You Are Not the Only One Who Did Not Plan This

A large number of landlords never set out to be one. They came to it through circumstance rather than choice, and often at a point in life when they had little appetite for taking on something new. If that is you, you are in a very common position, and it is one this arrangement was well suited to.

The usual routes in

  • You inherited a house and are not sure whether to keep or sell it.
  • You tried to sell a property and it did not move, so letting became the fallback.
  • You moved in with a partner and kept your old flat rather than selling.
  • You relocated for work and could not, or did not want to, sell your home.
  • You were left a property you have no time or wish to manage yourself.

In every one of these, the property is an asset you did not ask to manage. A government lease lets you hold on to it and take an income from it without it becoming a second job, which for an accidental landlord is usually exactly the point.

What Letting a Property Normally Involves

It helps to see plainly what you would otherwise be taking on, because it is more than most people expect. Letting a property yourself, or through a high-street agent, means a series of ongoing responsibilities that do not stop once a tenant moves in. This is the job a government lease takes off you.

Finding a tenant

Advertising, viewings, references and credit checks before anyone moves in.

Safety certificates

A gas safety check each year, an electrical report, and an energy rating, all kept valid by law.

Repairs

Arranging and paying for anything that breaks, sometimes at short notice.

Collecting rent

Chasing it when it is late, and covering the mortgage yourself if it does not come.

Void periods

The months with no tenant and no rent, but the mortgage still due.

Ending a tenancy

The legal process if a tenant has to be asked to leave, which can be slow and costly.

None of this is impossible to learn, but it is a real commitment of time and attention, and getting parts of it wrong can be expensive or land you on the wrong side of the law. For someone who did not choose this, taking it all on is a lot to ask.

What the Arrangement Takes Off You

Almost all of it. Once the lease is in place, the tenants, the repairs, the bills and the rent collection are handled by the government body and by RentPromise. You are left with a fixed monthly payment and none of the work, which is the whole reason the arrangement suits someone new to this.

Find and check every tenant

Occupants placed and supported by the government body

Keep every safety certificate valid

Requirements explained, and we tell you what is needed

Arrange and pay for repairs

Repairs the government body’s responsibility for the term

Chase the rent, cover the gaps

A fixed sum on the same date every month

Lose income during void months

Paid whether the property is occupied or not

Handle any eviction yourself

Rehousing at the end is the government body’s job, not yours

The effect is that a property you may have been dreading becomes something straightforward. You are still the owner, you still have the asset, and you receive a reliable income from it, but the parts that worried you are simply not yours to deal with.

See exactly what is included and who pays for what

The Few Things That Stay With You

It would be wrong to suggest you have nothing to think about. A handful of things stay with you because you own the building, and it is fairer to be plain about them now than to let them surprise you later. None is difficult, and we walk you through each one.

Still yours to handle

- The building itself: the roof, the walls, and replacing things like the boiler at the end of their life. - Buildings insurance, to cover the property you own. We can point you in the right direction. - Your mortgage, if you have one. Your lender needs to agree to the lease, and we help arrange that. - Getting the property to a lettable standard at the start, if any work is needed first.

A word on your mortgage

If the property has a mortgage, your lender has to agree to it being let this way. This is normal and usually straightforward, but it does need doing properly. If the property was your home, you may be on a residential mortgage that needs changing, and we will tell you what to check with your lender.
Read more about mortgage consent to lease
FAQ

First-Time Landlord Questions

Yes, particularly so. A government lease is well suited to someone new to letting because it takes on the parts that need experience: tenants, repairs, rent collection and compliance. You receive a fixed rent without having to learn the job, and we guide you through the little that remains.

You can sell it, let it yourself, or let it on a government lease. If you want to keep the property and take an income without the work of managing it, a government lease is often the simplest route, and it leaves you free to sell later at the end of the term.

Possibly. The property needs valid safety certificates and to be at a lettable standard before a lease begins. We survey it, tell you plainly what if anything is needed, and roughly what it would cost. Often little is required, and we set it out clearly before you commit.

Your lender needs to agree to the property being let this way, which is normal and usually straightforward. If it was your home, you may be on a residential mortgage that needs changing to a let arrangement. We tell you what to check with your lender before anything is signed.

Yes. At the end of the term the property is returned to you empty, and you can then sell it, move back in, or renew. You cannot take it back early unless that was agreed at the start, so if you might want it back, tell us and we will factor it in.

Start with a free, no-pressure conversation

We will survey the property, tell you plainly what it could earn and what if anything it needs, and put it in writing. No jargon, no obligation, and no assumption that you know how any of this works.

Get a Rent Offer

Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 and we will talk you through it.

Related Pages

Read More

Government leasing scheme
Learn More
Government leasing for landlords
Learn More
Government leasing for individual landlords
Learn More
How it works
Learn More
Mortgage consent to lease
Learn More

Landlord compliance checklist

Learn More
What our service costs
Learn More