Council leasing by council › Preston

Let your house to Preston council

What Preston 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. Preston runs "Private Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme and Preston Bond Scheme".

Council guide: landlords who do not want day-to-day management can join Preston Council's Private Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme; the Housing Advice team nominates a suitable tenant and a third party manages the property. Terms and conditions vary with each lease scheme, refer to the Housing Advice Service. The Preston Bond Scheme page (article/943) returned 404; the Renting a private property page confirms a letter of guarantee instead of a cash bond.

SchemePrivate Sector Leasing (PSL) scheme and Preston Bond SchemeTypea mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentivesTermAn agreed lease period (length not stated)RentGuaranteed rental income throughout the lease period, whether the property is occupied or not, below market rate (council guide)IncentivesPSL: managing agent handles minor repairs and decoration, property returned with vacant possession at the end of the lease; Preston Bond Scheme: a letter of guarantee instead of a cash bondWhat they wantEmpty properties that meet decent homes standards before the managing agent will accept themCouncil pagewww.preston.gov.uk/article/11407/A-guide-to-successful-lettingChecked2026-09-28

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