Two major lenders pulled their entire mortgage ranges on 24 March as swap markets lurched. Dudley Building Society halted all fixed-rate deals at 6pm. Vida Homeloans followed at midnight. Meanwhile, Barclays, Nottingham Building Society, and five other lenders hiked rates hard - some by as much as 80 basis points (where 1 bps = 0.01%).
If you're mid-application or watching your fix expire, here's what the numbers look like.
What Just Happened
Dudley went dark on both residential and buy-to-let mortgages, stating (per Mortgage Finance Gazette) they were "working hard to bring refreshed fixed-rate options back to market as soon as possible." Vida pulled the lot citing "exceptional and rapidly changing market conditions" - though it planned to relaunch the following morning.
That's not unusual in a volatile week. What stung harder was the repricing across the board.
Nottingham Building Society raised rates by up to 80bps. Barclays added 55bps. Accord hiked buy-to-let product transfers 46bps. Pepper Money, Kent Reliance, and Saffron all repriced upward (per Mortgage Finance Gazette, 24 March 2026).
The Cost Per Month
Let's run the numbers on a £200k BTL (buy-to-let) mortgage on an interest-only basis. At 5.5% you're paying £917 a month. If rates move up 80bps to 6.3%, that same mortgage costs £1,050 per month. That's an extra £133 a month - £1,596 a year - locked in for five years.
An 80bps move isn't academic. The Moneyfacts average mortgage rate had already surged 59bps since early March (per Mortgage Finance Gazette).
If your fix expires in the next 12 months, rates like these won't be a surprise - but delaying to hope they fall again costs real money every month you don't act. You may wish to speak to your broker about where you stand with your current lender and whether moving early makes sense for your deal structure.
