Mortgages in Scotland, Home Reports, LBTT and ADS Calculator

What is a Scottish mortgage?

A Scottish mortgage is a loan secured over property in Scotland by a standard security, the deed that gives the lender its security under Scots law, registered against the title in the Land Register kept by Registers of Scotland. A standard security is the only way to secure a debt over land in Scotland (Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, section 9). The loan itself is an ordinary UK product. A mortgage on a home you or a close family member will live in is normally a regulated mortgage under the conduct rules of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in Scotland as in England (FCA Handbook: MCOB). Most buy to let lending is outside FCA regulation, and banks and building societies assess it under the Prudential Regulation Authority's underwriting standards for buy to let, SS13/16 (Bank of England: SS13/16).

Scotland has separate conveyancing, property tax and tenancy law, and the mortgage products are the same ones lenders sell across the UK. The seller's Home Report gives a valuation before anyone offers, so the loan to value can be worked out in advance. Lenders lend on the lower of the price and the valuation, so an amount offered above the Home Report figure usually has to come from the buyer's own money. A buyer who will own another home at the end of the purchase day, and is not replacing a main residence sold in the previous 36 months, pays the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) on the whole price, on top of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). A mover who buys before selling gets it back only if the previous main home is sold within 36 months.

A buyer comparing Scottish mortgage rates is therefore comparing the same UK products, filtered by the lenders that will lend on that property, in that location, on the Home Report valuation. Some lenders restrict lending on certain property types or in some rural and island areas, and the solicitor doing the lender's legal work usually has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel.

Mortgage Lane arranges mortgages across Scotland, from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee to the Highlands and the islands. We work with first-time buyers, home movers buying before they sell, homeowners remortgaging at the end of a fixed rate, and landlords letting under private residential tenancies. We also arrange lending for second home and holiday let buyers, self-employed and contractor applicants, buyers of tenement and ex-local authority flats, non-standard construction and rural property, and borrowers with past credit problems. Buyers living outside the UK are covered in our guide to expat mortgages in Scotland.

Mortgage rates in Scotland

Mortgage rates in Scotland are set by the same UK lenders on the same products as in England, and lenders generally price by loan to value band, product type and fee, whatever part of the UK the property is in. Each lender sets its own bands and fees, so the deposit as a share of the property's value decides which band a case falls in. In Scotland the Home Report states the valuation before you offer, so you can see which band the purchase falls into before you bid. An offer above the valuation pushes the loan into a higher band unless the extra is paid from your own money. On a £290,000 Home Report valuation, a 10% deposit on a £300,000 offer leaves a loan of 93.1% of the valuation, above a 90% band; the worked example below shows the arithmetic.

Two and five year fixed rates, trackers and offset mortgages are available on Scottish property as elsewhere, and most fixed rates carry an early repayment charge if you leave during the fixed period. Our pages on tracker mortgages and offset mortgages explain how those products work.

Buying, moving or remortgaging in Scotland? Get in touch with the property, the Home Report and your income. We work out the loan to value band and the tax before you offer.

Scottish mortgage criteria

A Scottish purchase goes through the same lender checks as anywhere in the UK, with Scottish rules for the security, the valuation, the tax and letting. The security, tax and remortgage rows, and the letting rules in the buy to let row, rest on statute and official guidance, as at October 2026. The loan to value, income and term rows, the buy to let and HMO loan to value figures and the ex-local authority storey limits give Mortgage Lane's experience on the cases we arrange, and the other rows describe how lenders vary; each lender's criteria and underwriting decide a case. Affordability is assessed on income after credit commitments, and in our experience 5 times gross income is the standard multiple, up to 6 times for professionals and specialist products. Loans from 91% to 95% can be supported by the government's Mortgage Guarantee Scheme for eligible first-time buyers and home movers throughout the UK, and our 95% mortgages page covers borrowing at that level. In our experience family help can take a purchase to 100% loan to value.

Types of Scottish mortgage, and how each is assessed

The product is a standard UK one, and Scottish rules change the planning in the cases below.

First-time buyers in Scotland

First-time buyers pay no LBTT on the first £175,000 of the price, against a standard nil-rate band of £145,000, which saves up to £600. Some can use the Scottish Government's LIFT shared equity scheme, where the government holds a share of the home. Offers over bidding is hardest on a first purchase, because the deposit is often the whole cash budget and anything bid above the Home Report valuation comes out of it. Our page on first-time buyer mortgages in Scotland covers the relief, LIFT and deposits in full, and the first-time buyer mortgage guide covers the UK-wide schemes.

Get in touch with your deposit and price range.

Home movers buying before selling

A mover who buys before the current home is sold owns two dwellings at the end of the purchase day, so the 8% ADS is charged on the whole price of the new home. For purchases from 1 April 2024, Revenue Scotland repays it if the previous main residence is sold within 36 months of the purchase, and the legislation gives it no power to consider exceptional circumstances (Revenue Scotland: ADS return, payment and amendments). If the current home still has a mortgage, the new lender will ask how both loans will be paid until the sale, and may count the existing payment in its affordability assessment. A bridging loan or a let to buy structure can cover the gap where the sale lags. The arithmetic is in the worked example below, and the structures are on our bridging loans page and in the guide to bridging loans in Scotland.

Get in touch with both property values and where the sale stands.

Remortgaging in Scotland

A remortgage replaces the existing loan with a new one, from the same lender or a different one, often at the end of a fixed rate. A product transfer to a new deal with the existing lender usually needs no new valuation or solicitor. Moving to a new lender means a valuation, and a solicitor to discharge the old standard security and register the new one. No LBTT is charged on a remortgage, because a security over land is an exempt interest under the LBTT legislation. Raising capital for home improvements, debt consolidation or buying out a partner is assessed on affordability as on a purchase. Buying a partner's share is a purchase of an interest in the property, so LBTT can be due on the price paid and on any share of the mortgage taken on (Revenue Scotland: debt as consideration). Transfers between spouses or civil partners under a court order or agreement in connection with a divorce, dissolution or judicial separation are exempt, and a solicitor can confirm the position.

Get in touch three to six months before your fixed rate ends.

Self-employed and contractor borrowers

Self-employed applicants are assessed on accounts or tax calculations, usually for one or two years depending on the lender. Contractors can be assessed on their day rate, which in our experience lenders annualise over 48 weeks, and company directors on salary and dividends or, with some lenders, their share of the company's profit. Scottish taxpayers pay Scottish Income Tax on earnings, with six rates above the personal allowance for 2026 to 2027, so take-home pay on the same salary can differ from England, and lenders whose affordability models use net income reflect that. Our self-employed mortgages page covers each route, including contractors and company directors.

Get in touch with your latest accounts or tax calculations.

Tenement, ex-local authority and non-standard property

Scotland has a large stock of tenement flats, four-in-a-block flats and post-war non-standard houses, including no-fines concrete, steel-framed and precast concrete types. Scottish flats are usually owned outright, and the owners share the common parts and their repair under the title deeds and the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004, often with a property factor managing the building. Lenders read the Home Report's condition ratings for the roof, stonework and common parts closely and check how common repairs are shared. For ex-local authority blocks, in our experience some high street lenders cap the building at 4 storeys and others at 10, while specialist lenders set no storey limit. Non-standard construction is lent on case by case, on the exact building system and any repair evidence. Our pages on a mortgage on an ex-council flat and non-standard construction mortgages cover each, and the guide to freehold flat mortgages in Scotland explains Scottish flat ownership.

Get in touch with the Home Report's construction and repair sections.

Second homes and holiday lets

A second home or holiday let bought by someone who already owns a home pays the 8% ADS. Short-term lets in Scotland need a licence from the local council before the host takes bookings or receives guests, and letting without one is a criminal offence (mygov.scot: short-term let licences). Lenders offering holiday let mortgages can ask to see the licence. The furnished holiday lettings tax regime was abolished from April 2025, so holiday let income is now taxed under the ordinary property rules. Our guide to holiday let mortgages in Scotland covers Scottish lending and licensing.

Get in touch with the property and its projected letting income.

Borrowers with past credit problems

Scotland has its own forms of adverse credit. A decree for unpaid money, granted by a sheriff court, is the Scottish equivalent of a county court judgment, and a protected trust deed is Scotland's formal arrangement with creditors, comparable to an individual voluntary arrangement elsewhere in the UK. Specialist lenders assess defaults, decrees, missed payments and trust deeds on their age, size and whether they are settled, and in our experience adverse credit lending usually stops at around 90% loan to value. Our CCJ mortgages page explains how decrees are registered and removed. Mortgage Lane does not give debt advice, and free debt advice in Scotland is available from services funded by the Scottish Government (mygov.scot: get free debt advice).

Get in touch with a copy of your credit file.

How to get a mortgage in Scotland: the buying process

Getting a mortgage in Scotland follows the same lender steps as anywhere else, and the purchase around it follows Scots law.

The Home Report

A seller must have a Home Report before marketing most homes in Scotland. It has three parts: a single survey by a chartered surveyor, with condition ratings and a valuation, an energy report, and a property questionnaire completed by the seller. A seller or selling agent must give a copy within nine days to a buyer who asks. The seller can refuse only if they doubt the buyer is serious or can afford the home, or would prefer not to sell to them, and never for an unlawful discriminatory reason (mygov.scot: Home Report). The survey and energy report must date from no earlier than 12 weeks before the home goes on the market (Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008). New homes sold to the first occupier and newly converted homes are among the exceptions, where the seller must still provide an Energy Performance Certificate.

The surveyor can also prepare a mortgage valuation report, the valuation set out in the form lenders use. Some lenders accept it and others instruct their own mortgage valuation, and lender policy on Home Report valuations varies. Either way the buyer sees a valuation, and the loan to value it implies, before deciding what to offer. A down valuation by the lender's own valuer after an offer is accepted can still change the deposit needed.

Notes of interest, offers over and closing dates

A buyer's solicitor notes interest with the seller's agent. Some Scottish homes are sold at a fixed price, but most are sold by blind bidding, with offers invited over or around a minimum price (mygov.scot: buying a home). If several buyers note interest, the seller sets a closing date for written offers (mygov.scot: making an offer). The seller does not have to accept the highest offer, or any offer (mygov.scot: closing dates and offers). With offers over pricing, what you pay depends on how many other buyers bid, and the Home Report valuation shows how much of any bid a lender will count.

Missives

An accepted offer becomes a contract through missives, the letters exchanged between the solicitors. The seller usually replies to the offer with a qualified acceptance, and once the concluding missive is sent the contract is binding. A buyer who pulls out after that can be liable to the seller for damages, so a buyer's solicitor will normally want the mortgage offer in hand before concluding missives. If a lender withdraws its offer after that point, our page on a mortgage declined after exchange covers what the seller can claim in Scotland.

Settlement and registration

Settlement usually takes place on the agreed date of entry. The solicitor collects the loan from the lender and the buyer's own contribution, and the disposition, the deed that transfers ownership, is registered in the Land Register along with the lender's standard security (mygov.scot: settlement). The LBTT return has to be made, and the tax paid, within 30 days after the effective date of the transaction, which for most purchases is settlement (Revenue Scotland: duty to make an LBTT return).

Mortgage in principle in Scotland

A mortgage in principle, also called an agreement in principle or decision in principle, is a lender's statement that it would lend a stated amount on the information given and a credit search, issued before you choose a property. In Scotland closing dates can be set at short notice, a selling agent may ask for evidence of finance with an offer, and each buyer has one sealed bid. The most useful mortgage in principle is set at the loan you need on the Home Report valuation of the home you are bidding on, with the deposit and the tax already counted. Lenders set their own validity periods and decide whether to run a soft or a full credit search, so an older one may need renewing before a closing date.

It is not a mortgage offer and does not bind the lender. The full application, the lender's valuation and its underwriting still decide the case, and a change in income, credit or the valuation between the two can change the answer. Our page on a mortgage declined after application covers what to do if it does.

LBTT and the Additional Dwelling Supplement

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Scotland on 1 April 2015, and the Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027 kept its residential rates and bands, and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement, at their existing levels (gov.scot: Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027). LBTT is charged in slices: each rate applies only to the part of the price within its band. A first-time buyer's nil-rate band is £175,000 (Revenue Scotland: residential rates and bands). England and Northern Ireland charge Stamp Duty Land Tax instead, and Wales charges Land Transaction Tax.

The ADS is 8% of the purchase price, charged on top of LBTT, for transactions on or after 5 December 2024. It was 6% for transactions from 16 December 2022, and 6% still applies to some later purchases where the contract was entered into on or before 4 December 2024. It applies to a residential purchase of £40,000 or more where an individual buyer already owns a residential property anywhere in the world and is not replacing an only or main residence. It also applies to most residential purchases by companies, even a company with no other residential property (Revenue Scotland: Additional Dwelling Supplement). Spouses, civil partners and cohabitants buying together have their own rules. Our property development finance in Scotland page covers ADS and LBTT on development sites, and the guides to commercial mortgages in Scotland and pub mortgages in Scotland cover non-residential purchases.

For purchases from 1 April 2024, a buyer who sold a previous main residence in the 36 months before the purchase is replacing it and pays no ADS. A buyer who buys first has 36 months after the purchase to sell the previous main residence and claim the ADS back; the period was 18 months for earlier purchases. The claim is made by amending the LBTT return within its 12-month amendment period or, after that, by a repayment claim within five years of the return's due date, and Revenue Scotland cannot consider exceptional circumstances. Revenue Scotland's guidance is the authority for a particular case, and a solicitor or tax adviser can confirm how the rules apply to you.

Buy to rent in Scotland, and the landlord rules

A buy to rent mortgage on Scottish property is assessed on the same rental cover tests as in England, while the letting itself runs under Scottish law. Banks and building societies test the rent against the interest at a stressed rate, an interest cover ratio, under SS13/16, and other lenders set their own tests. Our buy to let mortgage Scotland guide covers Scottish lender criteria and portfolios, and limited company purchases are covered in buy to let mortgages for limited companies in Scotland.

Tenancies

Almost all new private tenancies since 1 December 2017 are private residential tenancies under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. They are open-ended, and a landlord can recover the property only on one of 18 specified grounds (gov.scot: private tenancy reform). If the tenant does not leave after a notice to leave, the landlord needs an eviction order from the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) (mygov.scot: ending a private residential tenancy). The Renters' Rights Act 2025 applies mostly in England; its provisions on rental discrimination against tenants who receive benefits or have children also apply in Scotland and Wales (Renters' Rights Act 2025: explanatory notes).

Landlord registration

A landlord must register with the local council before renting out a property, and any joint owner must register too. Registration is renewed every 3 years, and letting without it is a criminal offence with fines of up to £50,000 (mygov.scot: landlord registration).

Rent control

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 became law on 6 November 2025. Its powers for Scottish Ministers to designate rent control areas, and the duties on councils to assess local rent conditions, came into force on 1 April 2026 (Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026). In a designated area, rent increases would be capped at the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) plus 1%, up to a maximum of 6%, during and between tenancies, and the rent could rise only once every 12 months. The cap would not apply to the rent set at the start of a new tenancy in a property new to private letting, bought by the landlord with vacant possession (the first tenancy since the purchase), or with no private residential or assured tenancy in the previous 12 months. Qualifying build to rent and mid-market rent homes are exempt (gov.scot: rent controls). As at October 2026 no area has been designated, and mygov.scot states that there are no rent control areas in Scotland (mygov.scot: rent control areas). Councils' first rent assessment reports are due by 31 May 2027, and the Act's sections capping rent increases on referral or appeal take effect on 1 April 2027 under the same commencement regulations.

Lenders assess the rent the property achieves when they lend. A cap in a designated area would limit later increases, so a landlord planning to refinance would model the stress test on the current rent.

HMOs and tax

A property that is the only or main residence of three or more people from three or more families, sharing a toilet, washing or cooking facilities, is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and needs an HMO licence from the council under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. In our experience HMO lending in Scotland goes up to 80% loan to value, and our guide to HMO mortgages in Scotland covers licensing and valuation. The 8% ADS applies to a buy to let bought by an individual who already owns a home, and to most purchases by companies.

How a mortgage is arranged in Scotland

1. Budget, tax and mortgage in principle. Income, deposit and credit assessed; LBTT and any ADS worked out; an agreement in principle obtained at the loan size the purchase needs.
2. Home Report and offer. The valuation sets the loan to value band; the offer is set against the cash available above the valuation; the solicitor submits it, by the closing date where there is one.
3. Application and valuation. The full application once the offer is accepted; the lender relies on the Home Report's mortgage valuation report or instructs its own valuer.
4. Mortgage offer and missives. The lender issues its mortgage offer; missives are concluded once it is in place.
5. Settlement and registration. Funds released on the date of entry; the standard security registered; the LBTT return made within 30 days; any ADS claimed back once the previous home is sold within 36 months.

Buying before selling in Scotland: the ADS arithmetic

A Scottish home mover who buys before selling pays the 8% supplement on the whole new price within 30 days of settlement, and gets it back only if the old home is sold within 36 months, so the plan has to fund that cash until the sale.

Step 1. The Home Report valuation and the loan

An illustrative case, not a product or an offer: a home mover offers £300,000 for a home with a Home Report valuation of £290,000 and still owns their current home. Their income is £60,000 with no other credit commitments, so at 5 times income, the standard multiple in our experience, it supports £300,000. The lender in the example lends up to 90% of the lower of the price and the valuation.

A 10% deposit on the price would be £30,000. The lender counts the £290,000 valuation, so a £270,000 loan would be 93.1% loan to value and fall in the band above 90%. To stay at 90%, the buyer needs £39,000: 10% of the valuation plus the £10,000 bid above it.

Step 2. The tax on the day

Because the mover will own two homes at the end of the purchase day, the ADS is charged on the whole £300,000 as well as LBTT.

The £24,000 is cash on top of the deposit, and Revenue Scotland holds it until the old home is sold and a claim is made. If the sale completes 40 months after the purchase, nothing is repayable. On the £261,000 loan, repayments are £1,433.18 a month over 30 years at 5.2%, the illustrative rate used across our guides, which is not a product rate.

Step 3. Funding the gap until the sale

The £67,600 can come from savings, from a bridging loan on the old home, or from equity released by keeping the old home and letting it.

A bridging loan secured on the home you live in is normally a regulated mortgage contract, covered in our guide to regulated bridging loans for homeowners. With a bridge, the sale proceeds and the ADS refund repay it, so the interest cost depends on how long the sale takes. With let to buy, the old home is no longer being sold, so the £24,000 becomes a permanent cost and the old home moves onto buy to let terms; our let to buy mortgages page covers that route.

Step 4. The same tax for a landlord

A landlord buying a £180,000 buy to let in Scotland, while already owning a home, pays £15,100 in LBTT and ADS. The same purchase in England or Northern Ireland costs £10,100 in Stamp Duty Land Tax at the higher rates, which add 5% to each band (gov.uk: SDLT residential rates).

On a 25% deposit of £45,000, the Scottish tax is about a third of the deposit, and it is cash the landlord cannot put into the deposit or keep as a reserve.

What decides the case

The ADS clock starts at the effective date of the purchase. A mover should know before offering whether the old home is likely to sell within 36 months, and if keeping it is a real possibility, budget for the ADS as a permanent cost from the start. The deposit and the cash for the tax can both be worked out before the closing date with the calculator below.