Let your house to Cambridge council

Q: Does Cambridge council work with private landlords?

Yes. Cambridge runs "Town Hall Lettings" (a mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentives). Term: Guaranteed payment monthly in advance for the duration of your contract with us. Rent: Guaranteed Rent option is only available to landlords that offer properties at affordable rents. Source: the council's own page, checked 2026-09-28.

What Cambridge 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. Cambridge runs "Town Hall Lettings".

Town Hall Lettings is the council's non-profit social lettings agency formed in January 2014, named on the council's own page, offering guaranteed rent and traditional management with the aim of eradicating homelessness in Cambridge. Contact townhall.lettings@cambridge.gov.uk or 01223 457999.

SchemeTown Hall LettingsTypea mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentivesTermGuaranteed payment monthly in advance for the duration of your contract with usRentGuaranteed Rent option is only available to landlords that offer properties at affordable rentsIncentivesA variety of management options, from Guaranteed Rent to Tenant Find service; landlords would receive their monthly rent, regardless of voids; a negotiable guaranteed deposit bond of up to the equivalent of 8 weeks rent; no set up costs, no fee for inspecting properties, no inventory charges and no tenancy renewal fee; tenant support programme includedWhat they wantProperties in Cambridge at affordable rents for the Guaranteed Rent option; free referral service for live-in landlords seeking lodgersCouncil pagewww.cambridge.gov.uk/town-hall-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: Cambridge council, read 2026-09-28. Schemes open and close with demand; confirm with the council before relying on any figure.