Renting Out a House in Leigh: A Landlord Guide for 2026

Renting out a house in Leigh means meeting the national rules for every private let in England, which changed on 1 May 2026 when the Renters’ Rights Act made tenancies periodic and ended section 21. Wigan Council runs no selective licensing scheme, so a normal family let needs no local licence. Shared houses with five or more people do.

Leigh is a working town. Its tenants are nurses at Leigh Infirmary, staff at Wigan Council and the call centres in the town centre, warehouse and logistics workers along the M6, and people who ride the guided busway into Manchester every morning. That shapes what lets well here and what a landlord needs to get right before the first viewing.

This guide walks through renting out a house in Leigh step by step: the legal checks, the licensing position with Wigan Council, what changed under the Renters’ Rights Act, which homes suit which tenants, and what local letting agents charge if you would rather not do it yourself.

Who rents in Leigh, and what they look for

Most demand in Leigh comes from people in work. Working couples and small families take the Victorian and Edwardian terraces in central Leigh, Bedford and Plank Lane. Larger families look further out, at the 1930s and post war semis in Astley, Lowton and Howe Bridge, where they tend to stay for years. There is no university in the town, so student lets are not part of the picture.

Transport decides a lot. Leigh lost its railway station in the 1960s, but the guided busway now runs from the town centre through Ellenbrook to Manchester, and the M6 and M61 are close. Homes within an easy walk of a busway stop appeal to Manchester commuters, while houses with off street parking suit shift workers heading to the M6 warehouses.

• Central terraces in Leigh, Bedford and Plank Lane: couples, single workers and small families who want to be near the town centre and the busway.
• Semis with gardens in Astley, Lowton and Howe Bridge: settled families who want space and schools, usually on longer tenancies.
• Homes near Atherton, Hag Fold or Hindley stations: commuters who prefer the train to Manchester Victoria.

The legal checks before you let

These apply to every private let in England, whether you use an agent or not. GOV.UK lists them as the core landlord responsibilities.

What you need	What it means in practice
Gas safety	Gas appliances safely installed and maintained, checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with the certificate given to the tenant.
Electrical safety	Electrical installation safe and maintained, with a report from a qualified electrician at least every five years.
Energy Performance Certificate	A valid EPC for the property, provided to the tenant before they move in.
Deposit protection	Any deposit placed in a government approved scheme.
Right to Rent	Check that every adult tenant has the right to rent in England.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms	Alarms fitted and tested, and fire safety rules followed for flats and converted buildings.

Older terraces in central Leigh can need work on heating, damp and electrics before they meet these standards. It is far cheaper to find that out at the survey stage than after a tenant has moved in.

Do you need a licence from Wigan Council?

For a normal family let, no. Wigan Council states on its own website that it does not currently operate a selective licensing scheme in any part of Wigan Borough, and that a landlord who is not letting a house in multiple occupation is not required to have a landlord licence or register with the council.

The exception is a house in multiple occupation. A house shared by five or more people from two or more households needs a mandatory HMO licence from Wigan Council. If you plan to let rooms to sharers, check the council HMO guidance before you buy or convert, because the standards for room sizes, fire safety and shared facilities are stricter.

Licensing policy can change, and councils across Greater Manchester have been reviewing their schemes. Confirm the position with Wigan Council for your address before you let, and ask any agent you speak to how they keep up with it.

What changed under the Renters’ Rights Act

The biggest change for Leigh landlords took effect on 1 May 2026, when the first phase of the Renters’ Rights Act came into force. The government implementation roadmap sets out what changed:

1. Section 21 is abolished. You can no longer end a tenancy without a reason. Possession now depends on the grounds set out in law, such as selling, moving in yourself or serious rent arrears.
2. Tenancies are periodic. Most private tenancies are now assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date, and tenants can leave with two months notice.
3. Rent can rise once a year. Increases use the revised section 13 procedure with at least two months notice.
4. No rental bidding. You cannot accept offers above the advertised rent, and you cannot ask for more than one month of rent in advance.
5. Pets. You must consider a request to keep a pet within 28 days and give a valid reason if you refuse.

More is coming. A private rented sector database, with mandatory registration for landlords, begins rolling out from late 2026, and membership of a new landlord ombudsman is due to become mandatory later. Plan for both now rather than when they arrive.

For a Leigh landlord the practical effect is simple. With no fixed end date and no section 21, the tenant you choose is the tenant you keep. Referencing, a clear inventory and regular inspections matter more than they did.

Finding the right tenant

Price the home against similar lets nearby rather than a borough average. A terrace in Plank Lane and a semi in Lowton are different products with different tenants, and a local agent should be able to show you recent comparable lets on your street or the next one.

Present the home for the tenant it suits. Families in Astley and Lowton care about gardens, parking and schools. Commuters in the centre care about the walk to the busway and good broadband. Shift workers want parking and a warm, cheap to run home.

Reference properly. Check income, employment, previous landlord references and Right to Rent for every adult, and keep a dated record. Under periodic tenancies, a careful start saves a great deal of trouble later.

Managing it yourself or using a letting agent

Plenty of Leigh landlords manage their own homes, especially if they live locally and own one or two properties. The work is real, though: rent collection, repairs, gas and electrical checks, inspections, deposit disputes and keeping up with the law. Many landlords hand some or all of it to an agent.

Three firms with an office in Leigh publish both an ongoing management percentage and a set up fee that we can compare. Read from AgentCheck data on 21 October 2026, and shown including VAT:

Fee	Leigh firms publishing a figure	Range, including VAT
Ongoing management, monthly	3	10.8% to 12% of the rent
One off set up fee	3	£325 to £480

Neither line on its own is the cost of full management. The true first year cost is twelve months of the management percentage plus the set up fee and any other one off charges, so add them together before you compare. Across Leigh, Wigan and the towns around them, most firms that publish a management percentage charge 12%, so the set up fee and what the percentage covers usually decide which agent is cheapest over a year. Our guide to letting agent fees in Leigh and Wigan works through a full first year example.

When you compare agents, ask each one for a written fee schedule, what the management percentage includes, what it costs to find a new tenant later, and whether they belong to a redress scheme and a client money protection scheme. On AgentCheck an agent ranks higher for being open about its fees and service. Claiming a profile helps an agent show that information, and paying does not buy a better position.

A checklist for renting out a house in Leigh

• Get gas safety, electrical and EPC certificates in place before marketing.
• Check with Wigan Council whether the property needs a licence, which for a single family let it should not.
• Decide whether to self manage, use a let only service or go fully managed.
• Price against comparable lets on nearby streets, not a borough average.
• Reference every adult tenant and complete Right to Rent checks.
• Protect the deposit in an approved scheme and give the tenant the details.
• Write the tenancy on the periodic basis now required, with no fixed end date.
• Keep records of inspections, repairs and notices for as long as the tenancy runs.

Related guides

• Letting agent fees in Leigh and Wigan
• Selective licensing for landlords: what it means and where it applies
• First time landlord checklist
• The Renters’ Rights Act: a practical guide for landlords

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