Landlords across London with budget one-bed and studio properties are now being given the option to lease thanks to a service being offered by an innovative social enterprise. Real Lettings was developed by homelessness charity, Broadway, in order to help single people who have experienced homelessness move out of supported housing. It combines their property management expertise with a ready list of tenants, providing landlords with a professional and ethical alternative.
Previously, only Councils and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) offered landlords the chance to lease their properties. Both agree on a suitable contract period (3-5 years) then the landlord receives regular rent payments while the Council manages and maintains the property.
Pressure
As the pressure on social housing in the capital has increased, Councils have started to focus on larger 2-3 bed properties so they can house larger numbers. This has meant leasing has only been available on these properties so landlords with one-beds and studios have missed out. Real Lettings plugs this gap providing professional leasing and management services for these landlords who would like a low involvement alternative.
The leasing service offers landlords guaranteed rent, minimal voids and their properties returned in the same condition at the end of the contract. Tenants receive extensive resettlement training and are supported throughout the tenancy. And because Real Lettings is genuinely concerned with providing a viable alternative for both landlords and tenants, all of its profits go back into improving the service.
Howard Sinclair, chief executive of Broadway said,
“We’ve been working in property management for over 25 years now. So we thought why not use this expertise to create a sustainable business, which also helps ease the growing pressure on social housing.
We’ve already housed 77 people through Real Lettings and both landlords and tenants have been pleased with the service they’ve received. Because we’re a social enterprise with a vested interest in making sure this works, all of our staff are willing to go the extra mile to make sure landlords and tenants are well looked after.”
Metin Gurpinar, managing director of Astral Estates says,
“We’ve found Real Lettings’ service refreshing in that there’s always one point of contact who is genuinely concerned about resolving any issues that might arise from time to time.
We were very impressed with the speed in which they managed to turn things around. Rent is paid monthly without fuss and the tenants they’ve provided seem to really care about their surroundings. Real Lettings’ vetting process certainly takes the headache out of renting to tenants on housing benefit - the ones we’ve seen have been decent and of a very high calibre.”
