Private Rented Sector
The Private Rented Sector (“PRS”) Guarantee Scheme aims to accelerate investment in the private rented sector by institutional investors, through the creation of a government guaranteed bond programme that will be used to finance loans on attractive terms to eligible PRS operators.
Background to the PRS Guarantee Scheme
In December 2014, and following a public procurement tender process, Venn were mandated as the delivery partner by the UK Government in respect of its £3.5bn Private Rented Sector Guarantee Scheme to increase investment in the private rented sector.
The scheme’s initial term closed to new applications on 31st December 2018, however as announced as part of the UK Government’s budget in October 2024, the scheme will be reopened to new applications for a period of 3 years (subject to two further one year extension options) from December 2024.
As part of the reopening of the scheme, there is significant capacity available to unlock new investment by institutional investors to increase the supply of new, purpose built and professionally managed private rented sector homes, which will help improve standards and increase choice for tenants.
Currently, in order to be eligible, properties must be completed and have a value over £10 million however work is ongoing to evaluate the feasibility of the scheme providing development lending. Please consult the Scheme Rules for further specific details on eligibility and loans available under the scheme.
Venn’s role
Venn is responsible for establishing and managing the scheme, including the origination, underwriting and on-going management of the loans, in addition to developing and managing a government guaranteed bond programme to efficiently fund them.
The licence to operate the scheme is held by Venn’s wholly owned subsidiary PRS Operations Ltd, with all loans and bonds being carried out through a further subsidiary, PRS Finance Plc.
PRS Finance Plc operates a bond issuance programme from which it issues bonds that match the maturities of the loans that it makes to borrowers. The bonds are unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and are rated by Moody’s Investor Services Limited in line with its credit rating for the UK Government.
Contact
Please contact us at moc.srentrap-nnevnull@srp or call +44 (0)20 7073 9350 with any other enquiries about the scheme.