Our in-house Ethical Lettings Agency (ELA) is designed to absorb the risks of private renting and allow landlords to take a ‘hands off’ approach.
We provide a lease management service for local landlords, investors and developers, taking properties onto long-term lease agreements and providing a full management service, with a guaranteed, uninterrupted monthly income.
In return, you help us to provide high quality, affordable and accessible properties to meet local housing demand.
What are the benefits?
- Long-term lease arrangement (usually of 5 years)
- Guaranteed, uninterrupted monthly income - Even if the property is unoccupied. You will not experience any rent or void loss throughout the lease term
- Total tenancy management - We are the sole point of contact for the tenant
- Responsive repairs service - We will cover routine, everyday repairs at the property, including emergency callouts, at no cost to you
- Safety checks - Including the annual gas safety checks, again at no cost to you
- Relet works - If there’s a change in tenancy during the lease, we will complete any necessary works and absorb any void loss. Any tenant damage identified will be put right.
How is the rent calculated?
Any properties provided through the scheme MUST be truly affordable to meet the needs of local residents. This is why rents are set in line with Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates or ‘Affordable Rent’ (where rent is set at up to 80% of market rent).
When determining our rent offer, we assess a range of factors, including:
- Condition of the property
- Property location
- Current demand for housing
- Local rent rates
- Level of risk taken under the agreement.
We take a small fee from the rent received to cover our management and maintenance costs, and the rest is paid to you.
What do you need to do?
We’re looking to you to provide high quality properties that meet our agreed set of standards (made available on request) and the current needs of local residents.
Before acceptance onto the scheme, all properties will be inspected by a qualified property inspector. You will need to provide the relevant legal and compliance documentation, including:
- Proofs of ownership and identity
- Consent from mortgage lender to enter a lease agreement (if applicable)
- Current safety certificates, including gas and the electrical condition report
- Current Energy Performance Certificates (EPC)
- Building insurance cover (and you will need to renew this throughout the lease term).
How to get in touch
If you’re interested in the ELA’s services and would like to know more, you can:
Whether you’re new to leasing properties, an experienced professional, a developer or investor, we’re happy to discuss any proposals you may have and provide advice, without any obligation.
Our Greater Manchester (GM) partners
The ELA service is part of a GM-wide initiative to help end the housing crisis by working with private sector landlords to provide quality, affordable and well-managed properties for those in urgent housing need.
Let Us, Greater Manchester’s Ethical Lettings Agency, operates across GM and comprises a group of established housing providers (including Wigan Council) with long-standing reputations for successfully managing homes.
A range of services are provided, from tenant identification to property management and the full leasing option. If you have properties elsewhere in GM, you can: