The remortgage wave (fixes ending in 2026)

Mortgage stress rarely arrives with a bang. It creeps. You half-remember your fixed deal ends “sometime next year”, promise yourself you’ll look into it, and get on with life. Then a rate headline, or a friend grumbling about their new payment, brings it into focus — and 2026 suddenly doesn’t feel far off at all. That, in a sentence, is the remortgage wave: a large batch of fixed deals taken out in a very different rate era, all coming up for renewal at once.

At London FS we’re already fielding the early questions. Homeowners want to know how soon they can act and what they can do now to avoid a nasty jump later. Here’s the honest picture — no scare tactics, no invented numbers, just what’s actually worth knowing.

Why 2026 is the pinch point

A remortgage wave is simply a lot of borrowers hitting the end of their fixed term around the same time. Plenty of people locked into two-, three- and five-year fixes while rates were unusually low. A big cluster of those matures in 2026 — after the rate rises that ended the cheap-money years. More borrowers shopping at once means lenders compete harder, advice gets busier, and timing starts to matter more than it usually does.

Why this cycle feels heavier than the last

Last time most people remortgaged, they were rewarded — rates were low and the whole thing felt like an upgrade. For anyone renewing around 2026, it can feel more like damage limitation: even if rates ease a little, you may still be stepping up from a very low fix to something higher. So the question we hear has changed. It used to be “how much can I save?” Now it’s “how bad could this get, and what can I do about it?”

What happens if you do nothing

Let your fix lapse without acting and your lender will usually drop you onto its standard variable rate. The SVR is typically higher than the sharpest remortgage deals, and it can move without much warning — which is exactly the payment shock most people are trying to sidestep. The good news: nearly everyone has options. They just work best when you start early rather than in the final fortnight.

In a wave, timing is everything

In a calm market you can sometimes leave a remortgage late and still land well. In a busy one, that margin shrinks — processing slows, valuations back up, and underwriting tends to tighten when volumes spike. So thinking in months rather than weeks isn’t about acting today; it’s about knowing what your timeline should be. It takes the panic out of it and leaves you room to move if the market shifts.

The lever people forget: your LTV

One of the most effective ways to improve your deal has nothing to do with the headline rate — it’s your loan-to-value, the share of the property’s value you’re borrowing. As your home’s value rises and your balance falls, your LTV improves on its own, and lower LTV usually unlocks better pricing. It’s well worth estimating yours now; it tells you roughly what band of deals you’ll be shopping in when the time comes.

Affordability still gets checked

A common assumption is that remortgaging is automatic once you already have a mortgage. It isn’t. Lenders still look at income stability, outgoings, credit and stress-tested affordability. If your income has changed or your commitments have grown, that check can feel tougher than you expect — which is why it pays to understand where you stand early rather than discover it at application.

Landlords are in this too — often more exposed

Buy-to-let sits right in the middle of this wave, and the rental-coverage maths makes it sharper. If rates stay above the ultra-low era, some landlords will find refinancing needs stronger rent, more equity, or additional personal income to satisfy the calculation. With multiple properties it gets more involved still — so this is very much a tailored conversation, not a headline-rate one.

What to do now — without rushing

You don’t need to panic; you do need a plan. If your renewal is on the horizon, a little groundwork now widens your options later:

• Check your credit report and clear up anything untidy
• Trim any unnecessary credit commitments
• Keep payslips and income documents to hand
• Re-read your current deal — note the end date and any early-repayment charges
• Estimate your property value and current LTV

In our experience, the difference between a smooth remortgage and a stressful one usually comes down to preparation, not luck.

There’s an upside too

A “wave” sounds ominous, but lenders know it’s coming — and they want good remortgage business. That tends to mean new products, keener pricing, and occasionally softer criteria as they compete. Borrowers who plan ahead can be the ones who benefit: locking a competitive deal at the right moment, avoiding the SVR entirely, and making the decision on their terms rather than under deadline pressure.

How London FS helps

The people who struggle most are the ones doing it alone. We help clients see what their options are likely to be as renewal approaches — not just rates, but timing, affordability and how lenders are behaving. Whether you’re a homeowner, a landlord, or someone with a more complex income, the aim is the same: clear, human guidance and a plan that fits your life, so the whole thing feels a good deal calmer.

In short

The 2026 renewals are a genuine shift, not just a headline. If yours is coming up, early planning beats last-minute panic every time. Rates may improve, but LTV, affordability and lender criteria will still decide your outcome — and the borrowers who do best are simply the ones who check their numbers early and act with a clear head. If you’d like a hand mapping it out, London FS is happy to help.

Call London FS on +44 (0)20 8427 5057 or email enquiries@london-fs.com.

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