Do you need a specific mortgage to let a property on Airbnb?

by Aaron Strutt

Jun 14 2023

If you plan to use the Airbnb website to let your property, you will need a specific type of mortgage or permission from your lender to avoid potentially getting a black mark on your credit report.

Over the last few years, more lenders have eased their permission to let policies. However, each bank and building society has different rules regarding letting all or part of a property, particularly through Airbnb.

Lenders with more generous mortgages are available for residential homeowners who want to let their property for limited periods. For landlords with mortgages who constantly let to different people, specific buy-to-let lenders are allowing Airbnb rather than the usual standard let on Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreements.

Trinity Financial consistently arranges mortgages through lenders like Metro Bank and Barclays because they are two of the largest banks to promote their more flexible Airbnb policies actively. They typically allow people to let rooms or their homes for up to three months of the year.

Metro Bank allows its residential mortgage customers to let out their property for up to 90 days through companies like Airbnb. They expect borrowers to seek prior permission from their buildings and contents insurance providers and to ensure that if their property is a leasehold, the freeholder is also in agreement.

Barclays allows short-term occupancy using Airbnb, but the property cannot be occupied by someone other than the homeowner for longer than 90 days in any 12 calendar month period and for no longer than 30 days consecutively by anyone other than the owner.

Which lenders are good for landlords using Airbnb?

Many lenders accept applications from landlords using Airbnb, including many small building societies and niche lenders like Capital Home Loans. Other more bespoke lenders will consider lending to applicants looking to let their property at any stage using Airbnb, providing the relevant insurance is in place.

Why is Airbnb increasing in popularity?

With an estimated 800,000 fixed-rate mortgages set to expire over the next six months and 1.6 million next year, more homeowners are looking at ways to generate extra income and lower the payment shock when they remortgage. Letting a room or property on Airbnb is the logical step for many. 

Last month, Airbnb launched a campaign labelled Airbnb Rooms, targeting homeowners with spare rooms. While renting out one room was always possible on the platform, the feature went largely underused, the company said.

Call 020 7016 0790 to arrange an Airbnb mortgage or book a consultation