Service personnel are, on paper, attractive borrowers: steady salaries, clear career structures and employer support. In practice, postings, BFPO addresses and discharge dates can confuse lenders who don't deal with the forces often. Here is how the main routes work in 2026, and where people trip up.
Forces Help to Buy: for your own home, not a rental
Forces Help to Buy lets eligible regular personnel borrow up to 50% of their salary, to a maximum of £25,000, interest-free, towards buying their own home. It became an enduring MOD policy from 1 January 2023 and is still running: MOD statistics for April 2025 to March 2026 show 2,483 payments made in the year.
Two points matter for investors. First, it is designed for a home you live in, not a buy-to-let. Second, eligibility rules apply, including minimum time left to serve, and reservists are excluded. Check the current GOV.UK guidance before you plan around it.
What buy-to-let lenders look for
A buy-to-let mortgage is assessed differently from a residential one. Expect lenders to focus on:
- Deposit: commonly 25% of the purchase price, sometimes less with higher rates or more with specialist property.
- Rental cover: the expected rent must exceed the mortgage payment by a set margin, tested at a stress interest rate. The margin is usually higher for higher-rate taxpayers.
- Your own income and credit: many lenders want a minimum personal income and a clean credit file, even when the rent covers the mortgage.
- The property itself: HMOs, flats above shops or non-standard construction narrow the lender list.
Since Section 24 restricted finance cost relief, and with separate property income tax rates of 22%, 42% and 47% arriving from April 2027 for personally owned property, many investors now compare buying in their own name with buying through a limited company. That is a tax decision: take advice from an accountant before you apply, because it changes which mortgage products you need.
Timing around your discharge date
Lenders like continuity. If you apply while serving, your salary is straightforward to evidence. If you apply in the months after leaving, a new job may still be on probation, or self-employed income may need one or two years of accounts. Speak to a broker early in your resettlement, not after it. Our resettlement property guide sets out the full order of steps.
Posted overseas: consent to let and BFPO addresses
If you already own a home and are posted, you may want to rent it out. Normally that needs consent to let from your lender, and some lenders would push you onto a buy-to-let product. In May 2025, 25 building societies, including Nationwide and Yorkshire Building Society, pledged that personnel posted overseas can let their home without moving to buy-to-let rates or changing their mortgage. The pledge is voluntary, so confirm your lender's position and get the terms in writing.
Some high-street lenders, including HSBC and First Direct, state that they accept BFPO addresses. Government guidance notes that some lenders make special allowances for service people who have spent significant time abroad in the past three years. If a lender's system can't handle your address history, a broker who regularly works with the forces can find one that can.
Broker checklist before you apply
- Payslips and your service dates, including any confirmed discharge date.
- Proof of deposit and where it came from (for example, a gratuity or savings).
- Your address history, with BFPO addresses written in the correct format.
- A clear plan: own name or company, single let or HMO, target rent.
- A letter from your Commanding Officer if the lender asks for confirmation of posting.
Questions
Can I use Forces Help to Buy for a buy-to-let property?
Forces Help to Buy is designed to help service personnel buy a home to live in, not an investment property. Check the current eligibility rules on GOV.UK before relying on it.
Can I rent out my house if I am posted overseas?
Usually yes, with consent to let from your lender. Many building societies pledged in 2025 to allow this for personnel posted overseas without moving them onto buy-to-let rates. Confirm with your own lender in writing.
Is it easier to get a mortgage before or after leaving the forces?
For most people, before. While serving, your income is stable and simple to evidence. After discharge, a new job or self-employment may need a track record before lenders will use it.
Sources
- Forces Help to Buy — GOV.UK
- Forces Help to Buy statistics 2025 to 2026 — GOV.UK
- Building societies pledge support for armed forces personnel — PoliticsHome
- Financial top tips for service personnel — GOV.UK
- Autumn Budget 2025: property taxation changes — CMS
This guide is general information, not financial, tax, legal or mortgage advice. Rules described apply to England unless stated; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland differ in places. Property investment carries risk, including the risk of loss. Always take independent professional advice. James Property University is not affiliated with the Ministry of Defence.