Council Lease vs Private Letting at a Glance
What PrivateLetting Gives You
Managing the property yourself keeps the most rent of any option, because no agent fee sits between you and the tenant. You set the rent at the full open-market rate, choose your own tenants, and keep complete control of the property. For a hands-on landlord, that control and the extra income are the whole appeal.
The trade-off is that everything is yours. You carry the voids, find and reference tenants, arrange repairs, track gas and electrical certificates, protect deposits, serve the right notices, and chase any arrears. It works best when you live near the property, have the time, and are comfortable with the legal and practical side of being a landlord.
What a Government Lease Gives You
On a government lease, which is what RentPromise arranges, your lease is with a local authority, housing association or the Home Office. They pay a fixed rent every month for one to five years whether or not the property is occupied, place and support the occupants, and are responsible for repairs and the property’s condition for the term.
The advantage is that almost all the work disappears. No voids, no tenant management, no compliance to track, no arrear risk, and rent arrives whether the property is full or empty. The trade-off is the headline figure: because the rent is funded within housing budgets, it is usually below the full market rent a private landlord could keep.
Common Questions
On headline rent, usually yes, because you keep the full market rent with no fee taken. But that figure is before voids, re-letting costs, repairs and your own time. A government lease pays less on paper but has none of those deductions, so the gap between the two is often smaller than it first looks.
More than many landlords expect. You handle marketing, viewings, referencing, the tenancy agreement, deposit protection,
gas and electrical safety, repairs, inspections, rent collection, arrears and correct notices, and you carry every void. A government lease removes almost all of that for the term, which is its main appeal for busy or distant landlords.
When you let privately, all legal compliance is yours: safety certificates, deposit rules, licensing where it applies, and the right paperwork for any notice. On a government lease, the day-to-day compliance is handled within the arrangement for the term, while you keep your ownership obligations. The exact split is confirmed before you sign.
Yes, once your current tenancy allows it. Many self-managing landlords switch a property onto a government lease when the
voids, the admin or the distance stop being worth the extra rent. Tell us about the property and your current arrangement, and we will explain the timing and what a lease would look like.
See what agovernment lease would pay you
Tell us the address and a few details, and we will come back with an offer setting out the fixed rent and the term, so you can weigh it against what you keep after voids, repairs and your own time letting privately. Free survey and valuation, no obligation.
Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 to talk it through first.