As at 14 September 2026 the best remortgage rates in the UK start at about 4.06% at 60% loan-to-value, 4.18% at 75% and 4.23% at 80%, with the leading two-year fix at 4.64% and the leading five-year fix at 4.69%. The Bank of England base rate is 3.75%, discounted variable remortgage deals begin around 4.39%, and standard variable rates — the rate you fall onto if you do nothing — typically sit between 6.5% and 7.5%.
That last figure is the whole point. On a £200,000 balance over 25 years, lapsing from a 4.64% fix onto a 7.0% standard variable rate costs an extra £286 a month, or £3,431 a year. This guide sets out what remortgage pricing actually looks like right now, why average rates across the market are almost a full percentage point above the best buys, which fees quietly erode a headline saving, and how to run a break-even calculation before you commit. Figures are dated because they move weekly; this is general information rather than advice, and your own circumstances should be checked with a qualified mortgage adviser or FCA-regulated broker before you act.
Where Remortgage Rates Stand in September 2026
The Bank of England base rate is 3.75%. The Monetary Policy Committee held it at that level at both its June and July 2026 meetings, and the next decision falls on 17 September 2026. Three years of cuts have flattened out, and the market is no longer pricing an obvious downward path.
Mortgage pricing has responded by drifting upward rather than down. Bank of England data shows the effective interest rate on newly drawn mortgages rose to 4.45% in July 2026 from 4.35% in June, while the rate on the outstanding stock of mortgages edged up to 3.97%. Moneyfacts reported several of the lowest fixed rates increasing in early September as lenders repriced. If you have been waiting for a better number, the evidence of the past three months is that waiting has cost money rather than saved it.
Here is what the market actually offers on remortgage products at the time of writing, according to Moneyfacts’ remortgage comparison, which lists 5,257 products.
| Product | Best initial rate | APRC | Max LTV | Cost per month on £200,000 over 25 years |
| Lowest rate at 60% LTV | 4.06% | 6.9% | 60% | £1,062 |
| Lowest rate at 75% LTV | 4.18% | 6.9% | 75% | £1,076 |
| Lowest rate at 80% LTV | 4.23% | 6.9% | 80% | £1,081 |
| Discounted variable | 4.39% | 5.7% | 75% | £1,099 |
| Two-year fixed | 4.64% | 6.2% | 60% | £1,128 |
| Three-year fixed | 4.67% | 5.6% | 60% | £1,131 |
| Five-year fixed | 4.69% | 6.1% | 60% | £1,133 |
| Ten-year fixed | 5.01% | 5.6% | 60% | £1,170 |
Two things in that table are worth dwelling on. The first is the APRC column, which shows the cost over the full term including the revert rate. An initial rate of 4.64% with an APRC of 6.2% tells you the lender’s follow-on rate is high, and that column is the most honest signal of what happens if you fail to switch again at the end of the deal.
The second is that the lowest headline rates in each LTV band sit below the best fixed rates. That is because the cheapest products in a band are frequently trackers, discounts or fee-heavy fixes with restrictive criteria. A 4.06% rate you cannot qualify for is worth less than a 4.64% rate you can.
Why the average rate is a percentage point higher than the best buy
Comparison headlines quote best buys. The market average is a different number entirely. Moneyfacts recorded average two- and five-year fixed rates reaching 5.62% and 5.64% in July 2026 across all products and all LTVs, roughly a full percentage point above the best-buy figures above. On £200,000 over 25 years that gap is the difference between £1,128 and £1,243 a month, or £1,380 a year.
The averages are higher because they include 90% and 95% LTV products, adverse-credit lending, specialist and small building society products, and deals with restrictive criteria. If you have 40% equity, clean credit and employed income, you should be paying close to the best-buy number. If you are told you cannot, ask which specific criterion is the obstacle, because that is usually fixable.
What a Remortgage Actually Is
Remortgaging means replacing your existing mortgage with a new one, either with your current lender or a different one, on the same property. It is not the same as moving home and it is not the same as a second mortgage. Most UK homeowners remortgage because an introductory fixed or discounted period is ending, but people also remortgage to borrow more, to change the term, to move from interest-only to repayment, or to remove or add a name after a change in circumstances.
There are two distinct routes. A product transfer keeps you with your existing lender on a new deal: it is fast, usually needs no new affordability assessment or valuation, and often has no legal fees. A full remortgage moves you to a new lender: it takes longer, requires underwriting and conveyancing, but frequently accesses better pricing. In practice a large share of UK borrowers take the product transfer purely because it is easier, and never test whether the open market would have been cheaper.
Remortgaging is currently the healthier half of the mortgage market. Bank of England figures for July 2026 show remortgage approvals for a different lender rising to 34,500 from 34,100 in June, while approvals for house purchase fell to 56,100 from 58,200 and net mortgage borrowing dropped to £4.3 billion from £7.7 billion. People are not buying; they are refinancing. That means lenders are competing hard for switchers, which is a good position to negotiate from.
Types of Remortgage Rate Available in the UK
| Rate type | How it works | September 2026 pricing | Suits |
| Two-year fixed | Rate locked for 24 months | From 4.64%; market average nearer 5.6% | Expecting to move or repay soon |
| Five-year fixed | Rate locked for 60 months | From 4.69%; market average nearer 5.6% | Wanting long-term budget certainty |
| Ten-year fixed | Rate locked for a decade | From 5.01% | Very long-term stability, low move risk |
| Base rate tracker | Base rate plus a set margin | Base + roughly 0.5%–1.2%, so 4.25%–4.95% | Comfortable with payment movement |
| Discounted variable | Lender SVR minus a discount | From 4.39% at 75% LTV | Short-term flexibility |
| Offset | Savings reduce interest charged | Usually 0.2%–0.5% above equivalent fix | Large cash savings, higher-rate taxpayers |
| Standard variable rate | Lender’s default rate | Typically 6.5%–7.5%, some above 8% | Nobody, deliberately |
Fixed rates dominate UK lending and account for the substantial majority of new business. Trackers become more attractive when borrowers expect base rate falls, and with the MPC on hold since spring that case has weakened. Many trackers still carry no early repayment charge, which is why some borrowers use one as a short bridge while waiting for fixed pricing to settle. In the current market, with fixed rates drifting up rather than down, that bridge is a bet rather than a saving.
What Determines the Rate You Are Offered
Loan-to-value is the biggest single lever
LTV is your outstanding balance divided by the property’s current value. Lenders price in bands, and the difference between bands is material.
| LTV band | Indicative five-year fix, Sept 2026 | Monthly cost on £200,000 over 25 years |
| 60% or below | 4.1%–4.7% | £1,067–£1,134 |
| 75% | 4.2%–4.9% | £1,078–£1,158 |
| 85% | 4.7%–5.4% | £1,134–£1,216 |
| 90% | 5.1%–5.8% | £1,181–£1,264 |
| 95% | 5.6%–6.4% | £1,240–£1,338 |
Note how shallow the gap between the 75% and 80% bands is in the current best-buy table — 4.18% against 4.23%, or £5 a month on £200,000 — and how steep it becomes above 85%. Lender appetite in 2026 is concentrated at low LTVs, so the marginal value of crossing a band boundary is greatest for borrowers currently above 85%.
The practical implication is that crossing a band boundary is worth real money. If you are at 86% LTV, overpaying a few thousand pounds before you apply, or evidencing a higher valuation, can drop you into the 85% band and cut the rate by half a percentage point. Ask your lender or broker exactly what balance is needed to reach the next band down, then check whether your deal permits an overpayment of that size without penalty. Most fixed deals allow 10% of the balance a year.
Product fees change the true cost
Headline rates are frequently bought down with an arrangement fee, commonly £999 or £1,495, and sometimes a percentage of the loan. A fee-free deal at a slightly higher rate can beat a low headline rate with a large fee, especially on smaller balances.
The arithmetic is simple. Spread over a five-year fix, a £999 fee costs roughly 0.13% a year on a £150,000 loan, 0.10% on £200,000 and only 0.05% on £400,000. So on a £150,000 balance, a fee-charging product must be at least 0.13 percentage points cheaper than the fee-free alternative to be worth taking; on £400,000 a gap of 0.05 points is enough. Compare total cost over the deal period, not the rate. A valuation change can also move you between LTV bands, which is why understanding where house prices are heading matters to a remortgage as well as to a purchase.
Term length
Extending the term reduces monthly payments but increases total interest. Take a £200,000 mortgage at 4.64%. Over 20 years the payment is £1,280 a month and the total repaid is £307,311. Over 30 years the payment falls to £1,030 but the total repaid rises to £370,827 — £250 a month cheaper, £63,516 more expensive. Shortening the term does the reverse. Lenders assess affordability against the term you request, and many now allow terms running into borrowers’ late sixties subject to evidence of retirement income.
Credit profile and affordability
Lenders re-underwrite a full remortgage. They will check credit conduct, income, committed expenditure, dependants and, for the self-employed, typically two to three years of accounts or SA302s. Recent missed payments, high credit utilisation, payday loans or a large volume of applications in a short window can all push you into a smaller pool of lenders at higher pricing. If your file is imperfect, specialist lenders exist, and the route to a mortgage for bad credit usually involves a broker with access to that market rather than a high-street application.
Repayment type and property
Interest-only remortgages are available but the criteria are far tighter than on repayment, typically requiring a credible and evidenced repayment vehicle and a lower maximum LTV. If you are on an interest-only deal reaching its end, understanding how interest-only mortgages work and what lenders will accept as a repayment strategy should come before you shop for a rate. Non-standard property also narrows the field: flats above commercial premises, high-rise blocks, ex-local-authority stock, and homes of concrete or timber-frame construction all attract fewer lenders and higher pricing.
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing
The standard variable rate is not a product anyone chooses. It is what you get when a deal ends and nobody acts, and with best-buy fixes near 4.6% and SVRs typically 6.5% to 7.5%, the gap has rarely been wider in cash terms.
| Balance | At 4.64% fixed | At 6.5% SVR | At 7.5% SVR | Extra cost per year at 7.5% |
| £150,000 | £846 | £1,013 | £1,108 | £3,144 |
| £200,000 | £1,128 | £1,350 | £1,478 | £4,200 |
| £300,000 | £1,692 | £2,025 | £2,217 | £6,300 |
All figures assume a 25-year remaining term. The point is not that SVRs are unfair; they are priced to cover a lender’s cost of funds on a product with no commitment on either side. The point is that the penalty for inattention now runs into thousands of pounds a year, and a single reminder in a calendar six months before your deal ends is the cheapest financial admin you will ever do.
Costs Beyond the Interest Rate
- Early repayment charge: Typically 1% to 5% of the balance if you leave a fixed deal early, often tapering by year. On £200,000 that is £2,000 to £10,000, and it is usually the reason to wait rather than switch immediately.
- Arrangement or product fee: Commonly £0 to £1,999. Can normally be added to the loan, but doing so means paying interest on it for the full term, which on a 25-year mortgage roughly doubles its real cost.
- Valuation fee: Frequently free on remortgage products; otherwise £150–£500 depending on property value.
- Legal fees: Many remortgage deals include free legals or cashback towards them. A standalone remortgage conveyance is usually £300–£600.
- Broker fee: Some brokers are fee-free and paid by lender commission; others charge £300–£800. Both must disclose this up front.
- Exit or deeds release fee: Usually £50–£300 from the outgoing lender.
Add these together before comparing deals. A product that saves £40 a month but costs £1,800 to arrange takes 45 months to break even, which is longer than a two-year fix lasts and means you would pay the fee again before you had recovered it.
When to Start: The Remortgage Timeline
Most UK lenders will let you secure a new rate three to six months before your current deal ends, and offers commonly remain valid for around six months. Because you can usually switch to a cheaper product if rates fall before completion, booking early gives you a ceiling on your cost without giving up the upside. In a market where lenders have been repricing upward since early September, that ceiling is worth having.
- Six months out: Check your current deal’s end date, outstanding balance and early repayment charge. Get a rough valuation from recent sold prices on your street to estimate LTV, and work out what balance would take you into the next band down.
- Five months out: Review your credit file with all three main agencies, correct errors, and avoid new credit applications from this point.
- Four months out: Compare your existing lender’s product transfer against the whole market. Ask a broker to run both, and ask for the total five-year cost of each rather than the rate.
- Three months out: Apply and secure a rate. Gather payslips, bank statements, ID and, if self-employed, accounts.
- One month out: Confirm the completion date lines up with the day after your current deal ends, so you never touch the SVR. Check your direct debit amount and date have been updated.
Practical Ways to Improve the Rate You Are Offered
- Reduce LTV before applying. Overpay to cross a band boundary, or challenge a down-valuation with evidence of comparable sales within the last six months on the same street.
- Tidy your credit file. Register on the electoral roll, clear or reduce revolving balances to below 30% of limits, and close unused accounts you no longer need.
- Reduce committed outgoings. Car finance, credit card minimums and childcare all reduce the amount lenders will lend and can affect which products you qualify for.
- Compare product transfer against the open market every time. Loyalty is not usually rewarded, and with lenders actively competing for remortgage business in 2026 the open market frequently wins.
- Use a whole-of-market broker. Some products are intermediary-only and never appear on comparison sites. A regulated broker can also document why a product suits your circumstances.
- Ask about the revert rate, not just the initial rate. The APRC column exists for this reason, and a lender with a lower follow-on rate is worth something if there is any chance you will not switch again on time.
- Think carefully before borrowing more. Adding debt consolidation to a mortgage lowers the monthly payment but usually increases total interest and secures previously unsecured debt against your home.
Common Remortgage Pitfalls
The most expensive errors are avoidable and repetitive. Drifting onto the SVR because nobody diarised the deal end date is the biggest, and at current rate gaps it costs £3,000 to £6,000 a year on a typical balance. Chasing the lowest headline rate without adding the fee is the second. Applying to several lenders at once and leaving hard searches across a credit file is the third.
Others include leaving a fixed deal early and paying an early repayment charge that exceeds the saving; extending the term to reduce payments without appreciating that £250 a month saved can cost £63,000 in interest; assuming a previous valuation still holds when local prices have moved, which matters more than usual in 2026 given that London values have fallen while much of England has risen; and treating equity release or a further advance as free money. Equity release in particular is a specialist product with lifetime consequences for the borrower and their estate, and should only be considered with independent regulated advice.
One more that rarely makes these lists: reviewing the mortgage without reviewing the protection attached to it. If your balance, term or monthly payment changes materially, the cover that was right five years ago may no longer match the debt, and our guide to life insurance to cover your mortgage covers how to check that alignment.
Is Remortgaging Worth It?
The arithmetic is usually straightforward. Compare your projected payment on the SVR against the best product you can access, subtract every fee, and divide by the monthly saving to get a break-even period in months. If that break-even is comfortably inside the new deal’s fixed period, the switch generally makes sense. If it is not, staying put or taking a fee-free product at a marginally higher rate is often better.
Worked through on current numbers: a borrower with £200,000 outstanding at 75% LTV coming off a fix onto a 7.0% SVR would pay £1,414 a month. Switching to a 4.18% deal at £1,076 saves £338 a month. Even with a £999 product fee, a £400 valuation and legal package and a £150 exit fee, total costs of £1,549 are recovered in under five months. In that shape of case the answer is not close.
The case is far tighter for someone still inside a fixed deal facing an early repayment charge, or for someone whose balance is small enough that fees dominate. Below roughly £60,000 outstanding, fee-free products and product transfers usually beat headline-rate deals outright.
Housing costs sit alongside every other cost of where you live, from council tax to travel, which is why so many households review the mortgage and the location at the same time. The same logic drives people comparing the best places to live in London against what they can borrow, particularly while values in inner London are falling and outer boroughs are holding flat. For a decision this size, speak to an FCA-regulated mortgage adviser or broker who can assess your full circumstances, and treat every rate on this page as a snapshot of 14 September 2026 rather than a quotation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good remortgage rate in the UK in 2026?
As at 14 September 2026, a competitive remortgage rate is around 4.06% at 60% loan-to-value, 4.18% at 75% and 4.23% at 80%, with the leading two-year fix at 4.64% and the leading five-year fix at 4.69%. Market averages across all products are higher, at roughly 5.6% for both two- and five-year fixes, because they include high-LTV and specialist lending. Anything close to a lender’s standard variable rate of 6.5% to 7.5% is expensive. Rates move with swap markets rather than the base rate, so always check live pricing when you apply.
What is the Bank of England base rate and how does it affect remortgage rates?
The base rate is 3.75%, held at that level by the Monetary Policy Committee at its June and July 2026 meetings, with the next decision on 17 September 2026. Tracker and discounted variable rates move directly with it, but fixed rates are priced off swap markets, which reflect expectations for future rates rather than today’s. That is why fixed rates can rise while the base rate is unchanged, as they did through the summer of 2026: the Bank of England’s effective rate on newly drawn mortgages rose from 4.35% in June to 4.45% in July.
How much does it cost to stay on a standard variable rate?
On a £200,000 balance with 25 years remaining, a 4.64% fixed rate costs £1,128 a month while a 6.5% SVR costs £1,350 and a 7.5% SVR costs £1,478. That is an extra £2,664 to £4,200 a year for taking no action. On £300,000 the gap at 7.5% widens to £6,300 a year. Diarising your deal’s end date six months in advance is the single highest-return piece of financial admin most homeowners can do.
How soon before my fixed rate ends should I remortgage?
Most lenders let you reserve a new rate three to six months before your current deal ends, and mortgage offers typically stay valid for about six months. Starting at the six-month mark gives you time to check your credit file, estimate your loan-to-value and compare a product transfer against the wider market, while still being able to switch to a cheaper product if rates fall before completion. With lenders repricing upward since early September 2026, locking a rate early has been protective rather than costly.
Can I remortgage with bad credit?
It is often possible, but the choice of lenders narrows and pricing is higher. Specialist lenders assess defaults, County Court Judgments and missed payments case by case, weighing how recent and how large they were. A larger equity stake helps considerably, since a lower loan-to-value reduces the lender’s risk. A whole-of-market broker is usually the practical route, as many adverse-credit products are only available through intermediaries.
Does remortgaging hurt your credit score?
A full remortgage involves a hard credit search, which can cause a small, temporary dip in your score, and the new account will show as recently opened. A product transfer with your existing lender usually involves no hard search at all. The effect is minor and short-lived provided you are not making multiple applications in a short period, so use a broker or eligibility checker with soft searches before applying formally.
Should I choose a two-year or five-year fixed remortgage?
It depends on your plans and your tolerance for payment uncertainty, not on predicting rates. At current pricing the two-year and five-year fixes are only five basis points apart at 60% LTV, 4.64% against 4.69%, so the usual premium for locking in longer has largely disappeared. A two-year fix leaves you free to re-price sooner and suits anyone likely to move, but you pay arrangement costs again in two years. A five-year fix gives longer budget certainty and carries early repayment charges for longer. A qualified adviser can weigh this against your circumstances.
What fees should I expect when remortgaging?
Expect an arrangement or product fee of up to around £1,999, a valuation fee of £150 to £500 where it is not waived, legal fees of roughly £300 to £600 unless free legals are included, a possible broker fee of £300 to £800, and an exit or deeds release fee of £50 to £300 from your outgoing lender. If you leave a fixed deal early, an early repayment charge of 1% to 5% of the balance may also apply. Spread over a five-year fix, a £999 fee is worth about 0.13% a year on a £150,000 loan and only 0.05% on £400,000, which is why fee-free deals suit smaller balances.
