5 - Your tenancy

Your tenancy

If you are a new tenant, you will probably have an Starter Tenancy.

If you were a secure tenant of South Northamptonshire Council when the housing transfer took place (and you did not have a court order relating to your tenancy at the time) then you will probably have an Assured Tenancy with certain rights protected under the Housing Act 1988 such as the Preserved Right to Buy.

To see what type of tenancy you have, check the top of your tenancy agreement.

A Starter Tenancy

We will offer all new tenants a Starter Tenancy. This does not give full security of tenure for the first twelve months. After this time, and providing there are no problems during this period, the tenancy will automatically become an Assured Tenancy.

A Starter Tenancy is effectively a trial period and during this time you must show us you are able to manage your tenancy responsibly.

We will monitor your tenancy to ensure that you:

and your family or visitors do not behave anti-socially, cause a nuisance or harass other people or our staff.
pay your rent on time
look after your home
abide by the conditions of your tenancy.

If the tenancy is not conducted in a satisfactory manner, we can begin proceedings for the repossession of your property.

Housing law makes it easier for us to bring possession proceedings against a starter tenant than against an assured tenant.

As starter tenant you cannot:

buy your home
take in lodgers
sub-let part of your home
make improvements
exchange your home with another tenant (a mutual exchange).

An Assured Tenancy

The Assured Tenancy is the most protected tenancy that we can grant tenants.

If you have an Starter Tenancy and we have not taken action to end or extend this, you will become an assured tenant automatically after twelve months.

If you were a secure tenant of South Northamptonshire Council when the housing transfer took place (and you did not have a court order relating to your tenancy at this time) you will now have an Assured Tenancy.

If you had a Secure or Assured Tenancy with another council or housing association immediately before this tenancy with South Northants Homes then we may offer you an Assured Tenancy, subject to references.

Joint tenancies

A joint tenancy is where two or more people take responsibility for the tenancy.

If you have a joint tenancy, you need to remember that:

each of you is responsible for meeting the terms of the agreement, including paying the rent
either joint tenant can end the tenancy by notifying us in writing, giving 4 weeks notice
if one of you dies, the tenancy can be passed onto the remaining joint tenant
each joint tenant can apply for housing benefit.

It is also important to know that if your relationship breaks down you cannot insist that your partner leaves unless you have a court order. We may be able to end the tenancy if there has been domestic violence - in which case the person responsible could lose their tenancy rights.

Succession and assignment

Succession is where a tenant who dies passes on their home to a partner or relation. Please note, those tenants who had their tenancy passed on to them before the transfer of housing from South Northamptonshire Council have the right to pass on their home. Assignment is where a tenant gives their tenancy to someone else.

Passing on your tenancy

On your death your tenancy can usually pass on to a partner or relation unless you had the tenancy passed on to you. You can pass your tenancy on to:

a joint tenant, husband, wife or partner (including a samesex partner) as long as they have lived in your home as their only or main home before your death. It does not matter whether they were a joint tenant or not.
a close member of your family who lived with you for at least 12 months before you died and it was their main or only home.
a tenant, other than spouse, who was left in the home after your death. This must be someone who was given (assigned) the tenancy by you because they would have succeeded to it if you died. See next page.

Assigning your tenancy

You must get our written permission first. It is usually only possible where:

you do a mutual exchange of tenancy with another tenant. This is where you swap homes with another tenant. See section 10 Moving Home for more information.
a court orders you to assign your tenancy.
you want to give the tenancy to someone who would succeed to it if you died.

Please note that we would not give permission for the assignment if the property was too small, unreasonably large or if it was specially adapted for a disabled person and the person you wanted to assign it to did not need those facilities.

Taking in lodgers

If you are an assured tenant you may take in a lodger. A lodger is someone who lives with you, sharing your home. However, please:

tell your Housing Officer when you take in a lodger and when they leave
do not allow your home to become overcrowded. Your tenancy agreement shows how many people are allowed to live in your home.

Please note if you are claiming housing benefit and you take in a lodger your entitlement may be affected, so let the housing benefit office know.

Sub-letting your home

You can sub-let part - not all - of your home if you are an assured tenant. However, you will need to:

get our written permission first
make sure you are not letting your home become overcrowded. Your tenancy agreement shows how many people are allowed to live in your home
ensure that you do not create a tenancy.

Please note that if you are claiming housing benefit and you sub-let part of your home your entitlement may be affected, so let the housing benefit office know.

If you are going away for a while

If you are going to be away from your home for more than 28 days, please let us know beforehand in writing.

If you are going to be away from home for a long period, your entitlement to housing benefit may be affected. It is a good idea to contact your housing benefit office for advice.

Circumstances where we might end your tenancy

As long as you keep to your tenancy agreement you have the right to live peacefully in your home without interference from us.

If you have an assured tenancy we can ask the court to end it for the following reasons. These are set out in full in the Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. We have summarised the grounds here but would use the full text if we want to take proceedings against you.

Ground 7. If you die and leave the tenancy to someone other than your husband, wife, partner (including samesex partner) or a member of your family.
Ground 9. See below.
Ground 10. If you have not paid the rent you owe.
Ground 11. If you have persistently delayed paying your rent.
Ground 12. If you have broken any of the conditions of your tenancy.
Ground 13. If you or someone living with you has damaged or not looked after your home or its surroundings, or your lodger or sub-tenant has damaged your home and you have not taken all reasonable steps to evict that person from your home.
Ground 14. If you, visitors, or anyone living with you has constantly annoyed your neighbours or visitors to the area, or has harassed them because of their race, colour, religion, disability, age, sex or sexuality. Or, if you have used your home for an illegal purpose or been convicted of an arrestable offence in or near your home.
Ground 14A. If you lived at your home as a married couple (or living together as husband and wife) and one partner has left because of domestic violence, and we can show that the partner who has left is unlikely to return.
Ground 15. If you or anyone living in your home has damaged any furniture we have provided under the tenancy. Or, if someone living in your home has caused damage to furniture we have provided under the tenancy and you have not taken all reasonable steps to evict that person from your home.
Ground 16. If we let your home to you because of your job and you no longer have that job.
Ground 17. If you, or someone acting on your behalf, made a false statement to get this tenancy from us.

Ground 9 is slightly different. This ground can only be used if you have other suitable accommodation. This ground is used when:

we intend to demolish your home or restructure the whole or part of the building which includes your home and we need the home to be empty to carry out the work.
your home has special features for an elderly or disabled person which you do not need and we need your home for someone who needs those special features.
you took over the tenancy under a succession and there are too few people living in your home considering its size.

The complete wording of the various grounds can be found at www.england-legislation.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1988 or see one of our housing management team.

If you are related to a member of staff or a board member

You must let us know immediately if you are related to a member of staff or a board member of South Northants Homes or the Grand Union Housing Group. Under Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Housing act 1996, we cannot offer tenancies to such people without advance notice.