Property owners · London
Prime Host takes a company let of your property on a fixed term and pays a guaranteed rent on the same date every month, whether the property is occupied or not. We furnish, refurbish, equip and maintain it at our own cost, and return it at the end of the term in the condition recorded at the outset.
The proposition
Guaranteed rent is a long-established arrangement in the London market. The distinction from letting through an agent is straightforward: we are not marketing your property to a tenant and taking a commission — we are the tenant, and the rent is our contractual obligation regardless of how the property performs.
What it removes
Gross rent and net return are rarely the same figure. A conventional letting carries a series of deductions and risks that a guaranteed rent agreement transfers to us in full.
How it works
We inspect the property, review the title, lease and any restrictions, and assess what is required to bring it to operating standard.
You receive the guaranteed monthly rent, the proposed term, the works we intend to undertake at our cost, and the consents required before completion.
Heads of terms are agreed and the lease is prepared by solicitors. Freeholder and lender consents are obtained, and a schedule of condition is prepared and agreed.
We take possession, complete the fit-out at our cost, and rent commences on the date specified in the lease and is paid monthly thereafter.
The agreement
The property is let to PRIME H UK LTD under a company let for a fixed term. The lease is contracted out of sections 24 to 28 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, so no security of tenure arises and possession returns to you at the end of the term as a matter of right.
A photographic schedule of condition and inventory is prepared and agreed before we take possession, and the property is returned in that condition at the end of the term, subject only to fair wear and tear. We do not sublet the property on a residential tenancy, and no tenancy is created in favour of any occupier.
Comparison
A fixed sum every month for the whole term, paid whether or not the property is occupied. No commission, no fees, no repair invoices, no furnishing cost and no correspondence about occupiers. One counterparty, one payment, one point of contact. Income is predictable and can be relied upon for mortgage planning.
Rent varies with occupancy and is reduced by commission and fees. Voids, arrears, repairs, appliance replacement, deposit disputes and compliance remain your responsibility and your cost, and the return in any given year depends on how the property has performed.
Division of responsibility
The allocation is set out in the lease rather than left to practice, so there is no ambiguity about who instructs and funds what during the term.
Before completion
A guaranteed rent agreement is only sound if it is permitted by the arrangements already affecting your property. We establish that before the lease is signed rather than after, and we will not proceed on the basis that consent can be sought later.
We will assist with the applications and provide whatever the freeholder, lender or insurer requires from us. You should take independent legal and tax advice on the arrangement before entering into it.
Request a proposalWhat we take on
We are selective, because the rent we guarantee is underwritten by our own operating performance. Properties that do not meet the criteria are declined rather than taken on at a rent we cannot sustain.
For owners
Send us the address, the number of bedrooms and the tenure, and we will come back with a proposed monthly rent, a term, and the works we would undertake at our own cost. There is no charge and no obligation.
Guaranteed rent
No fees, no commission and no repair invoices. Furnished, equipped and maintained at our cost, and returned in the condition recorded at the outset.