Housing

Conditions of Tenancy - Chapter 15

Ending your tenancy

This section tells you what you must do when your tenancy ends. To avoid us repossessing your property, you must tell your local housing office if you will be away from your home for more than 4 weeks.

When you move out of the property, you must do the following

15.1 Give us 4 weeks' notice in writing that you want to leave the property.

15.1a If you are the only tenant and you die, we may allow a week for your next of kin to clear the property before we take possession. Any outstanding debts owed to us should be paid from your estate (the property you own when you die). In these circumstances advice is available from the local housing office. If you have no relatives, we will serve a notice on the families division of the High Court to end the tenancy.

15.1b If you leave your home without telling us, we may, depending on the circumstances, consider the property as 'abandoned' and take steps to end your tenancy and repossess the property. You may not be entitled to another property with us.

15.2 Give us all the keys to the property on or before the date the tenancy ends. This includes all keys to your home, keys to shared areas and door-entry keys. If you do not give us all the keys to the property, we may charge for any rent lost as a result and the cost of replacing the keys and locks of the property.

15.3 Pay all rent and other charges up to the date of the end of your tenancy, including any arrears from previous tenancies.

15.3a If you do not pay any rent or any other charges you owe us when you end the tenancy, we may go to court and ask for a money judgement order to recover the debt. This may affect your ability to get credit in the future. It may also affect your ability to get accommodation with us or another social landlord in the future.

15.4 Remove your furniture, furnishings, clothing and rubbish on or before the day your tenancy ends. If you do not, we may assume that you have abandoned these items and may throw them away without telling you. We will also charge you a reasonable cost for removing, storing or throwing items away, as appropriate.

15.4a We will take reasonable steps to contact you about items you leave at the property. If we are not able to contact you, we will store the items for a short time, in line with our policy. You should contact a local housing office for more information.

15.5 Leave the property and garden clean and tidy. If you do not, we may charge you a reasonable cost for cleaning up after you.

15.6 If you remove any improvements, fittings or fixtures you fitted, you must put the property back to the way it was before you fitted them. If you do not, we may charge you a reasonable cost for having to do this.

15.6a If we need to do further work because of damage caused by tiles, cladding, wallpaper, Artex or other items being removed, we may charge you a reasonable cost for doing this.

15.7 Allow us access to inspect your property after you have given us 4 weeks' notice. This may include viewings with prospective tenants.

15.8 Make sure all fittings and fixtures you have fitted and which you are leaving in the property are working properly.

15.8a If you move and have substantially improved your home (with our permission), you may be entitled to some compensation. However, you may also have to replace the standard fixtures or fittings that were in your home at the start of your tenancy. Please speak to your local housing office for more information.

15.9 Leave all our furniture in the property in a reasonable condition.

15.10 Allow our employees and contractors to come into the property at reasonable times to inspect it.

15.11 Give us your new address.

15.12 We may take steps to evict anyone you have left at the property. We may charge you a reasonable cost for doing this.

15.12a We may charge you a reasonable cost of all repairs you are responsible for and repairs that are needed because you abandoned the property.

Ending a joint tenancy

15.13 If you are a joint tenant, the whole tenancy will end if you or another joint tenant ends the tenancy. We will then decide whether to create a new tenancy for the tenant who is left, or offer them another property. You might not have an automatic right to continue living in the property if a joint tenant has ended the tenancy.

15.13a If we create a new tenancy or continue the tenancy and there are rent arrears on the joint account, our staff will discuss with you how you can pay off the arrears.

Housing

Conditions of Tenancy - Chapter 15

Ending your tenancy

When you move out of the property, you must do the following

Ending a joint tenancy

Contact