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 About your tenancy
Your tenancy agreement is important because it sets out the rights and responsibilities for us as the landlord and you as the tenant. The type of tenancy you have with us is an assured tenancy.
It is important that you read your tenancy agreement so that you know what your rights are and the conditions under which you hold your tenancy. Please keep your tenancy agreement in a safe place.
As long as you keep to your tenancy agreement, you can live in your home as long as you want. We can only make you leave after taking proper legal action and a court has given us a possession order. We are likely to take action if:
- you are not paying your rent regularly;
- you are causing a nuisance or harassment to your neighbours (which includes the behaviour of your family and visitors in your home and the surrounding area);
- you are acting violently towards your partner or family, or your neighbours;
- you do not keep your home or garden clean and tidy;
- you have been convicted of using your home for illegal purposes;
- you have damaged your home or allowed your family to do so;
- you have taken on your tenancy under false pretences;
- you took over the tenancy under a mutual exchange and
- you paid someone to do the exchange with you; or
- you have allowed your home to become seriously overcrowded.
Your rights
Your assured tenancy agreement gives you some rights by law and some by contract. These rights are as follows:
- The right to live in your home peacefully and without interference from us, unless we need access for essential repairs or the court has given us possession by ending your tenancy.
- The right to take in lodgers, as long as you do not overcrowd the property. If you receive Housing Benefit, you must contact the council's Housing Benefit Section as your benefit may be affected. Also, your lodger will not have a tenancy with us, and you will be responsible for their behaviour.
- The right to sublet part of your home, although you must get our agreement in writing first and the above conditions apply. You should be aware that under the
- Housing Act 1988, if you sublet all of your home, your tenancy will no longer be an assured tenancy and your security of tenure will be lost permanently.
- The right to apply for a transfer to another property, whether it is owned by us, a different housing association or a council. We will grant transfers in line with our allocation policy.
- The right to exchange with another housing association or council tenant. However, if you are our tenant with preserved rights, please be aware that unless you exchange to another of our properties, you will lose those preserved rights.
- The right to succession (inheriting the tenancy when the tenant dies). Every tenancy has one succession right and this can be used in the following circumstances:
- If a joint tenant dies, the tenancy can be succeeded by the surviving joint tenant.
- If a sole tenant dies, the tenancy can be succeeded by a husband or wife or other close relative living in the property. If you were a tenant before 19 March 2001, we will ignore any previous succession to the tenancy when it was with the council so the right to succession will be the same as if you are a new tenant.
After this, there is no further right of succession. If you have the right to succeed to a tenancy and the property is larger than your needs, we can ask you to move to a smaller property.
- The right to information. You have the right to be told about the conditions of your tenancy and our responsibilities.
- The right to consultation. You have the right to be consulted on matters which affect you.
- The right to repair. You have the right to have repairs carried out to your home as described in your tenancy agreement.
- The right to complain. If you are not happy with any of our services, we have a complaints procedure.
Your home
We are committed to providing a quality housing service to current and future tenants and leaseholders. We aim to provide the community in which you live with affordable, quality homes in a pleasant environment, now and in the future.
To help us achieve these aims, you must keep to your tenancy conditions. These include the following:
Living in your home This tenancy must be your only or main home, and you should move in within four weeks of the start of your tenancy. You must not assign (transfer), sublet or exchange your home without our permission in writing.
You must not allow your home to become overcrowded by moving in other people. If you would like more information on this, please contact your Tenancy Officer on 01749 334455.
Using your home You must get our permission in writing before you use your home for trade or business, or for storing recycled materials. You must not store fuel, oil or inflammable materials.
You must not use your home for anything illegal or immoral, such as storing stolen property, taking or dealing in drugs, and prostitution.
Your responsibilities
Gardens
It is your responsibility to keep your garden or yard tidy and free of litter, household items and rubbish. You must not use your garden for storing or repairing motor vehicles.
Insurance
We insure your home against fire, storm and flood damage, but we cannot insure your belongings and we strongly suggest that you arrange your own contents insurance. Your policy should also cover damage you cause that affects other people, for example, if your washing machine overflows into another flat. Your policy should also cover internal decorations, sanitary fittings, for example, toilets, wash basins, baths, showers, sinks, window panes, carpets and floor coverings, and personal belongings.
Pets
You must not keep any pets until you have received permission in writing from us. You do not need our permission to keep fish or small caged animals, for example, hamsters. However, you must not build fishponds or aviaries unless we give you permission in writing. You are not allowed to keep pigeons, snakes or livestock.
When we give you permission to keep pets, you must not allow them to cause any nuisance to other people.
Parking
You, members of your household and any visitors to your home must only park in areas reserved for parking.
You must not park on grassed areas or footpaths.
You may park trailers and caravans within the boundary of your home, as long as we have already given you permission for a hardstanding or driveway, and you do not cause a nuisance or loss of light to nearby properties. You must not park trailers or caravans in any of our parking spaces or on shared land. You must not park vehicles that are not roadworthy, are unlicensed or are being repaired on our land. You must not park a commercial vehicle in any of our garage areas or on any of our land.
Shared areas
If you are in a property with a shared area, you are jointly responsible with other tenants for making sure that halls, landings, passageways and other shared areas are kept clean and tidy and free from any obstruction.
You, members of your household and visitors must not:
- keep any animals in shared entrances, staircases, passageways or balconies;
- leave anything in the shared areas (we have the right to remove and throw away these items);
- throw anything from any landing, balcony, corridor or window; or
- damage or misuse any door-entry systems, rotary washing lines, security equipment or other shared facilities.
The information about your tenancy is for guidance only. You should refer to your tenancy agreement for more information or contact Housing Services Officer.
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