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Council leasing by council › Cornwall

Let your house to Cornwall council

What Cornwall 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. Cornwall runs "Private Sector Leasing Scheme".

The council also owns a private letting service managing over 200 properties (infoprivatelets@cornwall.gov.uk, 01872 324342) and refers to a separate Landlord Incentive Scheme. PSL contact psl@cornwall.gov.uk.

SchemePrivate Sector Leasing SchemeTypea mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentivesTerm5-year lease agreementsIncentivesGuaranteed rent for the full lease period, even during voids or tenant arrears; monthly rent paid in advance; property management by Cornwall Council with no letting agent fees and no direct tenant contact; property returned in original condition minus fair wear and tear.What they wantEmpty homes, second homes, holiday lets, annexes and adapted properties; must meet Decent Home standards, be free from Category 1 and 2 HHSRS hazards, have basic furnishings, EPC, gas and electrical certificates, smoke and CO alarms and at least £2 million public liability insurance.Council pagewww.cornwall.gov.uk/housing/private-housing/private-sector-leasing-schChecked2026-09-28
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: Cornwall council, read 2026-09-28. Schemes open and close with demand; confirm with the council before relying on any figure.