Consent to let on a Principality Building Society mortgage
When a borrower needs Principality Building Society’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.
Two things decide how consent to let goes: the general law, which is settled, and the lender's requirement, which is not, and which the lender can change between the offer and completion.
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.
Why a Principality Building Society panel solicitor asks for what it asks for
Much of what a solicitor asks for on a Principality Building Society 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 industry-wide half
- Written once and applied to every lender in the scheme, which is why a conveyancer can act on a first matter for a lender they have never dealt with.
- It sets the investigation a firm has to carry out and the terms of the certificate of title it signs at the end of it.
- Amendments are consulted on and published, so a firm can see one coming.
Part 1 is the reason panel work is comparable between lenders at all.
Part 2
Where Principality Building Society answers for itself
- Every question Part 1 leaves to the lender is answered here, in Principality Building Society's own words: indemnity policies, new-build warranties, occupiers, retentions and the rest.
- It can be amended at any time and without notice, which is the whole reason a firm checks it per matter rather than per year.
- It is also where two lenders on the same transaction can want different things.
Nothing on this site reproduces a Part 2 answer. Read the current version before acting on any description of one.
Monitoring Part 2 for changes is what this site is for, so the monitoring record itself belongs on the page. This is Principality Building Society's.
Counting the amendments rather than the years: Principality Building Society has made 120 changes to Part 2 sections since 2017, 2 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 Principality Building Society 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 Principality Building Society'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 Principality Building Society.