By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Yes, in almost every case: a residential mortgage prohibits letting without consent, and a buy-to-let mortgage typically permits only assured shorthold tenancies, so short letting needs separate written consent. Ask your lender specifically about short-term or holiday letting and keep the reply — a breach can trigger a higher rate, fees or, in serious cases, a demand for repayment.
Why the mortgage matters more than people expect
A residential mortgage almost always prohibits letting the property at all without consent. This is the most commonly breached condition in short letting, usually by owners who let a property they used to live in.
A buy-to-let mortgage permits letting — but the conditions typically specify letting on an assured shorthold tenancy of a minimum term. Short-term and holiday letting is a different use, and consent for one is not consent for the other.
A small number of lenders offer specific holiday-let products. Those are the clean route, and they price differently for a reason.
What a breach can actually trigger
Lenders vary in how they respond, and most start with a letter rather than anything dramatic. What they can do is worth knowing before you rely on nobody noticing.
Consent conditions typically allow the lender to charge a higher rate, impose a fee, require you to stop, or in serious cases treat the loan as repayable. Some conditions make a breach of the lease a breach of the mortgage too, which is how one problem becomes two.
It can also affect insurance. If a policy is conditional on the letting being permitted, a mortgage breach can undermine a claim at exactly the wrong moment.
How to ask, and what to ask for
Ask in writing, and ask about short-term or holiday letting specifically. "Can I let the property?" gets answered about tenancies and the answer will be useless to you.
Ask whether consent is conditional, and on what. Common conditions are a rate change, an administration fee, a maximum number of nights, a requirement for specific insurance, or a limit on letting through platforms.
Keep the reply. If you later refinance, the new lender's conditions start again from scratch — consent does not travel with the property.
If the answer is no
It is not always the end of the plan. Medium-term and corporate letting is a different proposition, and lenders that refuse short letting will sometimes permit a longer single-occupier arrangement, because it looks much more like the tenancy their product was written for.
Remortgaging to a holiday-let product is the other route, and worth pricing rather than assuming it is prohibitive.
What is not a route is doing it anyway and hoping. Platforms are public, and a listing is easy to find from an address.
General guidance on mortgage conditions, not financial or legal advice. Only your mortgage offer and conditions govern your property. Ask your lender directly.