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Council leasing by council › Cheltenham

Let your house to Cheltenham council

What Cheltenham 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. Cheltenham runs a scheme for private landlords.

The council page is written for tenants: 'If you're struggling to find the deposit to rent a privately owned home we may be able to offer you a loan for the amount of a deposit.' No amounts or scheme name are stated. The Crisis PRS database lists it as the Cheltenham Borough Council Bond and Loan Scheme. The Landlord rights and responsibilities page describes no scheme.

Typelandlord incentives: cash, deposit guarantee or rent in advance to house a council nomineeIncentivesFinancial assistance for rent in advance and/or a deposit (subject to meeting certain criteria); a loan for the amount of a deposit; the council can negotiate a rent reduction with a landlord when appropriate.Council pagewww.cheltenham.gov.uk/housing/housing-advice-and-options/renting-privaChecked2026-09-28
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: Cheltenham council, read 2026-09-28. Schemes open and close with demand; confirm with the council before relying on any figure.