Natwest Mortgage - do they allow lodgers?

Irishsmurfy

Hi all
My sons are due to exhange on their house purchase this week (finally!) and their mortgage is arranged with NatWest.  The solicitor has just mentioned to us that there is a covenant saying the house can only be used as a single residential dwelling and this would not allow Airbnb rentals.  My sons were originally hoping to rent out 1 or 2 rooms to lodgers to help pay off the mortgage quicker.  The solicitor has said that they will need permission from NatWest for this even though my eldest son will be living in the house so it's not a sublet or tenancy situation.  When they applied to NatWest they did verbally mention having a lodger under the rent a room scheme and nothing about permissions was mentioned.  Do you think this will be an issue with NatWest?

Thanks in advance for any info.

MCam

If you're still living in the property at the same time, then I don't think the mortgage company can object even if they wanted to. Best thing to do would be to ask NatWest directly. I've just looked through our mortgage offer from NatWest and it doesn't say anything about lodgers.

kingstreet

IIRC it's in the Terms & Conditions of RBS NatWest mortgages that a form has to be completed to inform of new/additional occupants.

Irishsmurfy

kingstreet said:

IIRC it's in the Terms & Conditions of RBS NatWest mortgages that a form has to be completed to inform of new/additional occupants.

Thanks for this - assuming they do go down the route of having a lodger (not intending to for at least 6 months as they want to have a loft extension done first) - are NatWest usually ok with lodgers or would they incur higher interest rates or charges etc?

Retired_Mortgage_Adviser

Most mainstream lenders will allow you to have a lodger with a prohibition of exceeding a number which could turn the home into an HMO (Nationwide 2 lodgers, HSBC less than half the bedrooms so effectively only possible if you have a 3+ bedroom house, etc). I've never informed the lender when taking a lodger or letting out a room on short-lets (with the right insurance).

If you do decide to contact the lender after you move in, make sure to do it in writing so there is no confusion.

If there is a covenant that prohibits short-lets (not sure who would enforce it if it's a freehold house), that would rule out Airbnb but not necessarily taking on a lodger.

kingstreet

Irishsmurfy said:

kingstreet said:

IIRC it's in the Terms & Conditions of RBS NatWest mortgages that a form has to be completed to inform of new/additional occupants.

Thanks for this - assuming they do go down the route of having a lodger (not intending to for at least 6 months as they want to have a loft extension done first) - are NatWest usually ok with lodgers or would they incur higher interest rates or charges etc?

No idea. You would need to check with the lender. As I said if I remember correctly there is a form to disclose other occupants post-completion but that was a while ago and nothing I've been involved in personally as it's not a broker issue.