# Renting UK Home



## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

Hi

After much advice from this forum we have decided to rent our UK home for a while rather than sell and after reading on this forum that alot of other people do as well -

When renting your home have you changed the mortgage to a Buy to Let mortgage as you should do or have you left it as a main residency mortgage? (don't worry I am not a mole from the mortgage lenders association 

I understand that we will need to change insurances etc.

Steven


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

steven_matthews said:


> Hi
> 
> After much advice from this forum we have decided to rent our UK home for a while rather than sell and after reading on this forum that alot of other people do as well -
> 
> ...


We didnt change our mortgage, cos we are under the impression that a "buy to rent" mortgage is just that! On the other hand, we didnt buy our house to rent it, we're simply taking time out and using the tenants to pay it and I'm sure thats allowed. However, to rent out properly isnt without its headaches. We had a letting agent round before we moved who gave us a list of things that we had to do to the property to make it "legal" to rent!!!!! Fire alarms, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, bannisters on all the outdoor and indoor stairs (not easy cos our UK house is split level), special window locks, .... AAAAGGGHH! We ended up not bothering as such, just allowed my two older daughters to stay there and pay the mortgage and my husband lives there when he's in the UK.

Also just to p**** on your fireworks LOL, I think any oncome you make from your property has to be taken into account when assessing your tax payments!!!


Jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

You are supposed to change your mortgage, but i understand that a lot of lenders are giving people a bit of leaway as they don't want to end up having to reposses houses.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Cazzy said:


> You are supposed to change your mortgage, but i understand that a lot of lenders are giving people a bit of leaway as they don't want to end up having to reposses houses.


Are you sure, cos we checked with our mortgage provider and they told us that it depended on whether we were planning to use the property as a business or as a domestic home and simply moving away for a temporary reason

Jo xxx


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## Cazzy (Nov 23, 2008)

jojo said:


> Are you sure, cos we checked with our mortgage provider and they told us that it depended on whether we were planning to use the property as a business or as a domestic home and simply moving away for a temporary reason
> 
> Jo xxx


We just asked if we could rent it out and they said if it was for 2 years or less we could. We didn't in the end though.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Cazzy said:


> We just asked if we could rent it out and they said if it was for 2 years or less we could. We didn't in the end though.


Ours didnt ask for how long. They were more worried about our intentions and prospective marketplace we were looking to rent to!!????? Oh and of course that the mortgage would be paid LOL!!ç



Jo xxx


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

For what it's worth, this is what we learnt from our experience of renting. We had a couple of properties we rented about ten years ago and had zero problems as we lived near a USAAF base and the rental agreement/inventories etc. were done free of charge by the US Military authorities. If you are lucky enough to live in such an area, that is your best, cheapest and safest bet.
When we last rented properties we used an Agency to collect rents, supervise and maintain. We had major problems as the Agency was hopelessly incompetent. Although they supplied us with references for one of our tenants, it later transpired that she'd been evicted from another property and she stole and used a credit card erroneously sent with PIN to the address.
We had problems with unpaid utility bills as the Agency had not transferred them to the tenant.
You are of course also liable for a certain amount of tax and reputable Agencies will require you to state that you have informed the tax authorities -at leeast one we dealt with did.
Your accountant can best advise on this, of course.
The main consideration is to choose your managing agency with extreme care and diligence.
I do know people who let property without using an agency but they've all had problems.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Iirc, if you are not a UK resident, doesnt the rental agent take tax from the rental before passing it on to you


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> Iirc, if you are not a UK resident, doesnt the rental agent take tax from the rental before passing it on to you



Yes, but I was still technically a UK resident so our accountant dealt with it.
There's no escape from death and taxes, as someone said.


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## steven1975 (Aug 11, 2009)

You can fill in a form from inland revenue and tax will not be deducted.

The agent needs the certificate though, otherwise they will deduct 22%

Steven


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

Re mortgage - you MUST ask your mortgage company's permission before you rent out your home (it should be in your mortgage deed). Much depends on the state of your mortgage - how much still owning, whether in negative equity, and your overall financial position - whether rental income will be sufficient to cover your monthly payments etc. You also need to tell your insurance company, for both content and building. Some companies continue to cover both during a tenancy - others don't and you have to take out a separate landlord insurance - shop around, as competition is keen. It covers a number of things a normal household insurance doesn't, such as damage caused by tenants, rental guarantee, legal obligations as landlord etc.
A lot of new rules have come in about renting out your property recently, such as Energy Performance Certificate (around £50 to £100), gas safety certificate (about the same) and deposit protection. There are additional requirements if your property is classed as house in multiple occupation (HMO).
Good online resources include Landlordzone, RLA and NLA.


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## JBODEN (Jul 10, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> Yes, but I was still technically a UK resident so our accountant dealt with it.
> There's no escape from death and taxes, as someone said.


Benjamin Franklin:
"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but *in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes*.
I also like the following quote _attributed _to him:
"Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner." (Majority rule!!!)


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