In short: a deposit of £300,000 to £1 million is 25% of £1,200,000 to £4 million of property, or six to twenty flats at £200,000. At this scale the limits are no longer the price of a flat. They are lender caps, the share of value a lender will advance on a large loan, the 8% supplement, and whether you have people on the ground. One tax rule matters more here than anywhere else: six or more homes bought in a single transaction are taxed as non-residential property, with no supplement.
Read this first
This guide is education, not personal advice. It shows how the sums work for someone who lives outside the UK, using published tax rates, lender criteria and average prices on the dates shown. It does not know your income, your tax position or your plans, and it is not a recommendation to buy. We are not financial advisers, mortgage brokers or tax advisers. Nothing here promises a rent, a yield or a loan.
The 30-second version
- A deposit of £300,000 to £1 million is 25% of £1,200,000 to £4 million.
- Twenty flats at £200,000 need £1,342,000 in cash before fees. £320,000 of that is supplement.
- No lender we read funds all of it. Skipton International stops at five properties, and cuts the share it lends once a single loan passes £1.25 million.
- Six flats bought in one transaction for £1,200,000 pay £48,500 in tax. Bought one by one they pay £102,600.
- How much you borrow is now a choice about risk, more than a limit on what you can buy.
What the deposit buys on paper
| Deposit | Buying power at 25% | Borrowing | As flats | Purchase taxes in total | Cash to find before fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £300,000 | £1,200,000 | £900,000 | 6 at £200,000 | £102,600 | £402,600 |
| £500,000 | £2,000,000 | £1,500,000 | 10 at £200,000 | £171,000 | £671,000 |
| £1,000,000 | £4,000,000 | £3,000,000 | 20 at £200,000 | £342,000 | £1,342,000 |
Separate purchases of £200,000 flats from different sellers are assumed. Purchase taxes are £1,100 of transaction tax and £16,000 of supplement on each flat. Legal, survey and lender fees are extra on every purchase.
Lender limits bite before the money runs out
| Lender | Limit on one borrower | Limit on one loan |
|---|---|---|
| Skipton International | Five properties funded by it. No lending if you hold more than ten buy-to-lets. Three in one postcode district | Up to £5 million. 75% of value up to £1.25 million, 70% to £1.5 million, 65% to £3 million, 60% to £4 million, 50% to £5 million |
| West One Loans | Portfolio lending up to £15 million. The portfolio must pay for itself | £1 million for an expat or foreign national on standard terms. Larger loans through its bespoke team |
| Molo | £5 million in total | £3 million on one property. England and Wales only |
Three lenders are not the whole market, and criteria change often. HSBC UK, for one, also lends to non-UK residents, but only to residents of 14 listed countries and regions, none of them in the EU, with income of £50,000 or more and a deposit of at least 25%, or 40% above £1 million. We are not mortgage brokers. Use this as a picture of how the rules look, then ask a broker who handles non-resident cases.
At ten or twenty flats, these criteria do not stretch. A plan this size is put together lender by lender by a broker, or it uses less borrowing.
If you live in the EU
From 11 January 2027 an EU rule known as CRD VI stops banks based outside the EU from lending to customers in the EU unless they have a licensed branch there. Loans agreed before 11 July 2026 are protected. Skipton International has already stopped taking applications from EU residents.
So on the three sets of criteria here, an EU national living in the EU, a Maltese investor in Malta for example, has no route to a mortgage on a Scottish property: Skipton International does not take EU residents, West One takes EEA nationals only if they live in the UK, and Molo, which does accept EU residents, lends only in England and Wales. HSBC UK's list of eligible countries has no EU member state on it.
Other lenders may differ. Lenders that are not banks may fall outside the rule, there is a narrow exemption where the customer approaches the lender entirely on their own initiative, and each member state writes its own version. Malta had not finalised its law as of mid 2026. Ask a broker which lenders will still take your application before you plan around a mortgage.
One purchase of six, or six purchases of one
Revenue Scotland treats six or more separate homes bought in a single transaction as non-residential property. Non-residential rates are 0% to £150,000, 1% to £250,000 and 5% above that, and the supplement does not apply.
| How six flats are bought | Price | Transaction tax | Supplement | Tax in total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six separate purchases at £200,000 | £1,200,000 | £6,600 | £96,000 | £102,600 |
| One transaction for all six | £1,200,000 | £48,500 | £0 | £48,500 |
The second row applies only where six or more dwellings pass in a single transaction, such as a block sold by one owner. The relief is not available if they are bought in two transactions of fewer than six. A separate relief for multiple dwellings also exists. This is a question for a Scottish solicitor before any offer is made.
A block has its own risks: one building, one roof, one street. The tax saving is the start of that decision.
How much to borrow is now a choice
With £1 million, borrowing 75% is one option among several. The table shows what each choice commits you to. It is arithmetic on published rates. It forecasts nothing.
| £1 million used as | Property | Debt | Interest a year at 5.19% | Rent a year a lender wants at 7.24% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% deposit | £4,000,000 | £3,000,000 | £155,700 | £271,500 |
| 50% deposit | £2,000,000 | £1,000,000 | £51,900 | £90,500 |
| No borrowing | About £925,000 | £0 | £0 | No lender test |
Interest is interest-only at 5.19%. The last column is 125% of a year's interest at 7.24%. The no-borrowing row allows for the 8% supplement and leaves transaction tax and fees to come out of the balance.
More debt means more property and a larger fixed bill every month. A 10% fall in prices takes £400,000 off £4 million of property, which is 40% of the £1 million put in. Our guide to cash-on-cash return explains how gearing cuts both ways.
Running it as a business
- People on the ground. Ten to twenty tenancies need lettings, repairs, inspections and compliance handled every week.
- Records and tax. Rent at this scale is far above the Making Tax Digital threshold. See Making Tax Digital for landlords and the 2027 property income tax rates, which Scotland has still to decide on.
- Own name or company. This is a tax and lending question for advisers in the UK and in your country of residence. Two published facts only: a company pays the supplement on every purchase of £40,000 or more, and Skipton International's company loans cover England and Wales, not Scotland.
Three routes people take at this level
None of these is a recommendation. Which one fits depends on facts this page does not have.
| Route | What it needs | What can go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Many flats, bought one by one | Several lenders, and time: each purchase is its own project | The full 8% supplement on each. Slow to build |
| A block of six or more in one transaction | A seller with a block, a solicitor to confirm the tax treatment, and finance for one large loan | Everything in one building. Lenders advance a smaller share on large loans |
| Lower borrowing across a smaller portfolio | Accepting less property for the same cash | Less gearing. Easier lender tests and a smaller fixed bill |
What comes with a Scottish let
- Purchase tax is Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, plus the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement if you already own a home anywhere in the world. Scotland has no separate surcharge for non-residents. Our stamp duty guide for non-resident buyers sets out how England differs.
- You must register as a landlord with the council before you let, and renew every three years. Letting without registration is a criminal offence with a fine of up to £50,000.
- A tenancy deposit can be up to two months' rent and must be protected in one of three approved schemes.
- Your letting agent or tenant takes basic rate tax off the rent before paying you, unless HMRC approves you to receive it gross. See our guide to the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme.
- When you sell, you must report the sale to HMRC within 60 days, even if there is no tax to pay.
- Every owner registers as a landlord, and each property is listed on the registration.
This guide is general education for people who live outside the UK. It is not personal, financial, mortgage, tax or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy any property. Tax rates, lender criteria and prices change. Take regulated advice in the UK and in your country of residence before you commit money.
Common questions
Can a non-UK resident borrow 75% on £4 million of Scottish property?
Not from one lender on the criteria we read on 2 October 2026. Skipton International lends 75% of value only on loans up to £1.25 million, falling to 65% on loans between £1.5 million and £3 million, and funds five properties at most. West One lends up to £1 million to an expat or foreign national on standard terms. A portfolio of that size is arranged lender by lender through a broker.
Is the Additional Dwelling Supplement charged when you buy six or more flats at once?
No, where six or more separate dwellings are bought in a single transaction. Revenue Scotland treats that purchase as non-residential property, so non-residential rates apply and the supplement does not. On six flats bought together for £1,200,000 the tax is £48,500, against £102,600 if the same flats are bought in six separate purchases.
Should a non-UK resident use a company to hold Scottish buy-to-lets?
That is a question for a tax adviser in the UK and one in your country of residence. Two published facts are relevant: a company pays the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement on every purchase of £40,000 or more, even its first, and some non-resident lenders, including Skipton International, offer company loans only in England and Wales.
Is this guide advice on what I should buy?
No. It is general education using published tax rates, lender criteria and average prices. It is not personal, financial, mortgage or tax advice, and it does not take your circumstances into account.
The same deposit in England and Wales.
New to this? Start with how an overseas investor buys and runs UK property.
At this scale you need one team that sources, refurbishes, lets and manages across every property. If that is what you are building in Scotland, we should talk.
Get in touch- Revenue Scotland, "Residential property rates and bands", accessed 2 October 2026 (rates in force since 1 April 2021)
- Revenue Scotland, "The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS)", accessed 2 October 2026 (8% for transactions from 5 December 2024)
- Skipton International, "Key criteria", accessed 2 October 2026 (buy-to-let lending to people living outside the UK)
- Skipton International, "UK Buy-to-let made simple", accessed 2 October 2026 (published rates and the statement on EU residents)
- West One Loans, "Buy to Let Quick Criteria Guide", March 2026 (version 1.2)
- Molo Finance, "Non-Resident Buy-to-Let Products", 23 September 2026 (International Guide version 8.5)
- HSBC UK, "Mortgages for non-UK residents", accessed 2 October 2026 (eligible countries, income and deposit)
- Taylor Wessing, "21c or not 21c: the impact of new EU banking rules on UK lenders", 17 March 2026
- Camilleri Preziosi, "CRD VI and Cross-Border Lending: What Third-Country Credit Institutions Need to Know", 20 August 2026
- Revenue Scotland, "ADS exemptions and reliefs", updated 5 June 2026 (six or more dwellings in a single transaction)
- Revenue Scotland, "Non-residential property", accessed 2 October 2026 (rates in force since 25 January 2019)
- Office for National Statistics, "Housing prices in Glasgow", 16 September 2026 (one page per council area; every area in the table was read on the same day)
- mygov.scot, "Registering as a private landlord", updated 1 April 2025
- mygov.scot, "Asking for a deposit as a private landlord", updated 1 April 2025
- GOV.UK, "Tax on your UK income if you live abroad: Rental income", accessed 2 October 2026
- GOV.UK, "Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you're not a UK resident", HM Revenue and Customs, updated 13 January 2026
Checked on 2 October 2026.