If I rent my house out do I need a BTL mortgage?

[MadameLeBean]

Stupid question maybe .. If you only own 1 property but want to rent it out and live in another (rented) place, do you still need to change your mortgage to a Buy To Let one? Or is that only for second properties? What if my mortgage contract term isn't up yet? Thanks in advance oh wise and knowledgable mumsnet

Christ, I remember that thread with the fire. I double checked the public liability part of my LL insurance twice that night ( yes, it does pay out for if the tenant is hurt or dies on the property due to the property). Also got carbon monoxide alarms in. The annual gas check is mandatory. The insurance was a blessing when it covered loss of income following a pipe burst. OP, you need to be insured to the hilt with bank approval. Anything else is foolhardy.

Yes Santander seem to have some strange rules, our home mortgage is with them, but they wont renew it as we have BTLs.

Thanks everyone there is no way I'm doing anything not by the book.
I will call and ask them.
It isn't a decision to be taken lightly I know - we need a bigger place in the next 3 months and not sure of our long term plans (but they include keeping this property) so it makes sense to rent somewhere ourselves medium term and get this one properly rented out.

I hear using a management agency is less hassle but I think they are evil (having rented for years myself) and I think tenants would be happier dealing with me, & I'd get all the proper safety checks and insurance in place of course.

Madame if you have the time to manage yourself, then definitely do. Don't leave it to agents to chose your tenants or manage your property. We did and are currently counting the hundreds and hundreds of ££££ it's going to take to get our formerly gorgeous house in a saleable condition. That's on top of rent arrears. I may be a little bit ott when it comes to being houseproud, but what most agents pass off as reasonable/good condition when they do their periodic inspections is NOT what I would consider so.

I think you need both. An agent does act as a buffer but as a landlord it all comes down to you. You are responsible for all legal compliance and for chasing the agent to do stuff.

if you cannot be on constant call (not 24 hours, but during every day) to fix things, then you also need a home emergency policy to get urgent fixes done. The tenant can't wait to have the boiler/toilet fixed because you are on holiday, hospitalised or attending a funeral.

also - do check the sums, it is a rare situation when the actual rental income on one property pays for the rental of another, unless the first one is in London and is big.