A local authority has launched a full-management lettings service for the private rented sector. It was already offering a tenant-find service.
Harrow Council in north London claims that it is the first full-management lettings service to be run by a local authority in the city.
It will find tenants, manage and inspect properties, and guarantee rent with up to three months of payment in advance.
The council says that the aim is to bridge the gap between the high demand for social housing and the lack of available homes, whilst giving landlords a guaranteed return on their property.
The new service is in addition to the council’s existing Help2Let scheme, which matches residents on the housing waiting list with private landlords looking for tenants and whose property meets certain standards. Landlords pay for the service, which has so far found over 200 tenants.
Councillor Bob Currie, portfolio holder for housing, said: “With major pressure on housing services, the private rented sector has become more important than ever. We are working with landlords in Harrow to create more choice for our residents.
“By supporting and boosting this sector, we can also drive up standards in the rental market. We are building up a database of available, decent properties in the area.”
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Comments
I'd bet that the media will be the first people to be pulling a set of their accounts at the end of the year to see exactly how much taxpayers money went into it - they better have their sums right or they will be in the spotlight, lol
Council want to manage everyone, where the world is going?
Off topic, if you want to rent a flat, look on this nice page http://www.propertiesabc.co.uk/flats-to-rent/
Civil servants do not understand commerce.
If councils can't manage their own properties how on earth are they going to manage someone else's?
It will be interesting to see how this works out
What fees are the Council charging.....or is the private sector taxes and council tax going to fund their fleet of vehicles, army of pen pushers with their gold plated pensions.