Getting a lodger and the mortgage

sevenhills

Renting a room or just getting a lodger, when I was speaking to one mortgage advisor, she said not to mention it.
I understand that you have to 'ask' your mortgage provider, do they all say yes?
I understand that you need different insurance, but their isnt a different mortgage, as in buy to rent.

G_M

You don't need to ask your mortgage provider. That applies to leting to teants.

However it is wise not to mention your possible intention when applying for a mortgage. Income from lodgers would not in any event be included in affordability checks, and the lender might have concerns about an adult taking occupation at the same time as the applicant and remaining.

Yes - wise to check your insurance policy either by reading the terms carefully or asking the provider.

DumbMuscle

There is not a general requirement to inform your mortgage lender.

HOWEVER there may be a requirement in your mortgage terms. I just got my offer through from Barclays, and it forbids the house being used as a main residence by anyone other than myself and family (defined as spouse/civil partner/sibling/parent/child/grandparent/grandchild) unless they consent to a tenancy. The wording is deliberately obscure to make the option not obvious (I work in an unrelated area of law, and only spotted the option for them to consent on the second read through).

Your solicitor will be able to advise you on what is allowed under your mortgage offer terms, what you can get consent for, and what the penalties are for proceeding without consent (if the bank finds out, of course). It's also worth getting advice on the agreement with your lodger, as you ideally want a them to be an "excluded occupier" rather than have a full tenancy over the spare room (partly for capital gains tax reasons, and partly because that's what the bank will want so they don't have to deal with tenants rights if they foreclose on you).

Since I don't *need* to rent out a room (it would be a nice but not essential income boost, and I'd like to see how I handle living alone first), I'm not planning to ask until after completion - because not being able to rent out a room is much less of a disadvantage to me than losing the mortgage offer.