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If you have inherited a property and want to let it out rather than sell it, the mortgage question depends on three things: whether there is still a mortgage on it, whether probate has completed, and whether the property came with tenants already living there. None of those are difficult once you know which one applies to you, but they decide the order you have to do things in, and getting that order wrong is what causes the delays.
Do you need a mortgage at all on an inherited property?
Not always. If the property is inherited outright with no mortgage on it, and you have the cash for any work it needs, you may not need to borrow anything. Plenty of people in this position let the property with no mortgage at all. You would still need landlord insurance, and you would still have all the usual legal duties of a landlord, but there is no lender involved.
Where borrowing comes in is usually one of three situations: there is an existing mortgage that has to be repaid or replaced, you need to raise money to buy out a sibling, or the property needs work you cannot fund from savings.
What if the property already has a mortgage on it?
The mortgage does not simply transfer to you. It was a contract between the lender and the person who died, and it becomes a debt of the estate. In practice lenders usually allow a reasonable period for the estate to be settled, then expect the loan to be repaid, either from the sale of the property or by the person inheriting it taking out their own mortgage in their own name.
If you want to keep the property and let it, that second route is what you are aiming at. It is a new mortgage application in your name, assessed on you, not an inherited arrangement you slot into.
An inherited mortgage does not transfer to you. It becomes a debt of the estate and usually has to be repaid or replaced.
Most lenders will not complete until probate has been granted and the title has passed to you.
Letting a property you inherited often falls inside consumer buy to let rather than investment buy to let.
Since 1 May 2026 an inherited tenancy has no end date, and getting the property back needs four months notice.
Buying out a sibling’s share is a normal reason to borrow and lenders deal with it regularly.
What has probate got to do with the timing?
A great deal, because most lenders will not complete a mortgage on a property until the legal ownership has actually passed to you. That normally means probate has been granted and the title transferred. You can have all the conversations, get a decision in principle, and line up a lender well before that point, and it is sensible to do so. What you generally cannot do is complete.
Probate timescales vary a lot depending on the estate. The practical advice is to start the mortgage conversation early rather than waiting until the paperwork lands, so that when it does you are not starting from scratch.
What is a consumer buy to let, and why does an inherited property often fall into it?
A consumer buy to let is a buy to let mortgage where you are not borrowing wholly or predominantly for business purposes. Someone who has deliberately gone out and bought a rental property is usually on the business side of that line. Someone who has been handed a house by a relative and decided to keep it very often is not.
This matters practically rather than philosophically. Consumer buy to let is regulated by the FCA, where most investment buy to let is not, and not every lender offers it. So the answer to “which lenders will look at this” can be different from the answer a friend with a portfolio would give you. It is not decided by which you would prefer, or by signing a declaration. It is decided by the substance of your situation.
Would a limited company make sense, or is that for other people?
It is a fair question to ask rather than one to dismiss, but it is a question with a tax answer as well as a mortgage answer, so your accountant needs to be in the conversation. The mortgage half is straightforward enough: a limited company is normally assessed against an easier rental cover test, but company rates and fees are usually higher, so the easier test does not automatically mean the cheaper mortgage.
The thing worth knowing before you go down that road is that moving an inherited property into a company is a transfer, not a piece of paperwork, and it can carry stamp duty and capital gains consequences. Ask your accountant before you ask a lender.
What if the property came with tenants already in it?
This is the situation that has changed most, and it is the one people most often get wrong. Since 1 May 2026 there are no assured shorthold tenancies and no fixed terms. Any tenancy you inherit runs on a periodic basis with no end date, and it does not end because the owner changed.
If you were assuming you could take the property back quickly to sell it, refurbish it or move in, that assumption no longer holds. The grounds for selling or for moving in yourself require four months’ notice and cannot be used until the tenant has been in the property for twelve months. Inheriting a tenanted house means inheriting the tenancy and its clock, not a blank sheet.
What if the property needs work before anyone can live in it?
Then the first question is whether it is currently in a condition a mainstream lender will lend on at all. A property without a working kitchen or bathroom, or with serious structural problems, is often outside standard buy to let lending until the work is done. There are lenders and products designed for exactly that gap, and the right route depends on how much work, how it is being funded and how quickly it can be finished.
Speak to an expert
Inherited a property and not sure where to start? Call me on 01425 203055 or email info@htgmortgages.com. Working out your options costs nothing.
What if more than one of you inherited it?
Very common, and it is usually the part that takes the longest. If a property is left to two or three siblings and one of them wants to keep it and let it, that person normally needs to raise a mortgage to buy out the others’ shares. Lenders deal with this regularly and there is nothing unusual about it, but everyone needs to agree on the value and on the timing before an application goes anywhere. It is worth having that conversation between yourselves first, because a mortgage cannot resolve a disagreement about price.
What does a lender want to see before they will lend on it?
Broadly: proof that the property is or will be legally yours, evidence of the rent it can achieve, your own income and credit position, and a property in lettable condition. The rent matters more than people expect, because buy to let borrowing is driven by a rental cover test rather than simply by your salary. There is a fuller explanation of how that works in my guide to how a buy to let remortgage works.
Where to get this looked at
This is a case type I see regularly and it is rarely as complicated as it feels at the start. If it turns out to be straightforward I will tell you that, and if the honest answer is that selling makes more sense than keeping it, I will tell you that too. Start with the buy to let hub if you want to read around it, or the buy to let remortgage page if there is an existing mortgage to deal with. My fee is a flat £350, payable only once your mortgage offer is issued, and here is how that compares with percentage broker fees. Information correct as at August 2026. This is general information rather than advice on your own situation, and tax questions belong with your accountant.
If you decide selling makes more sense than letting, and the property already has tenants in place, my guide to selling a tenanted property covers the two routes open to you.
Inheriting is one of the three classic routes into unplanned landlording; my guide to the accidental landlord covers all three and the order to sort things in.
Need Personal Mortgage Advice?
Every buyer’s situation is different. While this guide explains the general rules, the right mortgage for you depends on your income, deposit, credit history and future plans. If you’d like tailored advice, I’m here to help, with whole-of-market coverage.
