Q Shortly after I met my boyfriend in September 2016 he bought a flat. I moved in with him in June 2017. I pay half of the bills, but I don’t pay any rent money, because this flat is his only and I never wanted contribute to his mortgage. When he bought the flat he took out a two-year fixed-rate mortgage which needs to be renewed very soon. The first time he used a broker but this time he intends to remortgage with a new product and lender. He informed the new lender that I live in his flat but do not contribute to his mortgage. The bank advised him that he should have a written confirmation from me that I don’t have any tenancy rights. He wants to fix this his new mortgage for another two years, and after that we are planning to buy a house together. Is there any possibility that my written confirmation that I do not have tenancy rights to my boyfriend’s flat will affect my future in any way? Is this document a requirement for any mortgage application?
DC
A The new lender wants you to sign what other lenders refer to as an “occupier’s consent form” or “consent to mortgage form” to make absolutely sure that you won’t in the future lay claims to rights in the property. The reason that the bank wants this assurance is that it wants to be sure that if the property had to be repossessed, the property could be sold quickly. But provided your boyfriend keeps up with his mortgage payments, repossession is not a worry for either of you. As far as buying a property together goes, whatever you sign in relation to your boyfriend’s current flat, will make no difference whatsoever to your future joint purchase.
