Leasing your property to ZBD

A plain account of how the arrangement works, what each side is responsible for, and what makes a property suitable.

How the arrangement works

You grant a lease of your property to ZBD Limited. From that point ZBD is your tenant, and we pay you a fixed monthly rent for the full term — including any period when the home is between occupiers.

We then provide the property as managed accommodation, to households placed by local authorities and to private individuals. We do this in our own name, as principal. Those occupiers have their arrangement with us, not with you, and we are responsible to you under the lease for how the property is used and looked after.

This is different from instructing a letting agent. An agent finds tenants for you and collects rent on your behalf, and you remain the landlord of each tenancy. With ZBD there is one agreement, one tenant and one payment.

Who is responsible for what

Set out the way a lease sets them out. The final wording for your property is always the lease itself, which you will see in full before signing.

First schedule

What ZBD takes on

  1. Paying the agreed rent every month for the term of the lease, whether the property is occupied or not.
  2. Finding and placing occupiers, and managing their occupation of the home.
  3. Arranging and paying for day-to-day maintenance and minor repairs.
  4. Light refurbishment needed to prepare the property for occupation, where agreed with you.
  5. Returning the property at the end of the lease in the condition recorded at the start, fair wear and tear excepted.

Second schedule

What normally stays with you

  1. Ownership of the property, and your mortgage and any service charges or ground rent.
  2. The structure, roof and major installations, unless the lease says otherwise.
  3. Buildings insurance, unless the lease says otherwise.
  4. Obtaining any consent you need to grant the lease, for example from your lender, freeholder or insurer.

Third schedule

What we agree for each property

  1. The monthly rent and the date it is paid.
  2. The length of the lease and its start date.
  3. Any provisions for ending the lease early.
  4. Any preparation work before occupation.
  5. A record of the property's condition at handover.

Is your property suitable?

We look at each home individually. In general, we are interested in properties that are:

In London
Houses and flats across the capital.
Residential and self-contained
With their own entrance, kitchen and bathroom.
Lettable, or close to it
In sound condition, or needing no more than light refurbishment to be ready.
Free to be leased
Where you are able to grant a lease to a company, with any consents you need in place or obtainable.

If your property is not a good fit for us, we will tell you plainly and early.

Useful to have when you get in touch

  • The postcode or area, and the type of property.
  • The number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
  • Its current condition, and whether anyone is living there now.
  • Any restrictions you know of in your mortgage, lease or insurance.
  • When you would like an arrangement to start.

None of this is essential to start a conversation. Send what you have.

What happens next

  1. We reply to your enquiry and ask anything we need to know.
  2. If the property looks suitable, we arrange a viewing.
  3. We send a written offer with the rent, term and responsibilities.
  4. You decide, taking whatever advice you want, with no pressure from us.

Send an enquiry

Talk it through before you decide anything

An enquiry commits you to nothing. Tell us about the property and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.

Start an enquiry