Consent to let on a Metro Bank mortgage
When a borrower needs Metro Bank’s permission to let a property mortgaged on residential terms, and what a conveyancer needs to see before relying on it.
- Topic
- Consent to let
- Jurisdiction
- England & Wales
- Handbook
- UK Finance · Part 1 & 2
Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook is amended by lenders without notice. Check the current version before relying on any requirement described here.
What consent to let means here
Permission from a lender for a borrower to let a property that is mortgaged on residential terms, without moving to a buy-to-let product. Requirements, fees and duration differ by lender and are set out in the lender’s own policy.
Most of the delay on consent to let comes from establishing what the lender wants before anyone starts drafting. Getting that answer early is usually worth more than any amount of chasing later.
What has to be in place
Why consent is needed
A residential mortgage is offered on the basis that the borrower occupies the property. Letting without permission is a breach of the mortgage conditions regardless of how well the tenancy is run.
What consent is
Consent to let is a permission granted on the existing product, not a change to a buy-to-let mortgage. It may be time-limited, may carry conditions, and may carry a change to the rate.
Evidence
Take the consent in writing and check its expiry, any rate change, and any condition on the form of tenancy before treating the letting as authorised.
Leasehold titles
A lease may restrict or prohibit subletting independently of the mortgage. Lender consent does not cure a breach of the lease, and both need checking.
Acting for you and for Metro Bank at the same time
Much of what a solicitor asks for on a Metro Bank matter is asked on the lender's behalf rather than on yours. The document that decides which questions those are is the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, and it is public.
Part 1
The settled half
- A single document covering what has to be investigated on any mortgage matter, and what has to be reported back before funds are released.
- It moves slowly and in public, so a change to it is news rather than a surprise.
Knowing Part 1 tells a conveyancer how the work is done, not what this particular lender wants.
Part 2
The half Metro Bank controls
- Metro Bank sets its own position here on the points Part 1 hands to it, and can revise that position whenever it decides to.
- A requirement that applied on the last matter may not apply on this one, and there is no notice period in which to notice.
This is the half worth checking on the day rather than remembering.
A conveyancer who acted on a Metro Bank matter last year may or may not be working from current requirements. The years below are what decides that.
Part 2 changes have been recorded for Metro Bank in every year since 2013. A run that reaches the present is the case for reading the current version rather than working from the last matter, and it is the reason this site monitors Part 2 instead of reprinting it.
Counting the amendments rather than the years: Metro Bank has made 693 changes to Part 2 sections since 2017, 14 of them in 2026. One amendment can touch several sections, so this counts section changes rather than distinct sections, and revisions that moved nothing but the document’s own date are left out.
Counted from the Lexsure Part 2 change record supplied on 3 August 2026, which holds the years a lender’s Part 2 was amended rather than what any amendment said. 2026 is a part year, because the extract was taken partway through it. A lender that revises Part 2 often is not a worse lender than one that leaves it alone: what these figures describe is how far a conveyancer can rely on what applied last time, which is why the current version is the one to check.
This site says which Part 2 question holds a lender-specific answer rather than reprinting the answer. A stale copy of a requirement, on a page someone acts on, is worse than no copy.
What to confirm with Metro Bank rather than assume
Part 2 of the Handbook carries each lender's own requirements and its overrides of Part 1, and it is amended without notice. These are the points where the answer is Metro Bank's rather than general practice:
- Whether consent is granted for a fixed period or until further notice
- Any required form of tenancy agreement and any minimum or maximum term
- Whether the interest rate or product terms change while the consent is in force
We do not reproduce Part 2 here. It is lender-specific, it changes without notice, and a stale copy of it on a page a conveyancer relies on is worse than no copy at all. LM04 tracks those changes.
Acting on this lender’s instructions
Panel membership decides whether a firm can act at all. LenderPanel maintains the directory borrowers search when choosing a conveyancer, including for Metro Bank.