Your Tenancy

Your tenancy agreement is an important legal document

It details your rights and responsibilities as our tenant and our rights and responsibilities as your landlord.

All tenancies are unique in terms of dates and who is listed on the tenancy, so please make sure you have read and understood your personal tenancy agreement as it will be this individual document which will have your specific information on it.

The headings on this page contain general information which applies to all customers.

If you have a specific query about your tenancy, or cannot find your tenancy agreement and would like to request a copy, please Contact Us.

If you are looking to end a tenancy, please expand the "Ending A Tenancy" heading.

We're making your tenancy more secure!

We’re in the process of converting over 800 Probationary and Fixed Term Affordable Rent Tenancies into Lifetime Tenancies.

This means if you live in an Affordable Tenancy home (properties that have been capped at the level to be no more than 80% of local market rent), we’ll be asking you to sign a new tenancy agreement for a lifetime tenancy (this ensures the customer holding the lifetime tenancy has the right to stay in the property for as long as they are alive).

Why are we doing this?

Affordable Rent Tenancies were originally introduced in the form of Fixed Term Tenancies (a tenancy lasting 5 or 10 years). Some customers were worried about losing their homes at the end of the fixed period and there have been occasions with mutual exchanges where applicants have refused to exchange due to lack of security. We have looked at current legislation and terms of the Tenancy Agreements and it is now agreed that we are able to grant Affordable Rent Tenancies on a Lifetime Tenancy. These are periodic tenancies running from month to month with no end date.

All our new Affordable Rent Tenancies will be either probationary or Lifetime, with the probationary ones automatically converting to lifetime.

We do however have some historical tenancies that are still on Fixed Term and we will be contacting these customers to convert their tenancies so none of our customers are at a disadvantage.

Our dedicated team are working through the process and will be calling customers affected to support you through this by helping you sign the new tenancy agreement through Adobe Sign digitally where possible.

Changes you need to tell us about

It is important that you let us know if your or your joint tenant's circumstances or contact details change.

For example, if:

you change your name through marriage or divorce
you want to add or remove someone from your tenancy
a joint tenant leaves the property

You need to let us know so that we can update your tenancy.

In addition, if your contact details change you also need to let us know as soon as possible. This is important in case we need to contact you in an emergency - for example, if you or a neighbour have a burst pipe we may need to get in touch with you without you being aware that a repair is needed.

If possible, please provide us with a telephone or mobile number for emergencies, and an email address so that we can contact you with less urgent news in an unobtrusive way.

Ending A Tenancy

If you are leaving your property:

You must give us written notice to end your tenancy. You can give us notice by completing our Customer Notice to Quit Form (using Adobe Sign).

Your tenancy agreement will say how much notice you need to give. It will be either four weeks ending on a Sunday or one calendar month.

Before you move on we need to remind you about a few things you need to do to make sure the house is left clear and in a good condition. For more information please view our Property Condition Leaflet [pdf] 2MB.

Gas Safety When Moving House

When moving house you have a legal obligation to make sure your former home is in a gas safe condition. Gas appliances must be disconnected and removed safely by a Gas Safe engineer. You can find a Gas Safe engineer by clicking here.

For more information please download our Gas Safety Information Leaflet [pdf] 30KB. For help and advice please call us on 0333 200 7304.

Ending A Tenancy On Another's Behalf:

In the unfortunately event that you need to end a tenancy because one of our customers has died, gone into care, or any other reason then there is a legal process we have to follow.

We understand this can be an incredibly difficult time, but please let us know as soon as possible by filling out our Notice To Quit On Behalf Of A Customer form (using Adobe Sign). If you need advice you can also call us on 0333 200 7304 and we will do whatever we can to support you.

We can only accept notice if you are the next of kin or are legally acting on behalf of the tenant - for example if you are the executor of their will, have been appointed an administrator by the Probate Office or have power of attorney. You can find out more about this and what you need to do on the gov.uk website.

We will ask you to provide confirmation that you have the legal right to end the tenancy. If there is no executor or administrator, we have to serve notice on the Public Trustee to end the tenancy.

Right to Buy

The Right to Buy scheme is a government operated scheme that helps eligible council and housing association tenants in England to buy their home with a discount of up to £84,600. On their website you can find out if you could be eligible, what discount you might get and whether you can afford to buy – and how to take the next steps if you decide to apply.

For more information, please visit: https://righttobuy.gov.uk/

You can provisionally check your eligibility at: https://righttobuy.gov.uk/am-i-eligible/ as well as start the application process: https://righttobuy.gov.uk/apply/

You can also find some government advice and guidance on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/right-to-buy-forms-and-guidance

Once you have completed the form, just send it to us using the information found in our Frequently Asked Questions below.

FAQ

All completed applications should be sent to Income Services, 1700 Solihull Parkway, Birmingham Business Park, Solihull, B37 7YD. If you would like to check the progress of your existing application or have any questions relating to either scheme please email us at Righttobuy-acquire@platformhg.com. A member of our Right to Buy Team will get in touch within 5 working days of receiving your enquiry.

Q: How do I find out what my property is worth?

A: Check Zoopla and Rightmove for recently sold properties in your area.

Q: How long will it take for my application to be processed?

A: Initially we have 4 weeks to process your application. Throughout the process we’ll let you know at each stage what the timescales are to complete to help with the purchasing of your property.

Q: How much discount will I receive?

A: Each scheme uses different calculations for purchasing your property - please use the Right to Buy calculator (https://righttobuy.gov.uk/can-i-afford-it/) or Right to Aquire discount sheet (https://www.gov.uk/right-to-acquire-buying-housing-association-home/discounts).

Q: If I buy my flat, do I still need to pay service charges for this and what does this cover?

A: You will still need to continue to pay service charges to your landlord if you buy your flat or maisonette. Service charges are what you have to pay towards repairs, maintenance, major building works such as re-roofing and services provided for the upkeep of communal areas shared by other residents and management costs. They can be quite substantial, particularly in large blocks of flats.

It is important you study the offer notice carefully as this will tell you the likely costs you will be asked to pay.

Q: Can my family members purchase with me?

A: Up to 3 family members can purchase alongside a tenant if they have resided in the property for the last 12 months and it is their main home. Proof of residency will be required.

Q: How should I provide a signature?

A: All application forms must be submitted with a hand written signature from all applicants. If an application is submitted with an electronic signature you will be asked to resign the relevant page and resubmit causing delay to the processing of your application.

Information from the Valuation Office Agency regarding requests for valuation redeterminations

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the inability to inspect properties due to COVID19 in previous months, a backlog has developed which has to be worked through. Inspection is an essential part of Right to Buy delivery under statute, and under the RICS regulations.

The resources we have to do this are reduced due to staff members who are vulnerable to COVID19 themselves, or indeed are having to self-isolate as a result of being infected. We wish to deliver as many Right To Buy cases as efficiently as we can, carrying out as many inspections as we can in any one day. As a result all available staff have work booked up for the next month or so.

We do recognise that there are those who have significant personal issues lying behind their Right To Buy applications. In order to help, any ‘gaps’ emerging in our scheduled inspection programme are used to assist in this way. When these gaps will emerge is not known, but when one appears we will endeavour to contact you to arrange an appointment to visit.

Right to Acquire

Right to Acquire allows most housing association tenants to buy their home at a discount. You can apply to buy your housing association home if you’ve had a public sector landlord for 3 years.

For more information, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/right-to-acquire-buying-housing-association-home

You can provisionally check your eligibility as well as start the application process at: https://www.gov.uk/right-to-acquire-buying-housing-association-home

There are several eligibility criteria so please check these carefully before beginning your application.