Leaseholders

How to sublet you home

Subletting through the Council

Information for home owners who wish to rent back their properties to the council:

Islington council is often approached by people looking for a home in the private rental sector. Since at Islington we are committed to helping people to find safe and secure accommodation we at the Private Sector Partnerships offer to find them housing in the private rented sector through our Private Sector Opportunities (PSO) scheme.

With this scheme we offer a service to private landlords including leaseholders, by matching potential tenants to their properties. We do not charge administration fees and there are no other hidden costs. Landlords also have the confidence of knowing that if we find that our clients have had previous rent arrears they would be excluded from the scheme.

Once the tenancy agreement has been signed the landlord will receive a non-refundable deposit of:

• 9 weeks rent for properties within Islington
• 8 weeks rent for properties outside of Islington

We are currently looking for studios, one, two, three and four bedroom properties within and outside of the borough, but because many of our clients have local connection with Islington those properties situated within the borough are let out quicker.

We have high standards for the properties that we take on and we require that they meet the Decent Homes Standards, which means that they should be warm, waterproof and have reasonably modern facilities. We expect all properties to comply with the relevant health and safety regulations and to be fitted with fire doors to the kitchen, and supplied with fire extinguishers, smoke alarms, and fire blankets. We expect that soft furnishings and portable electrical appliances comply with safety regulations 1988 and 1994. We also insist on current electric and gas certificates.

Once the potential tenant has been found we expect the landlord to sign a one year Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement, however, if both the landlord and the tenant are happy the tenancy could carry on after the first year. We hope to give our clients an option to settle, which could also benefit the landlord, as the tenancies would be longer and with less void periods. The landlord will manage the property, but we will provide advice and assistance throughout the tenancy. Under the scheme the rent is paid from the tenant's Housing Benefit directly to the landlord.

All of the above applies when the landlord will manage the tenancy however, if the property is in Islington and the landlord wishes that someone else manages it on his/her behalf that is done through our Private Sector Leasing Scheme or Housing Associations Leasing Scheme.

For further information see the leaflets below, or call the Procurement and Development Team on 020 7527 6073, 020 7527 6081 or 020 7527 6089.

PSO leaflet LL (pdf file 2.66Mb)
Leasing leaflet (pdf file 49.7Kb)