House sitting for brother with complicated side issues

shedboy77

Hi there,

Hoping to pick the brains of some of the more enlightened individuals on this board in order to understand my options a bit better.

So the situation is as follows:

My brother has been offerend a job abroad for two years. Rather than renting to a strangers, he's offered to rent it to my girlfriend and I, with us only giving him enough to cover the interest payments.

Now at present my girlfriend lives with her step-dad, although she is the mortgage holder of following her mother passing away. The mortgage is for around £5k, shortfall on her mother's endowment policy.

My question is, if my girlfriend moves out of her flat, leaving just her step-dad living there, does she need to inform her mortgage lender and are there any charges, fees or changes to mortgage terms required?

Also, does my borther need to do something similar in order for us to live in his flat for two years while he is abroad?

We've heard about 'consent to let' forms and such, but not sure how applicable these are when it comes to family.

Fire_Fox

Consent to lease is applicable to family, if the registered owner does not live there and take a penny in rent they are legally a landlord with all the associated rights and responsibilities. Many lenders do not allow letting to family tho, at least in a BTL context not sure about consent to lease. If the stepfather is a named owner on the flat no consent to lease is required. Your brother will also need to complete tax returns, although he will not need to actually pay income tax.