I currently let my house without my Building Society's knowledge - I did call them and the guy said that so long as they get their money they would really rather not know! My concern is the buildings insurance, if I take out a buy-to-let policy and have to make a claim, will the fact that I haven't 'officially' informed my lender invalidate that insurance? The line 'Does a bank or building society require their interest to be noted on your policy?' appears in the policy document.......

.....anyone got an answer to help me please.

Thanks (I do pay tax on the income by the way!)

Hi AJB
I can't inderstand why building society will not be bothered if you rent your house. You must tell your lender and ask for permission to let, otherwise you will be in breach of mortgage contract. Normally most lenders agree, providing that you are not in arrears and don't have any other problems. They normally charge for it, but it is about £150-£200. It is possible that later on when you current product will expire they may request that your transfer your mortgage to a buy to let, but even then you may be allowed to stay on a variable rate with permission to let. As a landlord you are required to have building insurance only, tenants should purchase their own contet insurance, but you may chose to have content cover as well if you rent it furnished. having proper landlords insurance is certainly the right thing to do, it is not much dearer and you will not have to worry if you claim will be paid or not. Also landlords insurance has a liability cover built in, which residential doesn't. I hope it helps.

Thanks, that is useful.

The Building Society were only prepared to allow me to let the property for 6 months at a time as they see letting as 'high risk'. I am in the Army and away a lot of the time, when I explained this to them the chap said that so long as they get their money they are not too bothered! I am happy to get Buy-to-Let insurance, my concern is that in the event of having to make a claim the insurance company will refuse because my lender is not aware of the letting.

Any advice?

Hi AJB
I am not insurance specialist, but I think it is very important that your insurance company is aware that property is let out. They will ask you at the time of application if you own the property with a mortgage and in your case the answer will be yes. You will need to tell them the name of your lender. They will note the name of the lender and they notify your lender about your policy, which will say that it is a landlords insurance, so I would come back to your Building Society and ask them if you need to fill the form for permission to let, or ask them to send you a letter that they are aware that property is rented and it is done in agreement with them. It is better to be safe, than sorry, will you be able to find that chap if something will not go according to plan? You need something in writing. Many people in the Army rent their properties and normally lenders are quite happy for property to be let out. However, you may ask your conveyancer or solicitor for legal advice; they should know where you will stand in the event of insurance claim. Also study your mortgage terms and conditions.

Think Konek is right in a way that you need smth in writing from your lender to cover your back. Have you gone through your mortgage terms and conditions? There may be smth in small print to clarify the situation. Hope it all works out for you!