Updated 12 October 2026
UK Mortgage Rates Update
Where UK mortgage rates sit right now, what's moving, and what it means for anyone looking to apply or remortgage. Refreshed after every Bank of England rate decision by Phillip Wakeling-Smith (CeMAP).
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We do not perform any credit searches. The results provided are for information purposes only and do not constitute mortgage advice. For personalised advice, please consult a qualified mortgage adviser.
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What the check does for you
- 57 lenders at once. We check your affordability against all 57 lenders in our calculator at the same time, using each lender's own calculator where available, otherwise a model of its published criteria.
- A figure from each lender. See an estimate of how much each lender could lend you, sorted from highest to lowest, with a breakdown of how each lender's criteria treat your figures.
- No credit search. Your credit score is not affected, the check typically takes about 5 minutes, and estimates are fine: nothing is verified.
Why it's worth checking more than one lender: in our 29 August 2026 run, for a single first-time buyer, £30,000, our calculator estimated a maximum of £174,721 at Darlington Building Society but only £103,422 at Family Building Society, a £71,299 (69%) difference based purely on each lender's published criteria, with no change to income, deposit or circumstances. These are estimates, not offers. Lenders have raised rates since, so today's figures may be lower.
Headline rates
BoE Base Rate
3.75%
since December 2025
Best-buy 2/5-yr fixes
4.9–5.1%
at 60% LTV; only 9 fixes priced below 5% on 5 October 2026
5-yr swap rate
4.7%
on 8 October 2026, up from 3.5% in late February 2026
Next MPC decision
5 November 2026
announced 12pm UK
What's moving
- The Bank of England held the base rate at 3.75% — unchanged since the move that took effect in Dec 2025.
- Average 2-year fixed rates sit around 5.98% and 5-year fixes around 6% as at 5 October 2026 (Moneyfacts data). This is the market-wide average across all LTV tiers; headline "from" rates at lower LTVs sit below it.
- Mainstream best-buy 2 and 5-year fixed rates were around 4.9–5.1% at 60% LTV on 5 October 2026. Only 9 fixed deals were priced below 5% on 5 October 2026, down from 1,494 at the start of September (Moneyfacts data). Tracker rates are set as a margin above Bank Rate, and the margin varies by lender and LTV.
- Lender stress rates for residential affordability typically run at about 6.25–8.5%, usually above the product rate. TSB, for example, uses 6.25% on fixes of 5 years or more and 6.75% on shorter fixes and trackers (or the product rate +1% if that is higher). Some lenders assess 5-year-plus fixes at or close to the product rate itself.
Why fixed rates rose while Bank Rate was on hold
Lenders do not price fixed deals off Bank Rate. They price them off swap rates — what it costs them to borrow money for a fixed term on wholesale markets. Swaps move with gilt yields and with what markets expect Bank Rate to do next, so fixed pricing can climb in a month when Bank Rate has not moved at all. That is what happened in September. In early October swaps levelled off, and Santander and Yorkshire Building Society trimmed some fixed rates in the week to 9 October.
2-year swap
3.3% → 4.6%
late February 2026 to 8 October 2026
5-year swap
3.5% → 4.7%
late February 2026 to 8 October 2026
Bank of England SONIA (OIS) curve, 8 October 2026. Fixed-rate pricing adds each lender's margin on top.
Swap rates rose by about a third of a point during September, peaking around 23 September, and have held near that level in early October.
Lenders have followed
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB each raised fixed rates three or more times during September. Those are the moves that have been publicly reported rather than a full survey of the market, so treat them as the direction of travel rather than a complete list. Commentary as at 5 October 2026 (Moneyfacts). Family Building Society withdrew all its fixed rates on 4 September and relaunched a repriced range on 16 September. (Source: Family Building Society's own announcement.)
What it costs in practice
A quarter-point on a fixed rate is not abstract. On a £250,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years, moving from 5.98% to 6.23% adds roughly £38 a month, or about £460 over a year. That is the scale of what a repricing round moves for one borrower.
None of this tells you whether to fix, and nobody can say where rates go next. What it does mean is that what a deal costs can change between repricing rounds, so it is worth checking that any rate you were quoted is still the one on offer. See an estimate of what 57 lenders could lend you — free, and no credit search.
Should I fix or wait?
Bank Rate is on hold, but markets now price rises rather than cuts, and the Governor has warned that a rise becomes more likely the longer energy prices stay high. The average 2-year and 5-year fixes cost almost the same (5.98% and 6% on 5 October 2026), so the case for a 2-year fix is flexibility rather than a cheaper rate. A 5-year fix protects you for longer if rates keep rising, but you would usually pay an early repayment charge to leave if they fell.
How the next MPC decision could affect fixed rates
The MPC held Bank Rate at 3.75% at its most recent meeting on 17 September 2026, on a 6–3 vote — six members voted to hold and three preferred a rise. That repeats the split at the previous meeting on 30 July. The next scheduled decision is 5 November 2026. Nobody can say in advance what the MPC will decide, but here is what each outcome would generally mean, and how the timing mechanics work regardless of the decision:
- If Bank Rate is held: no direct change to swap rates, though lenders may keep repricing fixed deals independently of the base rate. With Bank Rate on hold, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and TSB each raised fixed rates three or more times during September.
- If Bank Rate is cut: swap rates and fixed-rate pricing would typically be expected to fall, all else equal, though lenders often price in an anticipated cut before it happens.
- If Bank Rate is raised (as three MPC members preferred in July and September): fixed-rate pricing would typically be expected to firm up or rise, all else equal.
On timing mechanics: most lenders let you reserve a product-transfer or new-purchase rate 3–6 months before completion or before your current deal ends. If you lock a rate and the lender's pricing then falls before you complete, most lenders will let you switch to the lower rate on request — this varies by lender, so check your offer terms or ask your broker. Locking early protects you if rates rise in the meantime; it doesn't guarantee you the lowest possible rate if they fall.
If your deal ends in the next six months
You have two routes. A product transfer moves you to a new rate with your current lender, usually without a fresh affordability check if you are not borrowing more. A remortgage moves you to a new lender, which usually re-runs affordability (some lenders use a lighter check if you're not borrowing more) and needs a valuation and legal work, but lets you choose from other lenders' rates. Either way, the outcome to avoid is drifting onto your lender's standard variable rate when the fix ends.
See how today's rates affect your borrowing
Our calculator runs your figures against current lender criteria — including the stress rates lenders apply right now.
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