But despite the cladding now not being an issue, Stacey still cannot sell due to the high ground rent and service charge her flat has. The family looked to rent their flat out but are unable to get accepted for a buy-to-let mortgage because they do not have enough equity in the flat. Many lenders require around 25 per cent equity in a property for a buy-to-let mortgage. The government would give you a loan between 5 per cent to 20 per cent of the cost of a new-build home as an ‘equity loan’. However, some homeowners have been struggling to sell their homes because they need to pay back the equity loan they took out to buy it.