It’s several weeks on from our story about a local authority setting up its own private letting agency and having only one property – and it STILL has only one property.

In mid-March we reported on the Move51⁰ North agency, thought to be the first of its kind to be set up by a local authority; according to a separate BBC investigation it began trading on October 6. The corporation says a director, junior consultant and property manager were hired last summer, with the latter job offering a salary of £30,000 plus a guaranteed £5,000 bonus in the first year.

However, around four weeks ago when Letting Agent Today checked, the agency had only one property on its site with no photograph and only basic details.

The site now still has only one property, although that carries a photograph and description saying it is a well-proportioned and newly decorated house with two spacious reception rooms, three bedrooms and a family bathroom. It is listed as having been available since April 8, and is £1,700 pcm.

But there are no other properties listed. LAT spoke to the council yesterday afternoon; a spokesman said the four staff are currently talking with and vetting potential landlords; he could not say how many landlords or how many properties were in the process of being listed, nor when they would appear online.

The BBC says the council originally budgeted £200,000 to set up Move51⁰, according to a council report published in October; however, then it was discovered that an additional £276,000 would be needed by 2018. The BBC investigation into the agency says: “In total, Haringey expects to spend an additional £1.37m on the agency, but expects the agency to make a surplus by 2019 and to cut the amount the council currently pays private landlords to meet its housing obligations.”

You can see the agency’s website, and the one property it carries.

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See details of our Guaranteed Rent Scheme here

Central Housing Group Ltd is a residential Letting & Management agent established in 2000 and based in north London.

We specialise in supplying local authorities with privately rented accommodation across London. We procure this accommodation from private sector landlords for letting on our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ scheme.

Our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme provides landlords with a guaranteed monthly rental income for up to 5 years. 

Our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme protects landlords by paying them an agreed monthly Guaranteed Rent for the duration of the term of their contract regardless of whether their property is occupied or not. Our landlords do not incur any rent loss at all during void periods when their properties are let on our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme.

Landlords – please carefully consider the risks you run by choosing to let your property privately when, instead, you can let your property on our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme and protect yourself from any rental loss exposure.

As a fully contracted supplier to many of our Council clients, our accounts are audited annually and are subject to regular and close scrutiny by our Council clients – landlords can therefore have complete confidence in our ability to ensure they will receive their agreed rent on a Guaranteed basis for the duration of the term of their contract with us. 

If you are interested in finding our more about our ‘Guaranteed Rent’ Scheme, currently operating in north (e.g. Enfield, Edmonton, Ponders End, Enfield Highway, Enfield Island Village, Enfield Wash, Freezywater, etc.), east & west London, please call us today on 020 8447 1222.