Subletting your home or taking in a lodger
Guidance for leaseholders, shared owners and equity loan holders who are thinking about subletting their home or taking in a lodger. This includes when subletting is allowed, how to apply, and what it costs.
Before you sublet
If you’d like to sublet your home, you may need our consent. Whether you can do this depends on the type of home you own.
Holiday lets and houses in multiple occupation are not allowed under any circumstances.
Breaching your lease terms can have serious consequences, including legal action and the risk of losing your home.
All arrears must be cleared before we can give consent.
If you’re a leaseholder
If you own 100% of your home, you may be able to sublet, but your lease terms must allow it.
We’ll need to check your lease before giving consent.
If your lease does not allow subletting, but we own the freehold, we may be able to amend it through a Deed of Variation - a legal change to your lease that allows subletting. You’ll need to pay all legal and admin fees associated with this process.
How to sublet
There are four steps to follow:
- Step one: Send us your request to sublet
- Step two: We review your request
We’ll review your lease and confirm whether you need a Notice to Underlet.
A Notice to Underlet is a legal document that gives you permission to sublet your home.
If you require a Notice to Underlet
We’ll ask you to:
- complete and return a Subletting Occupancy form
- complete and return a Notice to Underlet
- pay the relevant administration fee
We may also ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement.
Send us your documents by email
If you do not require a Notice to Underlet
We’ll ask you to complete a Subletting Occupancy form and pay the relevant administration fee.
We may also ask for a copy of the tenancy agreement.
Send us your documents by email
If we don’t receive a response from you within three weeks
We’ll send you two reminders about the forms. After the second reminder, if we still have not heard from you, we will close the file.
- Step three: Pay our admin fee
You’ll need to call us on 0208 189 7465 (option 1, then option 2) and pay by card.
- Step four: Final steps
Once everything is in place, we’ll arrange for the Notice to Underlet to be signed by an authorised signatory (if applicable) - this can take up to five working days.
Our team will also update your details with the information you provided on the Subletting Occupancy form.
We’ll then confirm in writing that you have consent to sublet.
If you’re a shared owner or equity loan holder (exceptional circumstances)
If you own through shared ownership or an equity loan, your lease does not normally allow subletting.
We may only consider it in exceptional circumstances, including:
- a temporary work secondment where refusing would mean losing your job
- caring full time (30+ hours per week) for a relative
- remedial building safety works making your home unmortgageable or unsellable
- remedial building safety works are likely to last for more than 12 months.
You cannot make a profit from subletting. The rent you charge must not exceed your monthly mortgage, rent, service charge, ground rent, and letting costs.
How to sublet
There are six steps to follow:
- Step one: Send us your request to sublet
We’ll then open your subletting case within ten working days of you registering your interest.
- Step two: We review your request
We’ll review your lease and ask you to provide evidence of your exceptional circumstance.
If your request is eligible
We’ll ask you to complete and return an Initial Approval to Sublet form and pay the relevant administration fee.
If your request is not eligible
We’ll get in touch to confirm that your request has been declined.
- Step three: Pay our admin fee
You’ll need to call us on 0208 189 7465 (option 1, then option 2) and pay by card.
- Step four: We draft a licence to sublet
Once we’ve received your initial approval to sublet form and admin fee, we’ll instruct our in-house solicitor to draft a licence to sublet.
If you wish to instruct your own solicitor
You can use your own solicitor, or we have a panel of independent conveyancing solicitors who are experts in shared ownership.
- Step five: You provide evidence of the rent you plan to charge
We’ll request evidence of the rent you plan to charge and a draft tenancy agreement.
We’ll then confirm the maximum monthly rent you can charge.
We’ll also ask you to pay the £300 legal fee associated with the license to sublet.
- Step six: Final steps
Once we’ve got everything, we’ll arrange for an authorised signatory to sign your license to sublet – this can take up to five working days.
Our solicitor will then agree a completion date with you and send us your signed copy.
We’ll then confirm in writing that you have our consent to sublet.
When your license to sublet expires
Two months before the licence expires, we’ll remind you to serve notice to your tenant.
At expiry, you must either return to your home, staircase to 100%, or sell.
Shared owners in buildings with remedial works
How to sublet
There are five steps to follow
- Step one: Send us your request to sublet
- Step two: We review your request
We’ll check our records to establish the most recent EWS1 certificate or update on cladding on your block.
If we establish that remedial safety works are required, we’ll ask you to complete and return an Initial Approval to Sublet form.
If we do not receive a response within one month
We will close your file.
- Step three: We draft a licence to sublet
Once we’ve received your initial approval to sublet form and admin fee, we’ll instruct our in-house solicitor to draft a licence to sublet.
If you wish to instruct your own solicitor
You can use your own solicitor, or we have a panel of independent conveyancing solicitors who are experts in shared ownership.
- Step four: You provide evidence of the rent you plan to charge
We’ll request evidence of the rent you plan to charge and a draft tenancy agreement.
We’ll also confirm the maximum monthly rent you can charge.
We’ll then contact you or your solicitor with a copy of the draft licence to sublet.
- Step five: Final steps
Once we’ve got everything, we’ll arrange for an authorised signatory to sign your license to sublet – this can take up to five working days.
Our solicitor will then agree a completion date with you and send us your signed copy.
We’ll then confirm in writing that you have our consent to sublet.
When your license to sublet expires
Two months before the licence expires, we’ll check our records again for an update on the status of remedial building safety works.
If there are no further updates and the works are scheduled or ongoing
We may consider giving you an extension for 24 months or until the works have been completed.
If an EWS1 certificate is available
You’ll need to either move back in, staircase to 100%, or sell your home through our Resales team.
The licence will not be extended beyond the expiry date.
Taking in a lodger
If you’re a leaseholder (100% owner)
You may be able to take in a lodger if your lease allows it. Please check your lease terms first.
If you’re a shared owner
You can take in a lodger if all the following apply:
- you have our written consent
- you do not give a tenancy agreement (you are not subletting your whole home)
- you do not make a profit from the arrangement
- any money received only covers the shortfall in your monthly mortgage, rent or service charges
- the lodger’s payment is no more than 80% of your total rent and service charge
Once we’ve confirmed you can take in a lodger, please provide:
- the lodger’s full name
- which room or part of your home they’ll use
- the start date and expected length of the arrangement
- the amount you’ll charge the lodger
We’ll need to check your proposed charge against the rent we bill you to make sure it’s permitted.
Location set
You can change the location near the bottom of the page