Halifax and consent to let query

Bluebell1000

We have a flat which is currently let. Halifax gave us CTL in November 2009, which they said at the time lasts 3 years. However they haven't been in touch with us yet to say whether they need us to switch to a BTL product, or if they'll consider renewing CTL.

We're reluctant to ask them directly in case they've forgotten us as we're 3 months off being able to pay the whole mortgage off.

Has anyone else had contact from Halifax about their CTL renewal / changes, and if so how far in advance did they contact you? I'd have expected them to give us at least a month to sort something out, but it's less than that already...

bigadaj

Personally wouldn't bother if you are paying off in three months. However it is normally more efficient to have a mortgage as the interest element of the mortgage can be offset against the rental income.

Bluebell1000

bigadaj wrote: »

Personally wouldn't bother if you are paying off in three months. However it is normally more efficient to have a mortgage as the interest element of the mortgage can be offset against the rental income.

Flat solely in husband's name, who is currently a student and non-taxpayer When he finishes in 3ish years, he'll either be a stay at home Dad and stay a non-taxpayer, or he'll be earning enough that paying tax won't matter

We're hoping not to have to sort something out, if Hx let the mortage run for a bit, but we can borrow the shortfall from my Dad and pay off now if needed. Just useful to know if I need to start getting the repayment money out of my stocks and shares ISA, as I'm not sure how long it'll take.

Thrugelmir

Bluebell1000 wrote: »

We're reluctant to ask them directly in case they've forgotten us

Onus is on you.

Bluebell1000

Well we got a letter on Saturday to say our CTL expires on 1st December. Even Halifax had to agree with us that their notice period (which gave us about 2 hours notice) was appalling. One quick phone call later to a very apologetic Halifax, they have given us a 1 month extension with no penalty. We'll be able to pay off by the end of the month so all sorted.

So in answer to our original question, if anyone else is wondering, Halifax contact you on the day your CTL expires...

Goldiegirl

I used to work for the Halifax until 3 years ago.

When a CTL is approved, an indicator is placed on your account to confirm this and the end date of of the agreement.

When the end date is approching, your account comes up on a print out and a letter is sent. As far as I remember this is a manual process, not automated.

It sounds as if they are not up to date with their printouts.

In practice, as you have discovered they will be reasonable about the end of the Consent period.

However, personally if I was aware that my CTL agreement was ending, I wouldn't have signed up a new tenancy agreement which went beyond the end of the CTL period.