A council with a large Labour majority has joined a scheme which seeks to encourage private landlords to lease properties to help solve local homelessness.

Newport has joined the Welsh Government’s Leasing Scheme, which offers landlords a range of incentives to sign long-term leases with local authorities.

The council then take over the management of those homes and rental arrangements for that period of time, pledging to return them in the same condition at the end of the lease as at the beginning.

Leasing Scheme Wales provides landlords, as well as owners of empty homes, the opportunity to lease them out for between five and 20 years.  

The scheme provides property owners with a guaranteed monthly rental income and a full property management service from the local authority, at no commission. 

The scheme claims that landlords never have arrears or rental voids during the period of the scheme, and they will get guaranteed rental income at the relevant local Housing Allowance rate.

The scheme covers repairs of any damage to the property made by tenants. Properties that require improvement may then become eligible for a grant of up to £5,000 – for empty properties up to £25,000 may be available.

Leasing Scheme Wales says that it’s possible for an individual landlord to save up to £10,000 during the term of a five year lease because they do not have to pay for finding tenants, management fees, the cost of gas safety or EICR during the lease period, nor do they have to pay rent guarantee insurance. There’s also no need to save into a contingency fund for the period as emergency repairs are dealt with by the council.

There are currently some 20 local authorities in Wales in the scheme – Newport, which joined this week, has set up a new team of officers to manage the process, and is seeking interested landlords.