It is often considered to be the case that where a mortgage lender has an agreement with the official owner of the property, there is no consideration then given to any other individuals who may be living in the property. However, these individuals may potentially have a beneficial claim to the property even if they’re not part of the legal ownership, and it is this concern that the mortgage lenders will look to overcome when requesting an occupier consent form.
Why Have an Occupier Consent Form?
The main issue arising is that a mortgage lender will be engaging with the legal owners of the property. Where there are two or more owners, two or more individuals will be party to the mortgage, meaning that the mortgage company can enforce their rights against these individuals and potentially take possession of the property and sell it if they were in default.
However, some individuals as occupiers can gain beneficial interest in the property. For example, if they have made payments towards the property or have made payments towards the mortgage even if they were not party to the mortgage, this could result in the occupier being able to block the mortgage lender if they were seeking to enforce or to gain possession of the property.
Independent Legal Advice for an Occupier Consent Form
The occupier consent form has different clauses which fundamentally allow the mortgage lender to be able to enforce their rights under the mortgage deed and not to be prevented by any occupier who claims an interest in the property. Matters such as whether the mortgage is increased or changed would not then require further consent of the occupier, which is likely to be important from the point of view of the borrowers as the legal owners of the property.
Many solicitors, such as SAM Conveyancing, offer this independent advice through a variety of mechanisms, including video conferencing at a fixed fee to offer certainty for all parties. See https://www.samconveyancing.co.uk/news/conveyancing/occupier-consent-form-what-does-your-mortgage-lender-need-6019 for more information.
Occupier consent forms are a part of getting a mortgage where there are discrepancies between those occupying the property and those legally owning the property, so planning ahead and ensuring that these individuals are identified is vital if there are not to be hold-ups in the conveyancing process. This is not typically the case with buy to let mortgages, but advice should be obtained if this is applicable.
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