Hi all,
I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on this...
If I purchased my Council flat (lease) under the Right to Buy Scheme and within the first three years decided I had to move (due to unreasonable behaviour from neighbours or an improvement in my financial position so i can afford someone better) where would I stand with regards to renting out the flat to a business for use as an office? Would that side-step all the usual red tape on renting out to sitting tenants?
I know normally with a mortgage you can't rent out any residential property without permission from the lender unless you have a buy-to-let mortgage..
I don't want to go down the buy-to-let route as I plan to live in the flat for a few years, but the problem neighbour situation may force me to move sooner than I would like.. and I don't want to have to pay a mortgage then for x years on an empty flat. The Right to Buy Scheme means you can't sell within the first 3 years, else you have to pay back some or all of the discount.
Assuming there is no flexibility to sell early under Right to Buy for exceptional circumstances, would renting to a business as an office under those circumstances be a violation of the mortgage and cause problems?
What other options do I have? Apart from just approaching the lender and asking permission to sub-lease? I'm planning to get a mortgage with a building society if that makes any difference..
Thanks for any advice!