The Full Breakdown

Every cost, and which of the three parties carries it.

The government body

  • Repairs and maintenance during the term
  • Condition of the property
  • Damage caused by occupants
  • Selecting and placing occupants
  • Supporting the occupants
  • Any occupant issues or breaches
  • Gas, electricity and water
  • Council tax
  • Day-to-day housing management
  • Rehousing occupants at the end of the term

RentPromise

  • Survey and valuation
  • Matching your property to a requirement
  • Negotiating the rent and term
  • Lease documentation
  • Inventory and schedule of condition
  • Rent payments to you
  • Single point of contact
  • Coordinating with the government body
  • Managing the handback

You

  • The building structure — roof, walls, foundations
  • Boiler and major appliance replacement
  • Buildings insurance
  • Mortgage payments
  • Ground rent on leasehold property
  • Service charges on leasehold property
  • Statutory certificates before the lease starts
  • HMO licence where required
  • Any works needed to make the property lettable

The middle column is what our fee pays for. The left-hand column is what the lease transfers to the government body. The right-hand column is what remains yours because you own the building, and it would be yours under any letting arrangement.

 

It is worth noting what is absent from your column. There is no letting fee, no tenant-find fee, no re-let fee between occupants, no maintenance call-out charge and no percentage taken from your rent each month. Those are the costs that usually erode a landlord's return, and they are not part of this arrangement.

Repairs and Maintenance

The government body takes on the internal repairing obligation for the term of the lease. Day-to-day repairs, wear from occupation and damage caused by the households they place are dealt with at their cost. You are not invoiced for them and you are not asked to arrange them. This is the single biggest practical difference from letting privately. Under a standard tenancy the repairing obligation sits with you: the boiler fails in December and you find an engineer and pay the bill. Under this lease that obligation has moved, and it stays moved for the whole term.

What they repair

- Internal fixtures, fittings and decoration. - Plumbing, heating and electrical faults arising during the term. - Damage caused by occupants, accidental or otherwise. - Kitchen and bathroom repairs. - Doors, windows and internal joinery. - Anything arising from the property being occupied.

What remains yours

The structure of the building and anything that fails through age rather than use. A roof that needs replacing, a boiler at the end of its service life, subsidence, or a rewire because the installation has reached the end of its useful life. These are ownership costs and they would be yours whoever occupied the property.

Where a repair sits in between

Some repairs are genuinely arguable. A boiler that fails at eight years old could be age or could be misuse. Where it is not clear-cut, we establish which side it falls on with the government body and tell you before any work happens. You will not receive a bill for something you were not told about first.

How a repair actually gets dealt with

The occupant reports it to the government body, who arrange and pay for the work through their own contractors. You are not contacted, you do not approve anything and you do not see an invoice. Where a repair touches something on your side of the line, we come to you before it proceeds.

Will I know what has been done?

You will not receive a report on every changed washer, and most landlords would not want one. We keep you informed of anything significant, anything structural, and anything that affects the condition of the property against the inventory. You can also ask us at any point.
See how your property is returned at the end of the term

What Stays With You

You remain responsible for the costs of owning the building. None of these are specific to this arrangement — they would fall to you under any letting — but they are worth setting out plainly so there is no expectation that leasing to a government body removes every cost of ownership

The building structure

Roof, walls, foundations and anything structural. Ownership costs, not occupation costs.

Boiler and major replacements

Replacement at the end of service life is an ownership cost. Repair during the term is not.

Buildings insurance

You insure the building you own. The lease will normally require you to keep it in place.

Mortgage payments

Unaffected by the lease. Your rent is intended to cover them, but the obligation is yours.

Ground rent and service charges

If your property is leasehold these remain payable by you as leaseholder.

Statutory certificates at the outset

EPC, EICR and gas safety must be valid before the lease begins.

HMO licence where required

Licensing is a landlord obligation and is not transferred by the lease.

Works to make the property lettable

Anything the survey identifies as outstanding before the property can be taken on.

The distinction that runs through all of these is age versus use. If something has come to the end of its life, that is yours. If something has been broken, worn or damaged by the property being lived in, that is not.

Before the Lease Starts

Getting a property ready is a one-off cost and it falls to you, as it would with any letting. After the survey we give you a written list of what is outstanding, what it is likely to cost and how long it will take. Most properties need something, and it is rarely serious.


Certificates

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

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.

If work is needed

You can arrange it yourself or ask us to organise it. If we organise it, the cost is agreed with you in writing before anything starts. Nothing is done on the assumption you will approve it afterwards, and there is no obligation to use anyone we suggest.

The inventory

Before the lease begins we prepare an inventory and schedule of condition recording the state of the property. This is the reference point for the handback at the end of the term, and it is worth getting right. You receive a copy and you can comment on it before it is agreed.
Condition
If work is needed
The inventory

Questions the Table Does Not Settle

A few situations come up often enough to be worth answering directly, because the breakdown table above does not settle every case. If your question is not answered here, ask before you sign rather than afterwards, and we will confirm the position in writing so there is a record of it.

Does the property need to be furnished?

It depends on the requirement your property is matched to. Some need furnished accommodation, some unfurnished, and we will tell you which applies before you agree to anything. Where furnishing is required we will tell you what standard is expected and what it is likely to cost.

Who pays the council tax?

The government body covers council tax for the term of the lease, along with gas, electricity and water. You do not need to notify the council yourself or deal with billing during the lease. This is confirmed in the lease documentation before you sign.

What about the garden?

Garden and outside space maintenance during the term falls to the government body along with the rest of the day-to-day upkeep. Structural items outside the property — boundary walls, fences that fail through age, drainage — remain ownership costs and stay with you.

What if the property is a leasehold flat?

Ground rent and service charges remain payable by you as the leaseholder, and you will need to check your own lease for any restriction on letting. Where a managing agent or freeholder needs to be notified or asked for consent, we will tell you at the offer stage.
Read more about leasehold and freeholder consent
FAQ

Questions About What’s Covered

The government body holding the lease takes on the internal repairing obligation for the term. Day-to-day repairs, wear from occupation and damage caused by the occupants are dealt with at their cost. You are not invoiced for them and you are not asked to arrange them.

Yes. Gas, electricity, water and council tax are covered by the government body for the term of the lease. You do not need to notify suppliers or the council yourself, and you will not receive bills for the property while the lease is running.

The costs of owning the building: the structure, boiler and major appliance replacement, buildings insurance, your mortgage, and any ground rent or service charges if the property is leasehold. Statutory certificates must be valid before the lease begins, and any works needed to make the property lettable are yours.

A repair during the term is dealt with by the government body under the repairing obligation. Replacement at the end of the boiler's service life is an ownership cost and remains yours. Where it is genuinely unclear which applies, we establish the position before any work happens.

It depends on the requirement your property is matched to. Some need furnished accommodation and some do not. We tell you which applies before you agree to anything, along with the standard expected and what it is likely to cost if furnishing is needed.

We cover the survey and valuation, matching your property, negotiating and arranging the lease, the inventory, your rent payments, and managing the arrangement for its full term. We coordinate repairs with the government body but the cost of them sits with that body, not with us.

Find out what your property would be offered

Free survey and valuation, and a written offer setting out the rent, the term and anything outstanding on the property. No obligation.

Get a Rent Offer

Or call us on (612) 123 - 4456 78 to talk it through first.t

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