Buy-to-let mortgage searches hit one of their highest-ever seven-day totals last month as landlords prepare for looming regulatory changes.

Activity on 18 March 2025 reached twice the volume of the previous day, according to adviser tech platform Twenty7tec, with the surge contributing to the seven-day peak.

It comes as many landlords look to restructure their property portfolios as a result of the Renters’ Rights Bill and new Stamp Duty rules and amid growing concern about affordability, tax burdens and the increased regulation expected to come into force in the second half of 2025.

Twenty7tec believes that while recent changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – including the reduction of the general nil-rate threshold to £125,000 – are prompting some investors to re-evaluate their long-term strategies, the record spike in mortgage search activity is more closely linked to landlords remortgaging to future-proof their portfolios ahead of regulatory shifts.

Its data shows a 22.9% month-on-month rise in buy-to-let mortgage searches in the £150,000–£250,000 bracket – significantly higher than the 6.4% growth in residential searches.

Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec says: “As new changes appear on the horizon, we are noticing that landlords are acting more decisively when it comes to their next steps. There’s more choice than ever for buy-to-let landlords, but with external pressures mounting, the next few months will be telling as to whether landlords stay the course, adapt their strategies – or begin to exit the market altogether.”