This hub tracks UK mortgage rates and the Bank of England decisions that move them. It covers the current Bank Rate, the average two-year and five-year fixed rates by loan-to-value band, what the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting is expected to do, what a 0.25 percentage point change actually means for a typical mortgage repayment, the affordability stress test lenders use to decide who qualifies, and the practical steps a household can take when remortgaging or buying. Primary sources: Bank of England MPC publications and Bank Rate database, FCA mortgage rules, and the daily best-buy trackers from HomeOwners Alliance, Rightmove, Uswitch, and Which?.

Today's MPC decision

The Monetary Policy Committee meets on Thursday 30 April 2026, with the decision and Monetary Policy Summary released at 12:00 BST. The vote split, the inflation forecast, and any change to the Bank Rate are all published in the same release. This section is updated within the hour after publication. Until then: the entry rate is 3.75% and market pricing has held as the consensus path.

Current Bank Rate

The Bank of England Bank Rate is 3.75%. The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously on 19 March 2026 to hold the rate at 3.75%, the second consecutive unchanged decision after the February 2026 hold. Bank Rate has been 3.75% since the November 2025 cut from 4.00%. The 12-month path has been a sequence of cuts and holds: 4.75% in mid-2024, 4.50% by November 2024, 4.25% by February 2025, 4.00% by August 2025, and 3.75% from November 2025.

What each option on 30 April means for your monthly repayment

The MPC has three options at every meeting: hold at the current rate, cut by 0.25 percentage points, or raise by 0.25 points. The committee has also voted by larger increments in past cycles, but the standard step is a quarter point.

For a typical £200,000 mortgage on a 25-year term, a 0.25 percentage point change on a variable or tracker product moves the monthly repayment by roughly £25 per month, or about £300 per year. The same step on a £400,000 mortgage moves the monthly figure by roughly £50, or £600 per year. Fixed-rate borrowers already on a deal see no immediate change at the meeting; new fixed offers reprice on what the swap-rate market expects the Bank to do over the next two to five years, which often moves before any MPC announcement.

Tracker and variable deals

A tracker explicitly follows Bank Rate plus a fixed margin. If your tracker is Bank Rate plus 0.99%, a Bank Rate cut to 3.50% takes your pay rate to 4.49% the following month. Standard variable rate deals are set at the lender's discretion. Lenders usually pass on rate cuts to SVR more slowly than rate rises.

Fixed-rate deals

A fix locks the rate for the deal period regardless of what Bank Rate does in between. The current fix expires when the deal ends, and the borrower then either reverts to the lender's SVR or remortgages onto a new deal at whatever the live market rate is at that point.

Average fixed mortgage rates by loan-to-value band

Best-buy rates depend heavily on the loan-to-value (LTV) ratio: how much of the property value is being borrowed. As of late April 2026, average new-business fixed rates run roughly:

  • 60% LTV (40% deposit or equity): the cheapest band. Two-year fixed deals from around 4.4 to 4.7%, five-year fixed around 4.5 to 4.8%.
  • 75% LTV: the standard remortgage band. Two-year fixed around 5.5 to 5.8%, five-year fixed around 5.5 to 5.7%.
  • 85% LTV: two-year fixed around 5.7 to 6.0%, five-year fixed around 5.6 to 5.9%.
  • 90% LTV: two-year fixed around 5.9 to 6.2%, five-year fixed around 5.8 to 6.1%.
  • 95% LTV: two-year fixed around 6.1 to 6.4%, five-year fixed around 6.0 to 6.3%. Most lenders accept 95% LTV applications only with the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme attached.

Two-year fixed rates rose sharply from around 4.25% before the late-February 2026 outbreak of the Iran conflict. The increase has added approximately £235 a month to a typical new mortgage on a £200,000 25-year term at 75% LTV.

The affordability stress test

Lenders are required by the FCA's MCOB rules to test whether the applicant can keep paying the mortgage under a higher interest rate scenario. The stress test was loosened in August 2022 when the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee withdrew its 3% above-SVR rule, but the FCA's underlying requirement remains: lenders must consider how rates may rise during the deal.

In practice this means most lenders stress test new applications at the rate the borrower would pay if the deal ended and they reverted to the lender's SVR, plus a buffer of around 1 to 3 percentage points. For a household applying at a 5.5% two-year fix, that often translates to an affordability check at 7 to 8.5%. Mortgage offers fail at this stage when the household budget cannot service the higher hypothetical rate, even though the actual deal rate is lower.

Buy-to-let rates and rules

Buy-to-let mortgages run separately from owner-occupier deals. As of late April 2026, average two-year fixed BTL rates sit around 5.6 to 6.0% on standard 75% LTV deals. The product fees are typically higher than residential, and many BTL fixes include a percentage-of-loan fee rather than a flat fee. Rental cover requirements (the rent the property must generate against the mortgage interest) are set by lenders at typically 125% to 145% of the interest payment depending on the borrower's tax band and the property type. Limited-company BTL structures often qualify for the lower rental cover threshold.

If you are remortgaging in 2026

About 1.6 million UK fixed-rate mortgages come up for renewal in 2026 (UK Finance figure). Households rolling off pre-2022 fixed deals at 2 to 3% are repricing into the 5 to 6% range. On a typical mortgage that adds £200 to £400 a month.

Six steps to take in the run-up

  1. Lock in a new rate up to six months before your current deal ends. Most lenders allow this and most fixed offers can be cancelled at no cost if rates fall before the new deal starts.
  2. Use a whole-of-market broker if your case is non-standard. Self-employed income, high loan-to-value, large deposits sourced from gifts or sales, and complex employment all benefit from a broker who knows which lenders will and will not accept those features.
  3. Pick the deal length deliberately. A two-year fix gives you the option to remortgage again sooner if rates fall. A five-year fix gives certainty if rates stay where they are or rise further. The right choice depends on your forecast of where Bank Rate goes, not on which fix is cheapest today.
  4. Check the LTV band. Overpaying within your current deal's allowance (typically 10% of the balance per year without early repayment charges) before switching can drop you into a cheaper LTV band on the new deal.
  5. Check the product fee against the rate. A lower headline rate with a £1,500 product fee may be more expensive over a two-year fix than a higher rate with no fee.
  6. Use a fee-free broker if possible. Most UK mortgage brokers are paid by the lender and charge no fee to the borrower.

If you cannot pay your mortgage

The FCA Mortgage Charter (signed by lenders covering more than 90% of UK mortgages in June 2023, extended in February 2026) gives households several protections when payments are stretched:

  • Switch to interest-only payments for up to six months without an affordability check.
  • Extend the mortgage term to lower the monthly payment, with the right to revert within six months if circumstances change.
  • No repossession within twelve months of a missed payment without consent.

Households facing trouble should contact the lender before missing a payment. Failure to pay damages credit history regardless of why the payment was missed; an arrangement made in advance preserves the credit file.

Glossary

  • Bank Rate: the rate the Bank of England charges commercial banks for short-term loans. Set by the MPC. Drives variable mortgage rates directly and fixed mortgage rates indirectly.
  • MPC: Monetary Policy Committee. Nine members. Meets eight times a year. Sets Bank Rate by majority vote.
  • LTV: Loan-to-value. The mortgage as a percentage of the property value. 75% LTV means a 25% deposit.
  • SVR: Standard variable rate. The rate a borrower reverts to when their fixed or tracker deal ends. Set by the lender, typically 2 to 4 percentage points above Bank Rate.
  • Tracker: a deal that explicitly follows Bank Rate plus a fixed margin. Moves automatically with every MPC decision.
  • Fix: a deal at a fixed interest rate for a set period (typically two, three, five, or ten years).
  • Swap rate: the wholesale market rate at which banks lend to each other for set periods. New fixed mortgage offers price off swap rates, not Bank Rate directly.
  • Stress test: the FCA-required affordability check at a higher hypothetical rate (usually SVR plus 1 to 3 percentage points).

MPC schedule for 2026

Eight scheduled MPC meetings per year. The remaining 2026 dates after April are:

  • Thursday 19 June 2026
  • Thursday 7 August 2026
  • Thursday 18 September 2026
  • Thursday 6 November 2026
  • Thursday 18 December 2026

Decisions are released at 12:00 BST/GMT on the meeting day. The Monetary Policy Summary, voting record, and Monetary Policy Report (when applicable) are published alongside.

Where to check the live numbers