Council leasing by council › Babergh

Let your house to Babergh council

What Babergh offers private landlords who want the council as their tenant or their letting agent, in the council's own words, with the page to apply on.

Yes. Babergh runs "Central Suffolk Lettings (Rent Guarantee Indemnity Scheme)".

Central Suffolk Lettings was developed by Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils and provides a lettings service to private landlords with a rent guarantee indemnity, deposit bond and cash incentive. Contact landlords@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk, 01449 724977 or 07926 067314.

SchemeCentral Suffolk Lettings (Rent Guarantee Indemnity Scheme)Typea mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentivesTermGuaranteed rent arrears payment for the term of the tenancyRentRent set at the Local Housing Allowance rates, reviewed annually; increases permitted annually in line with LHA reviewsIncentivesFree lettings service; cash incentive for the landlord (amount not stated); deposit bond; guaranteed rent arrears payment for the term of the tenancy; free tenancy management services including inventory, six-monthly inspections and check-out inspection while on the indemnity schemeWhat they wantProperties meeting compliance standards (safety certificates, EPC A to E, good repair); no bedroom or area preference statedCouncil pagewww.babergh.gov.uk/w/central-suffolk-lettingsChecked2026-09-28

New: How council schemes compare, what you give up, and a ready-to-send email to your council

How these schemes work

Councils have a duty to house people they accept as homeless and a shortage of their own stock, so many lease or manage private landlords' houses instead. The common shapes are a lease of three to five years where the council becomes your tenant and pays rent whether the house is occupied or not, a management arrangement where the council lets and looks after it for you, or a one-off incentive (a cash payment, a deposit guarantee, rent in advance) for taking a council-nominated tenant on a normal tenancy. Terms, rent levels and what they want vary by council and change with demand, so treat every page here as a pointer to the council's own page, not a quote.

Before you sign

Check the same things you would for any let: whether the address is inside an HMO Article 4 area if the council plans to house more than one household, which licensing applies, and what the LHA rate is, since many schemes pay at or just under it. The free HMO Article 4 checker tests any postcode; Kerbio shows all three on the Rightmove listing before you buy.

See this on every Rightmove listing.Kerbio puts the Article 4 answer, licensing, the council's HMO register and sold prices on the Rightmove, Zoopla or OnTheMarket page itself. Free for 7 days, then £39 a month.

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Source: Babergh council, read 2026-09-28. Schemes open and close with demand; confirm with the council before relying on any figure.