled customer service, ensuring that you get the care you deserve

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Let’s get your mortgage sorted

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Frequently Asked Questions

Have another question?

On the rental cover test, it is the strongest area I cover. At 75% loan to value and a 5.5% stress rate, an average Portsmouth property clears a higher rate taxpayer at 145% cover by roughly £109 a month, and the gross yield of 6.50% is the highest of the 16 local authorities in my figures. That is about the average property, not about any specific one, and whether a particular flat or house works depends on its own rent and the lender’s own assessment.

It is not a fixed number, it is a calculation. Lenders stress-test whether the rent would still cover the mortgage interest at a rate above the one you are paying, then require the rent to exceed that figure by 125% or 145% depending on your tax position and whether you are borrowing personally or through a company. Working that out for a specific property before you offer is the single most useful thing I do, and it is free. There are rent and borrowing calculators on the buy to let hub.

In most of this area the answer is pushed toward a limited company because the rental cover test is easier at 125% than at 145%. Portsmouth is one of the few places where an average property passes at 145% anyway, so the decision is genuinely open. It also has a tax answer as well as a mortgage answer, so your accountant should be part of it. Company rates and fees are usually higher, so the easier test does not automatically mean the cheaper mortgage. See limited company buy to let.

Buy to let lenders want a larger deposit than a residential purchase, and how much you actually need is driven by the rental cover test rather than a headline percentage. Because Portsmouth yields are the strongest in the area, the deposit needed to make the sums work is generally lower here than elsewhere in Hampshire. That is the practical reason a lot of landlords who live further inland end up buying on the coast.

Portsmouth has the higher yield at 6.50% and the wider margin on the cover test, roughly £109 a month against Southampton’s £78. Southampton is the bigger market by lending volume, 340 purchase loans in 2025 against Portsmouth’s 282. Plenty of landlords look at both, and I am happy to run the numbers on properties in either. See buy to let in Southampton.

No. I do not arrange HMO mortgages. Portsmouth has a large HMO and student market, so this rules me out of a real slice of the local business, and I would rather say so at the start than three weeks in. Single lets are fine, including a student let on a single tenancy.

Yes, and it is a large part of my work. If your fixed rate ends within the next six months it is worth looking now, because most lenders let you secure the next rate three to six months ahead. Start with the buy to let hub.

A flat £350, payable only once your mortgage offer is issued. The same fee whether the loan is £120,000 or £400,000, and the same whether the property is held personally or in a company. If no offer is issued there is no fee. Here is how a flat fee compares with percentage broker fees.


Harry Goodliffe
Written by Harry Goodliffe
Director & Mortgage Adviser, HTG Mortgages  ·  FCA Authorised (1017945)
CeMAP Qualified  ·  Featured in National Press  ·  South England Prestige Awards 2026/27 winner

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