ICO ZB892725Property Redress PRS051867
Guaranteed rent scheme
A guaranteed rent scheme pays you a fixed rent on the same date every month for three to five years, whether or not the property is occupied. With VividSpaces, our company is named on the lease, nothing is deducted for fees, and the families who live there come to us through local authority partnerships.
Three to five year agreements · Company named on the lease · No management or letting fees · 100% of rents paid on time
Still deciding? Read when it is and is not worth it.
Guaranteed rent scheme for landlords
For owners who want a fixed figure and someone else taking the calls.
Most landlords who call us own one property or a handful. Often they have just had a bad year, with an empty quarter, a late payer or a failed boiler, or they live a long way from the property and are tired of being the one who gets the call.
Under the scheme, VividSpaces leases the property from you as a company let and runs it as a settled, long-term home for a family. The rent is agreed in writing before you sign, at or above open-market rent, and it does not change for the length of the term. You stay the owner. The day-to-day running stops being yours.
Your agreement is with our company, not with the family living there.
We take on
- Sourcing and vetting the family who lives there
- Repairs and maintenance
- Regular professional cleaning
- Routine inspections, with a written report
- Compliance paperwork and the safety-check diary
- Every call, message and visit from the household
Stays with you
- Your mortgage, and your lender's consent to let
- Buildings insurance
- Ground rent and freeholder obligations
- The final say on major works
From first call to first payment
How does guaranteed rent work?
- 01
Day one
We look at the property
A visit, a look at condition and location, and a rent figure in writing. No cost, no obligation.
- 02
5 to 10 working days
The agreement is signed
A company let agreement for three to five years, with VividSpaces named on the lease as the leaseholder.
- 03
Before anyone moves in
The property is prepared
We handle light works, safety checks and furnishing where it is needed, so the home is ready to let.
- 04
The same date, every month
The rent arrives
We run the property day to day. You get a fixed payment and a report, whether or not it is occupied.
Not sure your property qualifies? Call and ask before you do anything else.
A worked example
If the property is empty, how are you still paying me?
Because your rent comes from our company under the lease, for a fixed term, and does not depend on the family living there.
Guaranteed rent
1,900 pounds a month
Fixed, £22,800 across the year, with nothing deducted
- Local authoritiesRefer families who need a settled, long-term home and vet them before referral.
- VividSpacesHolds a three to five year lease with our company named on it, and places the family.
- YouPaid a fixed rent on the same date every month for the whole term, agreed in writing before you sign.
An empty month between families, an expensive repair, a payment from elsewhere running late: none of them move your figure. Our revenue comes from running the property well across a long term, not from fees taken out of your rent. That only works over a long term, which is why we take properties on three to five year agreements and can carry an empty month without passing it on.
An example figure, not a quote and not an offer. It is the level of a current Oxford agreement, not a promise of £1,900 for your property. Every property is priced individually and your figure is agreed in writing after we visit.
Local authority guaranteed rent schemes vs VividSpaces
Many local authorities lease homes from private owners themselves. It is a sound arrangement and some landlords prefer it. Each authority sets its own terms, so the right-hand column says what to ask rather than what you will get.
General guidance only, written for England. Schemes and rates vary by area and change over time, so check the current terms with the authority concerned before relying on any of them.
Private sector leasing explained
The name you will see on local authority websites for the same basic idea.
Private sector leasing, often shortened to PSL, is when a local authority leases a home from a private owner for a fixed number of years and places a household in it. The authority, or sometimes a housing association or managing agent acting for it, becomes the leaseholder, pays the owner a set rent and takes responsibility for the household living there. At the end of the lease the property is handed back.
A VividSpaces agreement has the same shape, with our company on the lease in place of the authority. The table above sets out where the terms differ.
If you are weighing the two side by side, we have written a fuller account of how this compares with letting through a local authority directly, including the questions worth asking before you sign either.
Questions landlords ask about the scheme
Is this the same as leasing my property to a local authority?
Similar in shape, but you sign with a different party. When you lease to a local authority, the authority holds the lease and sets the terms. With VividSpaces, our company holds the lease and agrees the rent with you, and the families who live in the property come to us through local authority partnerships.
How much rent would I receive?
Every property is priced individually on location, size, condition and local demand, at or above open-market rent and never below it. We visit, then give you a figure in writing at no cost and with no obligation. The worked example on this page is the level of a current Oxford agreement, not a figure for your property.
What happens if the property is empty?
You are paid in full on the agreed date. The gap between one family and the next is our cost to carry, not yours, for the whole length of the agreement.
How quickly can an agreement start?
Typically five to ten working days from agreed terms. The step that usually sets the timetable is your mortgage lender's consent to a company let, so it is worth asking them early.
Do I need my lender's permission?
Yes, if the property is mortgaged. Ask your lender specifically about a company let, not just about letting. Your buildings insurer also needs to know the property is let, because a policy that does not reflect the letting may not pay out on a claim.
What happens when the term ends?
The property comes back to you in the condition recorded in the inventory at the start, fair wear and tear excepted. If you would like to carry on, we can talk about a new term before the current one runs out.
Find out what your property would earn
Tell us the address. We look at the property and come back with a fixed monthly figure and the term we can offer on it, in writing, at no cost.
Before you call
You will not find landlord reviews on this site. We would rather show you nothing than show you something we invented. Ask us on the call and we will put you on the phone with a landlord we already work with, so you can ask them instead.
VividSpaces Ltd · ICO ZB892725 · Property Redress PRS051867