Can I let my home if I have a residential mortgage?

When you buy a house, you need to decide if you will live in it or if you have the intention of letting it out.

You must declare the truth as otherwise you might end up with the incorrect mortgage type or worse, in breach of a mortgage agreement and in big trouble!

In general, a residential mortgage means you have to live in the property and a buy to let mortgage means you should not live in there but others can rent it from you.

Can you let your home if it is on a residential mortgage then?!

Yes, there are ways to do this, but it will depend on some specific aspects of your case!

First of all, it will depend on whether your current lender can give you a consent to let. You have to ask for this and not just assume that the lender will be fine with you moving out and letting other people live in the house!

Secondly, if you have got lender’s consent, you must let your home insurance provider know as your policy could go void if you don’t.

If you live on your own and have a spare bedroom, there may be an option to let it to a lodger. There are lenders that will allow you to let to a lodger but some lenders won’t, so you need to ask the lender for permission and, as above, let the insurance firm know. There are certain rules around having lodgers so look out for another article on this.

Finally, if you know you need to permanently move out of your residential house, then best look into transferring a residential mortgage into a buy to let one or to carry out a let to buy transaction. Whether you qualify to do this may be dependent upon many things so one thing you should do before you take any other steps is to speak to a broker!

We encourage you to listen to an adviser rather than a neighbour, friend or other people who may not be suitably qualified to give advice. They may have some experiences, but these may not necessarily reflect what lenders allow. If you want to do things right, book an appointment with a broker.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.