Is renting a BTL property to my niece deemed as family?

Chelsea_Blue

So I have a BTL flat with my tenants moving away to a different part of the UK for work, early 2022.
My niece, who is currently renting with her boyfriend doesn't like her flat and can leave around the same time and would love to move into my flat.
She would be happy paying the going rate and doesn't expect any favours.
Before I speak to my mortgage provider, I was wondering whether a niece is deemed as a family member as I know that it is forbidden with my current mortgage.?

macman

A niece may not be defined as a close family member, but you'd need to check with your mortgage provider to be sure.
You could of course, issue a tenancy solely to the boyfriend: there is then no family connection, if you were happy to have him as sole tenant.

user1977

Chelsea_Blue said:

Before I speak to my mortgage provider, I was wondering whether a niece is deemed as a family member as I know that it is forbidden with my current mortgage.?

What exactly do your mortgage conditions say about it? Who is the lender?

canaldumidi

out of interest, if niece and/or boyfriend lost their jobs, or split up and niece struggled with the rent alone, would you serve a S8 Notice on her.......?

And if you didn't, would you struggle with the mortgage...?

Grumpy_chap

Chelsea_Blue said:

So I have a BTL flat with my tenants moving away to a different part of the UK for work, early 2022.
My niece, who is currently renting with her boyfriend doesn't like her flat and can leave around the same time and would love to move into my flat.
She would be happy paying the going rate and doesn't expect any favours.
Before I speak to my mortgage provider, I was wondering whether a niece is deemed as a family member as I know that it is forbidden with my current mortgage.?

If you can, it may be easier to refer to the paperwork you have and see how it defines "family member".

If you phone to ask, then you'll quite likely be speaking with a call-centre operative whom, when asked "Is my niece deemed as a family member" will simply respond "Well, yeah".  No guarantee that the person you speak with will actually know what the mortgage conditions actually say.

Anyone you meet on the street would agree that your niece is, indeed, a family member.

It is quite possible that BTL mortgage conditions have a specific definition of family that is rather narrower than any random stranger you meet on the street would say.

london21

Niece will be family.
Business and family sometimes don't mix well.

[Deleted User]

From a mortgage perspective, the majority of lenders will classify family as parents, grandparents,  siblings, and children.   Other non immediate family members are usually classed as normal tenants so can do a normal buy to let mortgage

Chelsea_Blue

canaldumidi said:

out of interest, if niece and/or boyfriend lost their jobs, or split up and niece struggled with the rent alone, would you serve a S8 Notice on her.......?

And if you didn't, would you struggle with the mortgage...?

That's a risk you take with any potential tenant. I appreciate circumstances can change for anyone and I've always kept a contingency fund, if this was to happen.
Paying the BTL mortgage would not be a problem if things were to change.

MaryNB

Chelsea_Blue said:

canaldumidi said:

out of interest, if niece and/or boyfriend lost their jobs, or split up and niece struggled with the rent alone, would you serve a S8 Notice on her.......?

And if you didn't, would you struggle with the mortgage...?

That's a risk you take with any potential tenant. I appreciate circumstances can change for anyone and have a contingency plan.
Paying the BTL mortgage would not be a problem if things were to change.

Yeah but usually evicting a tenant doesn't come with the risk of falling out with your niece and potentially your sibling. Years ago, as a favour to his brother, my dad reluctantly let a house to his nephew and his mates. They paid the rent but left it in an awful state. Caused friction between my dad and his brother.

Chelsea_Blue

Thanks to everybody who have taken time to comment. The definition of family member from your comments is clearly a bit of a grey area when it comes to mortgages and varies from lender to lender. I will further investigate with my mortgage provider for clarification.

canaldumidi

Chelsea_Blue said:

canaldumidi said:

out of interest, if niece and/or boyfriend lost their jobs, or split up and niece struggled with the rent alone, would you serve a S8 Notice on her.......?

And if you didn't, would you struggle with the mortgage...?

That's a risk you take with any potential tenant. I appreciate circumstances can change for anyone and I've always kept a contingency fund, if this was to happen.
Paying the BTL mortgage would not be a problem if things were to change.

Yes of course arrears are a risk with any potential tenant. My point was that evicting and/or taking a stranger to court is not the same as evicting and/or taking a family member to court. It is therefore worth considering this worst-case scenario in advance.