Consent to let during a fixed rate mortgage period

[TableNiner]

I'm sure this has been covered before but I also wonder if anything has changed as the government has been tightening up on buy to let.

Essentially if fix my mortgage rate for say five years this year and then in two years I decide to move abroad and want to let the property and the lender says I need to apply for a buy to let mortgage instead, how would that work? Would I need to wait to move until the end of the fixed rate term? Or pay an early repayment charge for the original mortgage? Should I make sure I don't fix for too long a period if a move abroad is on the cards? TIA for any advice!

A lot of lenders will still give you consent to let but only authorise for a year at a time and not within the first year of your mortgage.

I bought just under two years ago on a two year fixed mortgage. I lived in the property the first year and then moved in with my boyfriend and applied for consent to let for the mortgage anniversary date. They reviewed my application on the anniversary date and I had tenants in the next month. I will apply for a buy-to-let mortgage in the next few months ready for the end of the two years.

Hope that helps.

Hi @batqueen, yes that does help, thanks.
That would suggest that the consent to let allows you both to let the property and to carry on with your existing mortgage for its planned original length, and then at the end of that period you have to review and likely get a buy to let mortgage, so potentially more expensive but you only worry about that once you are out of your fixed rate term

Exactly, it’s not a guarantee they will allow the consent to let, but, mostly it seems they do if you can prove it will benefit your circumstances and that the property will generate a decent rental yield. I wanted no more than a two year fixed term just in case there were any issues as I knew that I was likely to be moving in with my partner fairly soon.

We got permission from our mortgage provider to let our house for 3 years (2 initial years, then we extended). We continued with our existing fixed deal during that time, we just had to ask them for a letter, provide evidence that we were going for work (contract) and that was it. I suppose different lenders vary, but it was quite straight forward for us.