Council leasing by council › Southwark

Let your house to Southwark council

What Southwark 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. Southwark runs "Let your property through us: Social lettings agency, Finders fee scheme and Self-help scheme".

Since 2011 we've helped over 500 landlords let their properties. The social lettings agency suits landlords wanting a long-term guaranteed income without property management; the finders fee scheme is a free tenant finding service with a cash incentive and same-day tenant referrals; full terms are in a linked PDF.

SchemeLet your property through us: Social lettings agency, Finders fee scheme and Self-help schemeTypea mix of leasing, guaranteed rent and incentivesTermSocial lettings agency: a lease up to 5 yearsRenta guaranteed rent paid directly to your bank account even if the property is emptyIncentivesguaranteed rent and incentive payments; no fees or charges; social lettings agency: full management of all tenant issues including day to day repairs, regular visits, guaranteed vacant possession at the end of the lease; finders fee and self-help schemes: cash incentiveWhat they wantlocal landlords, lettings agencies and portfolio landlords; long-empty properties may qualify for empty homes fundingCouncil pagewww.southwark.gov.uk/housing/private-tenants-and-landlords/landlords/lChecked2026-09-28

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