Why permission is needed
A residential mortgage is priced and underwritten on the basis that you live in the property. Letting changes the risk, the tax treatment and the lender's position if it ever has to repossess, which is why nearly every residential mortgage contains a term prohibiting letting without written consent.
This catches accidental landlords most often: a job move, moving in with a partner, a property that will not sell, an inheritance. The intention is innocent and the breach is the same.
Consent to let
You keep your existing residential mortgage and the lender permits letting, usually for a defined period and sometimes with conditions.
- Often granted for twelve months, renewable, though this varies widely.
- May carry an administration fee or a small increase in the interest rate.
- Usually requires a formal tenancy agreement rather than an informal arrangement.
- Some lenders restrict letting to family, or exclude houses in multiple occupation and student lets.
Ask in writing and keep the reply. If your agent ever needs to prove the letting is authorised, or a remortgage comes up later, that letter is the document.
A buy to let mortgage
A different product, designed for letting from the outset. Broadly it involves a larger deposit than a residential mortgage, assessment based on expected rental income rather than only your salary, and interest rates and fees that usually sit above residential equivalents.
It is the right answer where letting is the long term plan rather than a temporary arrangement, and it removes the annual question of whether consent will be renewed.
Which one fits
Consent to let suits a temporary situation where you may return to the property, or where you are testing whether being a landlord suits you before committing.
A buy to let mortgage suits a settled decision to let, a property you will not live in again, or a plan to add further properties. It is also the route if your lender refuses consent or attaches conditions you cannot meet.
The tax position differs between owning personally and through a company, and it has changed more than once in recent years. That is a question for an accountant rather than for a website, and it is worth asking before you restructure rather than afterwards.
The other two permissions
Lender consent is the one people think of, and it is rarely the only one.
The freeholder or factor. If the flat is leasehold, or in a Scottish block with a factoring arrangement, the title may restrict letting. Some leases prohibit subletting outright, some require consent, and many now specifically prohibit short term letting. Read the title before you market the property.
Your insurer. Ordinary residential cover assumes you live there, and letting without telling the insurer generally breaches the policy, so a claim can be refused when you most need it. This is covered in full in our post on landlord insurance.
What happens if you do not ask
The mortgage consequence is that the lender can treat the breach as grounds to demand immediate repayment of the entire loan. In practice a lender that discovers unauthorised letting more commonly insists you regularise it, by taking consent or moving to a buy to let product, sometimes with a backdated rate adjustment. But the power to call in the loan exists and being at the wrong end of it is a serious position.
The insurance consequence is usually worse and arrives sooner, because it surfaces at the moment of a claim, when a fire or a flood has already happened.
Both are avoided by two phone calls and a letter, which is the cheapest compliance step anywhere in letting. Do them before the property is advertised, alongside the energy performance certificate, the gas safety record and the electrical report.
Common questions
What is consent to let?
Written permission from your existing lender to let the property while keeping your residential mortgage. It is typically granted for a limited period, sometimes with a small fee or an interest rate adjustment, and it suits someone letting temporarily rather than permanently.
Will my lender say no?
Often they say yes, particularly where the reason is temporary, such as a job move or moving in with a partner. Lenders vary considerably, so ask yours directly rather than relying on what someone else was told by a different bank.
Is letting without consent illegal?
It is a breach of contract rather than a criminal offence, but the consequences are real: the lender can demand immediate repayment of the whole loan, and separately your insurer can refuse claims and cancel the policy.
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