Council leasing by council › Bristol

Let your house to Bristol council

What Bristol 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. Bristol runs "Homes for Ukraine scheme (rent to refugees)".

This offer is limited to letting to Ukrainian refugees already staying with a host in Bristol: we can help you to rent out your property to refugees in Bristol with guaranteed monthly rent payments. The general Help for private landlords page, the Help with housing page and the Empty properties page describe no general private sector leasing, rent deposit or bond scheme. Contact homesforukraine@bristol.gov.uk.

SchemeHomes for Ukraine scheme (rent to refugees)Typelandlord incentives: cash, deposit guarantee or rent in advance to house a council nomineeTermHosting arrangements 6 to 12 months; tenancy length not statedRentRent set at an affordable level reflecting the Local Housing Allowance for the council-arranged tenancy; market rent level for private rented sector letsIncentives1,000 pounds thank you payment for a tenancy (500 pounds for a room); 6 months' rent paid in advance when the tenancy begins; deposit of one month's rent covered; up to 2,000 pounds for repairs and maintenance; up to 2,000 pounds for furniture and items for the tenants; the council sets up the tenancy and is the point of contact for your tenantsWhat they wantHomes for refugee families, second homes, spare rooms, HMOs and empty properties in BristolCouncil pagewww.bristol.gov.uk/business/housing-for-business-and-professionals/priChecked2026-09-28

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