Leasing to Council

[Fioniks]

Hi,

I'm new to the property market. I've had my own 2-bedroom flat for just over a year now and have been living there with a friend. I'd like to move out and rent and figured this would be cheaper for me than paying almost half the mortgage plus council tax etc myself. I have two options; a) to lease the flat privately and b) to lease the flat to the council.

I've yet to reserach both methods properly and crunch some numbers, but in the meantime I'm curious which option generally works best financially and what are the pros and cons?

Thanks in advance.

[123Landlords]

As you have pointed out there are both Pros and Cons in dealing with both types of leasing and below I will try and highlight the key differences and things that you should know when considering both of these.

Council Leasing:

Pros
1) The council will find the tenants.
2) They should agree to give the property back to you in the same state that it was when you gave it to them

Cons
1) Insurance on the property will cost you more.
2) Some insurance companies refuse to cover this eventuality at all, although some will do it but with a higher excess than leasing it privately.
3) You can't check the tenants out before they move in if you let the council lease it.

Private Leasing

Pros
1) You can check the prospective tenants out fully before making a decision on who to rent it out to.
2) Insurance is cheaper if you rent it privately with the lease agreement being between yourself and the tenant.

Cons:
1) You have to find the tenants yourself and this can be quite time consuming and sometimes difficult to do.
2) You are then responsible for the rent being paid to you rather than the council paying you if you let it via the council.

I hope that this clears things up a bit and gives you more to think about but please do not hesitate to contact me back if you're still unsure