Your tenancy FAQs

If at any time you are finding it difficult to manage your tenancy, contact your neighbourhood housing office who can help.

The business must be legal, and there should be no safety risk or chance of your neighbours being disturbed. 

Certain types of businesses are not allowed, such as vehicle maintenance, running a taxi service or using your home as a bed and breakfast establishment. 

You will need our permission in writing to run a business from home. More information can be found here.

Our responsibilities: 

• We must not interfere with your right to possession of your home as long as you keep to your tenancy agreement.
• We must maintain the property in reasonable repair (except for those small repairs which are your responsibility).
• We must consult with you and get your agreement before we make any changes to your tenancy agreement, except in respect of rent or service charges.
• We must provide you with information on how well we are performing.

We keep details such as your name, date of birth and correspondence relating to your tenancy on file and on our computer system.

This information is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998. We will only collect information from you which is necessary for us to provide you with a service.

You have the right to look at your tenancy file to check the details and make sure the information is correct. 
You also have the right to challenge the accuracy of any information we have about you.

Your request must be in writing, signed and include sufficient details for us to identify you. You may wish to use our form to help you with this.

Subject access form[docx] 678KB

We may charge a fee to allow access to your files in order to cover the administration costs (details are available on our website). This fee must be paid in advance. 

Access to your file will be made available within 40 days. If you have any queries about your tenancy details please contact us.

We cannot get involved in deciding who should become the sole tenant. 

Only the courts can do this. If you cannot agree between yourselves, you should seek legal advice. We are often asked if we can provide another home for a partner who has to leave a shared tenancy. 

If you want further information, please contact us for advice.

We want you to maintain your tenancy for as long as possible and we can only end your tenancy by asking the court to allow us possession of the property.

The main reasons why we would do this are:

• The rent has not been paid or other regulations and conditions of tenancy have not been kept.
• You made a false statement on your application for housing, which led to you being offered a property, or asked someone else to make a false statement for you.
• You were given another temporary home while major repair work was carried out at your own home, the work has now been completed and your home is ready to move back into but you refuse to move back.
• Your home has been designed for, or substantially adapted for, a person with disabilities and there is no longer anyone living at the property who needs these facilities. The property could be used for someone else who is in need of the same adaptations and in these circumstances we would offer you an alternative property.

If we are seeking to end your tenancy you will, of course, be told of any problem at an early stage and we will expect you to agree to put things right. If you fail to do so we can serve a Notice Seeking Possession and apply to the court for possession of the property.

You can take in lodgers at your home with our permission if it will not become overcrowded and you do not live in sheltered accommodation. 

We will want to make sure that the property is not becoming too overcrowded and, if you live in specialised accommodation, we will need to make sure that the lodger also meets the letting conditions for that type of property.

If you receive housing benefit, you must tell the council of any changes to who is living in your home as your 
entitlement may be affected.

The lodger will not have any rights with us, and must leave the property if you or we end your tenancy.

Your responsibilities are set out in detail in your tenancy agreement. They are there to protect our properties, but also for your benefit. This makes it easier for action to be taken against the small minority of tenants who cause a nuisance to others.

If you break any of the terms of your tenancy agreement we may take legal action. This could include eviction. It is our policy to evict only as a last resort. 

Your main responsibilities are:

• To pay your rent and other charges when due in advance.
• To use the property as your main home.
• To keep the property and garden areas up to the agreed standard.
• To ask for permission before carrying out any alterations or improvements to the property.
• To make sure that you, your family, or any friends or visitors to the property do not cause nuisance or harass your neighbours or anyone living or working in the area.
• To allow access for our officers, their representatives or contractors at reasonable times to carry out repairs or inspections after receiving at least 24 hours written notice.

Joint tenancies are usually created when two or more adults are housed together at the beginning of a tenancy.

• Each joint tenant is responsible for keeping to the regulations and conditions of the tenancy, including payment of rent. This means that each joint tenant could be held individually responsible if these joint conditions are not kept to.
• If one of the joint tenants dies, the tenancy will be transferred to the other person. This is a succession of the tenancy. Please advise us if this happens.
• If the relationship breaks down neither joint tenant may evict the other from the property. You need to discuss the situation with your housing officer, or seek legal advice.

 If the relationship breaks down; you should discuss your joint tenancy with the our team at your nearest neighbourhood office or alternatively seek independent legal advice. 

This is the document you signed when you moved into your home. It sets out your rights and 
responsibilities and also our rights and responsibilities. It is a legal contract and can be enforced in court. 

There are two main types of tenancy agreement: an assured tenancy or a starter tenancy.

The majority of our tenants have assured tenancies. If you are unsure which tenancy you have, please contact us. 

Remember: the tenancy agreement sets out the rights and obligations of both the tenant and landlord. Please read your tenancy agreement for your full list of rights and responsibilities. 

A summary of your rights as a tenant are:

• Right to possession. You can live in your home for as long as you want to, providing you keep to the regulations and conditions of the tenancy.
• Right to buy and/or acquire. You may have the right to buy or acquire your home at a discount. 
• Right of succession. You can pass on your home to someone in your family living with you when you die, if they have been living with you in the property for 12 months immediately prior to your death. This can only happen once during a tenancy (see your tenancy agreement for the list of people able to succeed).
• Right to take in lodgers. With our permission you can take in lodgers so long as it will not become overcrowded.
• Right to improve your home. You can carry out improvements to your home with our permission.
• Right to compensation for improvements. You can be paid for certain improvements you have made if you move house.
• Right to exchange. With our permission you can exchange your property for another one.
• Right to consultation. You have a right to be consulted on housing management matters.
• Right to information. You have a right to a tenancy agreement and information on your rights. You can ask to look at information that we hold on our records about you.