SIC Codes for Property Companies

What a SIC code is and why lenders care

When you incorporate a company at Companies House you choose one or more SIC codes describing what it does. They are a public classification, visible on the company's Companies House record. For most businesses they are a formality. For a property company applying for a mortgage, they are a checkpoint.

A buy to let lender wants to see a clean special purpose vehicle whose declared activity is holding and letting property. The SIC code is the first, quickest signal of that. A company carrying only an unrelated code, or a generic dormant code, sends the wrong signal and can stop an application before affordability is even looked at.

This is part of setting the company up the way lenders expect, covered across the limited company property finance hub. It pairs closely with SPV vs trading company and can a limited company get a mortgage, since the code is how a lender confirms an SPV really is one.

The property SIC codes that matter

The codes lenders expect on a property company nearly all sit in the 681 and 682 range. These are the ones to know, and to use when you incorporate a buy to let SPV.

For a standard buy to let SPV, 68209 is the code most lenders expect to see. A company that intends to buy, refurbish and sell often adds 68100. Carrying both a letting and a buying and selling code is common and rarely a problem; the issue is carrying none of them, or only unrelated ones.

Why the wrong code causes declines

The most common mistake we see is a company incorporated in a hurry with a placeholder code, such as 82990 (other business support) or a dormant company code, that was never updated once the landlord decided to buy property. At underwriting, the lender sees a company whose stated activity has nothing to do with property and questions whether it is the clean vehicle they need.

The second mistake is a trading company that has never added a property code despite holding property. That reinforces the trading company problem, narrowing the panel further. In both cases the fix is straightforward, but discovering it mid application costs time and sometimes the deal.

How to set or change your SIC code

When you incorporate, simply select a property code such as 68209 in the formation. If your company already exists with the wrong code, you do not need to do anything dramatic: you update the SIC codes on your next confirmation statement to Companies House, which can be filed at any time, and the record updates.

Once the codes are right, we can take the case to lenders. See appetite on the limited company buy to let mortgages page, and check how much a given rent supports in the limited company mortgage calculator.

1. Look up your company on the Companies House register and note its current SIC codes.
2. If it holds or will hold buy to let property, check 68209 is present.
3. If it will buy to sell or develop, consider adding 68100.
4. File a confirmation statement to update the codes if they are wrong or missing.
5. Confirm the updated codes show before submitting any mortgage application.

SIC code

A Standard Industrial Classification code recorded at Companies House that describes a company's business activity.

68209

The SIC code for other letting and operating of own or leased real estate, the standard code for a buy to let company.

68100

The SIC code for buying and selling of own real estate, used by companies that buy to sell or develop for profit.

Confirmation statement

The annual Companies House filing where a company confirms or updates its details, including its SIC codes.