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Council leasing by council › Reading

Let your house to Reading council

What Reading 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. Reading runs "Rent Guarantee Scheme (RGS)".

Tenants pay their rent to us and save an agreed amount every month over a three year period towards their deposit. Contact rgs@reading.gov.uk, 0118 937 2233.

SchemeRent Guarantee Scheme (RGS)Typeguaranteed rent: paid whether the property is occupied or notRentLetting Income rates set each 1 April; April 2024 to March 2025 from £390.43 pcm for a room in a shared house to £1,649.48 pcm for four bedroomsIncentivesGuaranteed rent paid directly to the landlord, in advance; up to six weeks deposit; rent paid during void periods; property viewings arranged within a day; video inventories at start and end of tenancy; completely free serviceWhat they wantFurnished or unfurnished; rooms in shared houses, studios and one to four bedroom properties; inspected before acceptance to meet legal and health and safety standardsCouncil pagewww.reading.gov.uk/housing/private-renting/landlords/rent-guarantee-scChecked2026-09-28
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: Reading council, read 2026-09-28. Schemes open and close with demand; confirm with the council before relying on any figure.