Letting a house to contractors: what owners should know.
Contractor crews need whole houses near the job, often at short notice and for weeks at a time. Here is how letting to them works, what it asks of your house and the routes on offer.
Who the guests are
Crews, engineers and site teams.
Contractor guests are people whose work moves: groundworkers and electricians on a new build, engineers on a rail or energy project, a site manager on a long package. They travel as a team or on their own and they stay for as long as the job lasts.
What they need is simple. A whole house with a bed each, a kitchen they can cook in, somewhere to park a van and a quiet night after a long shift. A well-kept house gives them that at a cost a hotel rarely matches.
Worth knowing
What makes a house suit a crew
Most of it is practical.
- Enough bedrooms for a team, ideally three or more
- Off-road parking or room on the street for vans
- A kitchen big enough to cook for several people
- Good broadband for evenings and early starts
- Close to industrial estates, big sites or main roads
The routes
Three ways to let to crews.
Management: Maine Property Solutions, the company behind Trade Nest Stays, runs the house for contractor guests and you receive the booking income less its fee. You keep ownership throughout.
A company let: Maine Property Solutions takes the house as lessee on a company let agreement and pays you one fixed monthly sum at market value rent, whatever the bookings.
A quiet sale: if you would rather sell, Maine Property Solutions can introduce the house to investors on its list. It does not buy property itself. The buyer pays its fee.
Worth knowing
Consents and checks
Letting to working guests is not an ordinary let, so check these first.
- Your mortgage lender's consent for short-stay or company lets
- Insurance that covers paying guests
- The freeholder's consent if the house is leasehold
- Current gas safety, electrical and energy certificates
- Planning and council tax, which depend on how the house is used
Planning and rates
Planning, council tax and business rates.
Outside London there is no single rule on how many nights a home can be let for short stays. Whether a change of use needs permission depends on the facts, so it is worth asking the council early.
Council tax can change too. In England a home that is available to let for short stays for 140 days or more a year and actually let for 70 can be assessed for business rates instead, under rules applied by the Valuation Office Agency. Only short lettings count towards the 70, which matters for a house that hosts long contractor stays.
Getting started
From first message to first crew.
Send the basics
Where the house is, its bedrooms and its parking.
Compare the routes
Management, a company let or a quiet sale.
Check the consents
Lender, insurer, freeholder and planning.
Agree in writing
Terms your solicitor can read before anything is signed.
For every kind of owner
Find the page written for you
Tell us about it
Tell us about the property.
Where it is, what it is like and what you would like to happen. Pick a time and we call you back about next steps.
- No fee to talk and nothing to sign
- Your details stay with us
- A call at the time you choose
Your questions
Questions owners ask
Do contractors look after a house?
Contractors book a house as their base for the job. Under management, the house is cleaned and checked between stays.
How long do crews stay?
Anything from a few nights to several months, depending on the job.
Do I keep ownership?
Yes, under management and under a company let. A quiet sale is the only route where ownership changes.
Who do I sign with?
Maine Property Solutions Ltd, the company behind Trade Nest Stays.
Thinking of letting to crews?
Tell Maine Property Solutions about the house and it will come back to you about next steps.