The Scheme
A government leasing scheme is where you lease your property to a local authority, housing association or the Home Office for a fixed term, and they pay you a set rent every month whether the property is occupied or not. RentPromise arranges the lease and manages it for you throughout the term.
No. RentPromise is not your tenant and is never a party to the lease. Your lease is granted directly to a local authority, housing association or the Home Office. RentPromise acts as your agent: it finds the right scheme, arranges the lease with the public body, and manages the arrangement for the full term.
The government body places and supports the occupants, so it decides who lives there, not RentPromise and not you. Occupants are typically households the public body has a duty to house, such as families in temporary accommodation. The body remains responsible for the tenancy and the occupants throughout the lease.
A letting agent finds tenants on the open market and manages the tenancy for a percentage of your rent, while you carry the voids and the arrears risk. Under a government lease, your rent is fixed and paid whether the property is occupied or not, and the public body handles the occupants.
Your rent is contractual under the lease with the public body, so it is paid every month for the term whether the property is occupied or not. Because your counterparty is a local authority, housing association or the Home Office, the lease continues to stand even if RentPromise itself stopped trading.
Rent and Payment
The rent is confirmed after a free survey of your property, not quoted from a table. Government leasing is funded within housing budgets, so it is usually pitched against local housing allowance rather than the top market rent, in exchange for a fixed income with no voids and no management to arrange.
Your rent is paid on the same date every month for the whole term, whether or not the property is occupied. Because the income comes from a lease with a public body rather than from an individual tenant, it does not stop for void periods, arrears or gaps between occupants.
Usually a little, yes. Because the rent is funded within housing budgets, the headline figure is often below the top open-market rate. In return you get a fixed sum every month for the term with no voids, no arrears risk and no management, which many landlords value more than the last few pounds of rent.
RentPromise charges the landlord a fee of £999 on signing, plus a monthly management fee quoted individually for your property. The monthly fee is agreed upfront before you sign and does not change during the lease. It is not a percentage commission deducted from your rent as a letting agent would take.
Rent review depends on the terms agreed with the public body at the outset, and any review arrangement is set out in your lease before you sign. Because the rent is contractual for the term, you know the basis on which you are paid from the start rather than facing open-market swings.
Repairs and Maintenance
During the lease, the government body is responsible for the day-to-day condition of the property and for repairs arising from occupation. You remain responsible for the structure and for your ownership obligations, such as major structural items, the roof and boiler replacement. The exact split is set out in your lease.
The property is returned to you at the end of the lease in a condition set out in the agreement, with the public body responsible for making good beyond fair wear and tear. The precise handback standard is written into your lease, so you know what to expect before you sign.
No. Day-to-day maintenance arising during the lease is handled by the government body as part of the arrangement, not by you. This is one of the main reasons landlords choose a government lease: the running of the property, including repairs from occupation, is taken off your hands for the term.
Damage beyond fair wear and tear during the lease is the responsibility of the government body under the terms of the agreement, not yours to pursue with the occupants. Because your lease is with the public body, you deal with the body, not with the individuals living in the property.
Yes. As the owner, you remain responsible for major structural items, the roof, and replacing the boiler if it fails, along with buildings insurance and statutory certificates at the outset. The government body handles day-to-day repairs from occupation. Your exact obligations are set out clearly in the lease.
Contracts and Terms
Leases run for a fixed term of one to five years, agreed with the public body at the outset. The length that suits you depends how long you want a guaranteed income and when you might want the property back. The term is fixed and set out in your lease before you sign.
Your lease is with the local authority, housing association or the Home Office, not with RentPromise. RentPromise arranges the lease and manages the arrangement as your agent, but it is not the tenant and is not a party to the lease. Your counterparty throughout is the public body.
The lease is for a fixed term, so you regain the property at the end of it, or earlier only if a break clause is agreed at the outset. Any break arrangement is written into the lease before you sign, so the basis on which you can recover the property is clear from the start.
At the end of the term the property is returned to you in the condition set out in the lease, and you can renew, let it another way, or take it back. There is a handback process to confirm the condition. Your options at the end are agreed as part of the lease.
Because your lease is with a local authority, housing association or the Home Office, and not with RentPromise, the lease and your rent continue to stand even if RentPromise ceased trading. This is a core strength of the model: your counterparty is a public body, not the company that arranged it.
Eligibility andCertificates
A wide range, from single flats and houses to HMOs and whole blocks, in the areas where the public bodies we work with have demand. Whether a specific property is suitable depends on its type, condition and location, which is confirmed at survey. The best way to find out is to tell us about it.
Yes. Your property must meet the legal standards for letting, including valid gas and electrical safety certificates and an energy performance certificate, and be in a lettable condition. These are confirmed before the lease begins. The survey checks what is needed and what, if anything, must be put right first.
You will generally need a valid gas safety record where there is gas, an electrical installation condition report, and an energy performance certificate, plus any licence that applies to the property. The exact requirements are confirmed at survey, and we tell you what is needed before the lease begins.
Yes, HMOs can be suitable, though the position depends on the local licensing regime and how the property is used. Any HMO licence remains the responsibility of the owner. We confirm the exact licensing position for your property at survey before anything is agreed, so you know where you stand.
Often yes, but you will usually need your lender’s consent to lease, because a government lease is a different arrangement from a standard buy-to-let tenancy. Many lenders will agree. It is worth checking your mortgage terms early, and we can talk through how the consent process typically works.
Getting Started
Tell us about your property using the online form or by phone, and we will arrange a free survey and valuation. From there we confirm the rent and the term, match your property to a live requirement, and arrange the lease with the public body. There is no obligation to proceed after the survey.
Yes. The survey and valuation are free and come with no obligation. They let us confirm the rent we can offer, check the property meets the required standards, and identify anything that needs attention before a lease begins. You are under no commitment to proceed until you have seen the offer.
The timing depends on your property, the certificates in place, and the current requirements of the public bodies in your area. After the survey we can usually set out a realistic timescale. Because demand for accommodation is high, suitable properties are often matched to a requirement relatively quickly.
No. Many landlords who use a government lease live elsewhere in the UK or overseas. The whole point of the arrangement is that the property runs without you: the public body places and supports the occupants, and RentPromise manages the lease, so your involvement after signing is minimal.
We work with landlords across the UK, wherever the public bodies we deal with have live requirements. Coverage shifts as demand moves, so the best way to know your position is to tell us the address and let us check the current picture for your area before anything is agreed.
Still have aquestion?
If your question is not answered here, tell us about your property and we will come back to you. The free survey and valuation come with no obligation, and there is no commitment until you have seen an offer.
Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 to talk it through.