We will tell you which body your property is being matched to before you agree to anything. You see the identity of the counterparty, the term and the rent in writing at the offer stage, and you are free to decline.
How the Arrangement Is Structured
There are three parties and one lease. The lease is between you and the government body. RentPromise sits alongside it as your agent, arranging it and managing it, but is not named on it. The occupants have their own separate agreement with the government body and none with you.
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is what separates this arrangement from most guaranteed rent offers on the market. In a rent-to-rent scheme, a private company leases your property and then sublets it. Your rent depends on that company continuing to trade. Here, your rent is owed by the organisation that holds the lease with you.
The practical effect is that you are not carrying commercial counterparty risk on a small business. The body that owes you rent is the same body with a statutory duty to house the people living in your property, and that duty does not lapse.
You
Grant the lease. Receive a fixed monthly rent for its full term. Retain ownership, title and any capital growth throughout.
The government body
Holds the lease with you. Places and supports the occupants. Responsible for repairs and the condition of the property.
RentPromise
Your agent. Matches the property, brokers the lease, handles the rent payments and manages the arrangement. Not a party to the lease.
The occupants
Housed by the government body under its own arrangements. No relationship with you.
You are not the occupants' landlord in the day-to-day sense. You do not hold a deposit from them, you are not the person they contact when something breaks, and you take no part in choosing who moves in.
What RentPromise Does
We act for you. RentPromise is the exclusive agent between private landlords and the government bodies taking these leases, and our job is to get your property placed on the right terms and then keep the arrangement running smoothly for its full term.
Before the lease
- Survey and valuation of your property, free of charge.
- Matching it against live requirements from the bodies we work with.
- Negotiating the rent and the term on your behalf.
- Telling you what is outstanding on the property and what it will cost to put right.
- Handling the lease paperwork, the inventory and the schedule of condition.
During the lease
- Handling all rent payments to you, on the same date every month.
- Acting as your single point of contact with the government body.
- Coordinating repairs and any property issues with the responsible body.
- Keeping you informed about anything that affects your property.
- Managing the handback process and the end-of-term inspection.
Without an agent you would be dealing with a council housing department directly: finding the right team, understanding their scheme, negotiating terms on your own and chasing your own payments. That is possible, and some landlords do it. Our role is to make it a single conversation instead.
What You Are Paid
You receive a fixed monthly rent for the full term of the lease, paid on the same date every month whether the property is occupied or not. The figure is agreed in writing before you sign and does not change during the term. RentPromise handles the payment so it arrives from one place.
Who Is Responsible for What
Three parties, three sets of responsibilities. The table below sets out the full split so there is nothing to discover later. The most important line is the first one on the left: repairs and the condition of the property sit with the government body under the lease, not with you.
The government body
- Repairs and maintenance
- Condition of the property
- Selecting the occupants
- Supporting the occupants
- Any occupant issues or breaches
- Council tax and utilities during the lease
- Day-to-day housing management
RentPromise
- Survey and valuation
- Matching your property
- Brokering the lease
- All lease paperwork
- Inventory and schedule of condition
- Rent payments to you
- Single point of contact
- Coordinating with the government body
- Managing the handback
You
- Ownership and title
- The building structure
- Boiler and major replacements
- Buildings insurance
- Mortgage and ground rent
- Service charges on leasehold
- Certificates before the lease starts
- HMO licence where required
- Any works needed before the lease begins
The dividing line on your side is ownership. If a cost arises because you own the building — the roof, the structure, the boiler being replaced at the end of its life, your insurance — it is yours. If it arises because the property is being lived in, it is not.
Where something could reasonably fall on either side, we establish which side it sits on and tell you before anything happens. You will not receive a bill for something you were not told about in advance.
Insurance, Mortgage and Consents
A lease to a local authority, housing association or the Home Office is usually treated differently from a standard assured shorthold tenancy. That affects your buy-to-let mortgage and your landlord insurance, and both will normally need to know before the lease is signed.
None of this is unusual or difficult, and it is not a reason to walk away. It is a set of straightforward steps that need doing in the right order. We tell you exactly what is required for your property, and most landlords have it resolved within a couple of weeks.
What Our Service Costs
RentPromise charges £999 when the lease is signed, plus a monthly management fee quoted individually for your property. Both figures are confirmed in writing before you commit to anything. There is no percentage commission on your rent and no separate charges for the work involved in placing or managing the property.
The fee on signing
The £999 covers the survey and valuation, matching your property to a live requirement, negotiating the rent and term, and handling the lease paperwork and inventory. It is payable once, when the lease is signed, and there is nothing to pay before that point.
The monthly management fee
This covers managing the arrangement for its full term: handling your rent payments, acting as your point of contact with the government body, coordinating any property matters and managing the handback at the end. It depends on the property and the work involved, so we quote it per property rather than publishing one figure.
What you never pay separately
- Survey and valuation fees
- Lease negotiation or paperwork fees
- Percentage commission on your rent
- Re-letting or renewal fees during the term
- Charges for coordinating repairs with the government body
Your monthly fee is agreed in writing before you sign and does not change during the lease. Every cost is set out in your agreement. If something is not in the agreement, you will not be charged for it.
What Your Property Needs
Your property needs to be legally lettable and in a condition someone can move into. That means valid safety certificates, no outstanding hazards, and a licence where the local council requires one. We tell you exactly what is missing after the survey, and nothing is a dealbreaker until we have looked.
Certificates required
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Every property. Minimum rating E.
Valid for : 10 years
Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
Every property.
Valid for: 5 years
Gas Safety Record (CP12)
Any property with a gas supply.
Valid for: 12 months
HMO licence
Properties the council classes as an HMO.
Valid for: Varies by council
Fire risk assessment
Blocks of flats and communal areas.
Valid for: Reviewed annually
Selective licence
Where the council operates a selective licensing scheme.
Valid for: Varies by council
Certificates at the outset are your responsibility, as they would be with any letting. If something is missing we tell you what it is, what it costs and how long it takes. Most properties need something, and it is rarely serious.
Condition
The property needs working heating and hot water, sound windows and doors, a functioning kitchen and bathroom, and no damp, mould or structural problems left unaddressed. Cosmetic wear is not an issue. Anything that would fail a housing health and safety assessment needs putting right before the lease begins.
1
Submit your property
Address, property type and number of bedrooms. Takes about two minutes and commits you to nothing.
2
Free survey and valuation
We visit, assess the condition and confirm what it will let for. No charge and no obligation.
3
We match it and make you an offer
You receive a written offer setting out the rent, the term, which body is taking the lease, our fee and anything outstanding on the property.
4
Consents and paperwork
You confirm your lender and insurer are content. We prepare the lease, the inventory and the schedule of condition.
5
Lease signed, keys handed over
You sign with the government body. Our £999 fee is payable at this point. We complete the handover.
6
You get paid
Your rent arrives on the same date every month for the whole term.
Find out what your property will earn
Free survey and valuation, and a written offer with no obligation. Tell us about your property and we will come back to you within 24 hours.
Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 to talk it through first.
Is It Right for You
Is Government Leasing Right for You?
This arrangement suits some landlords and not others. You are trading a degree of control and some potential upside for certainty, a long term and no day-to-day involvement. Whether that is a good trade depends on your property, your circumstances and what you are currently spending in time and money.
It tends to work well if
- You do not want to manage the property, or you are already paying an agent to do it.
- You have had voids, arrears or difficult tenancies and would rather not repeat the experience.
- You live some distance from the property, or overseas.
- You have several properties and running them has become a job.
- You need predictable income to plan around.
- You are comfortable with your property being used to house people in need.
It is probably not for you if
- Your property is in a strong rental area, you have a reliable long-term tenant and you have time to manage it. You will earn more as you are.
- You want the maximum possible monthly figure and are willing to carry the void and arrears risk to get it.
- You want a say in who lives in the property. Under this arrangement you do not have one.
- You may need the property back at short notice. A lease is a commitment for its term, subject to any break clause agreed at the outset.
- Your mortgage lender or insurer will not permit it, and you are not able to change either.
- Your property needs substantial work you are not in a position to fund before the lease starts.
If anything in the second list applies to you, tell us early. We would rather say this is not a fit than put you into a five-year lease that turns out to be the wrong decision.
FAQ
Government Leasing Questions
Your lease is with a local authority, housing association or the Home Office, depending on which requirement your property is matched to. RentPromise is not a party to it. We act as your agent, arrange the lease between you and the government body, and manage the arrangement throughout its term.
Your rent is based on a survey and valuation of your property and is generally at or near the market rate for a long-term let in your area. It is confirmed in writing before you commit and stays fixed for the whole term. The valuation is free and carries no obligation.
Yes. Your rent is paid on the same date every month for the full term of the lease, whether anyone is living in the property or not. Void periods between placements are not your concern and do not reduce what you receive.
Repairs and the condition of the property are the responsibility of the government body under the lease. You remain responsible for what comes with ownership: the building structure, boiler replacement, buildings insurance, and the statutory certificates required before the lease begins.
No. The government body selects and places the occupants under its own arrangements, and you are not consulted. If having a say in who lives in your property matters to you, this arrangement is not the right one and it is better to establish that early.
Terms typically run from one to five years depending on the body taking the lease and the requirement your property is matched to. Break clauses and renewal options are agreed before you sign and set out in the lease itself. We talk you through them at the offer stage.
Almost certainly. Most buy-to-let mortgages require lender consent before you grant a lease of this kind, and your insurer will normally need to know as well. We tell you exactly what is required for your property and when, and it is straightforward in most cases.
We charge £999 when the lease is signed, plus a monthly management fee quoted individually for your property and agreed in writing beforehand. That covers the survey, matching your property, brokering the lease, handling your rent payments and managing the arrangement throughout its term.
The property is returned in the condition recorded in the inventory and schedule of condition at the start, less fair wear and tear. We carry out the check at both ends of the term and manage the handback process on your behalf.
No. In a rent-to-rent arrangement a private company leases your property and sublets it, and your rent depends on that company continuing to trade. Here your lease is with a local authority, housing association or the Home Office, and RentPromise acts as your agent rather than as your tenant.