Tenants Handbook This handbook has been put together to provide you with important information about your new home and your tenancy. Welcome to your new home Understanding your tenancy 0 00.00 1 5 9 0 % + 3 2
02. About your tenancy Dear tenant... What is a fixed term tenancy? Can I sublet my home? X 1 ABC GHI 7 5 8 3 6 XYZ
This section contains important information about your tenancy agreement. All new tenants receive a Starter Tenancy Agreement for the first 12 months of their tenancy. Following the Starter Tenancy you will receive one of the following two tenancies: Fixed Term Tenancy Agreement, or Assured Tenancy Agreement. Your Housing Officer should have already advised you which of these tenancies you are eligible to receive. Starter Tenancy All new tenants are given a Starter Tenancy for the first 12 months. The legal name for this tenancy is a periodic assured shorthold tenancy. It has limited security and rights; this means that if there are any concerns during the first 12 months due to issues such as serious anti-social behaviour, we will ask the court to give us back possession of the property. This can be done very easily without us having to explain our reasons to the court. If you fail to pay your rent or look after the property we may request that the court gives us possession and in these cases we would have to prove our reasons to the court. We use Starter Tenancies to help our residents live happily and peacefully in their homes. Provided there are no issues, we will grant you a more secure tenancy at the end of the 12 month period. While you have a Starter Tenancy you do not have a legal right to: transfer or exchange your home take in lodgers or sublet the whole or part of your home make improvements or acquire (buy) your home. Your housing officer will visit you at six weeks, six months, and again at nine months. They will work with you to assess whether you are having any difficulties and if you need any extra support. At nine months into your Starter Tenancy, we will decide whether to grant you a more secure form of tenancy. In exceptional cases, we may extend the starter tenancy for a further six months to allow you more time to put right the reasons why anti social behaviour is being caused. Important information about your tenancy agreement
Fixed Term Tenancy If you were new to social housing when you received your Starter Tenancy with One Housing Group, or if you had an assured or secure tenancy that started after the 1 April 2012, you will be offered a Fixed Term Tenancy following the successful completion of your Starter Tenancy. The legal name for a Fixed Term Tenancy is a fixed term assured shorthold tenancy. This tenancy gives you more rights and security than a Starter Tenancy. For example, we cannot end the tenancy before the end of the fixed term without proving to the court during a court hearing that you have breached your tenancy in some way. We will usually grant you a fixed term tenancy of five years. At the end of the five year period, we will discuss any changes in your circumstances. If the property no longer suits your needs, if for example you have become overcrowded or you have more bedrooms than you need, we will offer you advice and guidance to help you to find a new home that better meets your needs which could be within One Housing Group s stock. If at the end of the five years, your home still suits your needs, we may give you a new fixed term tenancy. Your housing officer will contact you each year to review your tenancy and discuss any changes in your circumstances. There will be a final review eight months before the end of the fixed term. In some circumstances, we may offer you a fixed term of only two years, for example, if you are under 25 years of age. Please ask to see our Tenancy Policy for detailed information on the circumstances under which you may be required to move to a new home. The policy is also available on our website: www.onehousinggroup.co.uk Assured Tenancy If you were an existing social housing tenant when you were given your Starter Tenancy with One Housing Group and your previous tenancy started before April 2012, you will be offered an Assured Tenancy after the successful completion of your Starter Tenancy. An Assured Tenancy gives you more rights and security than a Starter Tenancy. For example, we cannot end the tenancy without proving to a court during a court hearing that you have breached your tenancy in some way. An Assured Tenancy does not have a fixed term and so it does not have a set end date.
Your tenancy rights Subletting/Lodgers You may take in lodgers or sub-let part of your home as long as this does not result in overcrowding. You are not entitled to sub-let your home in full; this means you must not rent your home to someone else while you live at a permanent address elsewhere. This is unlawful and may result in you losing your home. If the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Bill is enacted then those found guilty of subletting could also be given a custodial sentence. You may be granted permission from One Housing Group to sub-let part of your home; this is where you may let your home while you live away temporarily. Examples of this include where you have to work in another town for a few months or if you are in hospital for a prolonged period of time. You must first get written permission from One Housing Group to be allowed to sub-let part of your home. If you need to live away from your home for a period of time, you should discuss the options available to you with your Housing Officer. You may also take in a lodger with written permission from One Housing Group, as long as this does not result in overcrowding, and you must continue to live in the property yourself. If you are in receipt of benefits this may effect your entitlement, so ensure that you check with your benefits advisor. Please note that starter tenants cannot take in lodgers or part sub-let. Mutual exchange Existing tenants may wish to conduct a mutual exchange with other tenants of One Housing Group or another housing association or local authority. As it is very difficult to receive a transfer of accommodation in London due to limited available property, a mutual exchange is the most effective way of moving home quickly and easily. You must obtain consent from One Housing Group before carrying out a mutual exchange and we may attach conditions to offering our consent, for example, clearing rent arrears or allowing access for repairs. If you are interested in mutual exchange you are advised to register with Homeswapper, a UK website for social housing tenants looking to swap homes, www.homeswapper.co.uk. Once you have found another tenant wishing to exchange their home with yours, you must then contact your Housing Officer to request an application form and obtain consent to exchange. Succession In the event of the death of a tenant, an occupant residing in the same property may have a legal right to succeed to (take over) the tenancy; this depends on the occupant s relationship to the tenant and/or their length of occupation. Succession will be granted in the following order of priority: a remaining joint tenant (Survivorship) a tenant s partner, provided they lived with the tenant at the time of their death and it was their only or principal home (Statutory Succession).
Some tenancy agreements may give succession rights to a family member if they were living with the tenant as their main residence for a period of 12 months prior to the tenant s death. There is only a legal right to one succession per tenancy; therefore if the deceased tenant was themselves a successor, no further succession rights exist. However, some tenancy agreements may allow for more than one succession by consent. Our housing officers will advise any prospective successors of their rights and assist them as efficiently and sensitively as possible. Joint tenancies A tenancy can be held jointly in the name of two people. If you have a joint tenancy, the tenancy agreement applies to both tenants; this includes paying the rent. If one person moves out, you will need to tell One Housing Group without delay. If both joint tenants agree, one person may be able to revert to a sole tenancy at the discretion of One Housing Group. If you have a sole tenancy and want to change to a joint tenancy with your partner then this may be possible as long as: you do not have any rent arrears you have not breached any condition of your tenancy your partner has lived at the property for 12 months or you are married your partner has no financial interest in any other property. Please note that starter tenants cannot apply for joint tenancy. If you have any further questions about your tenancy, please read your tenancy agreement or contact your housing officer. Please contact your housing officer if you have any further questions