Letting a home you have a residential mortgage on
A residential mortgage is offered on the basis that you live there. Letting the property without permission breaches the mortgage conditions however well the tenancy is run.
What consent to let is
Permission from the lender to let a property that is mortgaged on residential terms, granted on the existing product. It is not a switch to a buy-to-let mortgage, and it is not permanent. It is commonly time-limited, may carry conditions, and may carry a change to the interest rate.
Because it does not change the title, it is generally arranged with the lender directly and needs no conveyancer, so no legal fees arise. The lender may apply an administration charge of its own.
What to check before relying on it
Get it in writing
A verbal indication from a call centre is not consent. Take the written permission and keep it with the mortgage papers.
Check the expiry
Consent granted for twelve months is consent for twelve months. Diarise the renewal rather than assuming it rolls.
Check the rate
Some lenders apply a different rate for the period of the consent. Establish what the payment becomes before agreeing a tenancy.
Read the lease as well
On a leasehold flat the lease may restrict or prohibit subletting independently of the mortgage. Lender consent does not cure a breach of the lease, and both need checking.
Written as general information for England and Wales, not as advice on an individual matter. Where a lender’s own requirement applies, it sits in Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, which lenders amend without notice.