Going Direct vs Using a Partner at a Glance
What Going Direct Gives You
Approaching a council yourself avoids a partner fee, which is the clear advantage. If you have a property in an area you know well, the time to research which schemes are live, and the confidence to approach the housing team, you can arrange a lease directly and keep the fee a partner would otherwise charge.
The trade-off is time and reach. You have to find the live requirements yourself, which vary by council and change month to month, approach each body, and manage the relationship and the rent for the term. It works best for landlords with local knowledge, spare time, and usually more than one property to make the effort worthwhile.
What a Partner Gives You
A partner such as RentPromise does the legwork: finding the right scheme, matching your property to a live requirement, brokering the lease with the council, association or Home Office, and managing the arrangement and the rent for the full term. You get one point of contact and access to more bodies than approaching a single council yourself.
A partner such as RentPromise does the legwork: finding the right scheme, matching your property to a live requirement, brokering the lease with the council, association or Home Office, and managing the arrangement and the rent for the full term. You get one point of contact and access to more bodies than approaching a single council yourself.
Common Questions
Yes. Any landlord can approach a council leasing scheme directly, and many do. The council deals with landlords as well as partners. Going direct avoids a partner fee, but you take on finding the live schemes, approaching the housing team, and managing the arrangement and the rent yourself for the full term.
Nothing you strictly could not do yourself, but a partner does it faster and reaches further. It already knows which schemes are live across several councils, associations and the Home Office, brokers the lease, and manages the rent for the term. You are paying for time saved and access, not for something impossible to arrange alone.
With the council, association or Home Office, never with the partner. Whichever route you take, your lease and your rent come from a public body. A partner such as RentPromise arranges the lease and manages it on your behalf, but it is not the tenant and is not a party to the lease itself.
Weigh the fee you would save against the time it takes to find live schemes, approach bodies, and manage the arrangement for the term, plus how well you know the local demand. If you have the time, the local knowledge and more than one property, direct can pay. If not, a partner usually earns its fee.
See what wewould arrange for your property
Tell us the address and a few details, and we will come back with an offer setting out the fixed rent, the term and the fee, so you can weigh using us against approaching a council yourself. Free survey and valuation, no obligation.
Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 to talk it through first.