If you live in a housing association home you will have rights and responsibilities. Your Landlord should have given you a written tenancy agreement explaining the rights and responsibilities that you have.
In addition to your rights, you will also have your responsibilities. For example, you must be a good neighbour and allow your neighbours to enjoy their homes peacefully and quietly. However if you pay your rent, keep to the conditions of your tenancy agreement and do not behave anti-socially you will generally have security of tenure and remain living in your home.
If you have a housing association home you will probably have an Assured Tenancy, Assured Short hold tenancy or a Fixed Term tenancy. Check your tenancy agreement with your landlord to see what type of tenancy you have.
If you have an Assured Tenancy this may give you rights to take in a lodger, swap your home with another social housing tenant, pass on your tenancy to someone else or in some cases buy your home at a discount. These rules are always very complex and you must read your tenancy agreement and always speak to your Landlord.
If you are a joint tenant you will have the same rights and responsibilities as the other joint tenant. If you experience a relationship breakdown with your joint tenant you certainly will need legal advice regarding your tenancy agreement and rights of occupation. You should always contact your Landlord in the first instance. You will probably need to discuss the matter with your solicitor, Law Centre or Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) officer.
Sadly, relationships with neighbours can go wrong. These can be minor or major issues. You should always raise these matters with your Landlord and if necessary raise the matter with the Solicitor, Law Centre or the CAB. Where necessary and where the matter is serious you can of course report the issues to the Police.
If you are a housing association tenant it is probable that you can only be evicted by a court order following a possession order being granted, which is obtained in the courts. Your Landlord must have a reason to obtain a court order and the main reasons for obtaining a court order are:
- Rent arrears
- Nuisance to neighbours
- Not living in the property
- Using the property for illegal purposes
If you are asked to leave your housing association home then seek advice immediately from a lawyer, Law Centre, CAB, our housing options service, ward councillor or your local Member of Parliament.
Talk to your Landlord to ask if they will reconsider their decision to evict you. It is very important that you do not ignore any letters that you receive from your Landlord.
It is likely that repairs to your home will occur. As a social housing landlord, the housing association is responsible for keeping your home safe, secure and in good condition. However, you're also responsible for looking after some things - and it's important to know what you should take care of and what you should ask your landlord to repair. Your tenancy agreement will explain to you what minor maintenance and repairing obligations you have. However your Landlord will be responsible for:
- The structure and exterior of your building, including the roof, walls, windows and external doors
- Central heating, gas fires (if there are any) fireplaces, flues, ventilation and chimneys
- Water supply, pipes, toilets, sinks, baths, drainage and guttering
- Gas pipes, electrical wiring and electrical and gas appliances (if they form part of your tenancy)
You can check your tenancy agreement to see if your Landlord has any other repairing obligations, such as fences or walls. Your Landlord is likely to be responsible for repairs to communal areas, such as lifts, hallways etc.
You should report any repair issues to your Landlord. If they do not deal with the repair you can complain. It might be helpful, when complaining to have evidence of:
- Photographs showing the repairs that need to be done
- Records of phone calls you make or receive
- Dates and keep copies of any letters you send to your Landlord
You should use your Landlords formal complaints procedure. If you remain unhappy with the outcome of your complaint and have gone through your Landlords complaints process you may complain to the Housing Ombudsman service.
You can also contact the our Housing Enforcement team who will assess your problem and offer appropriate advice and assistance. We will not take any action unless you have reported your complaint to your landlord and given them the opportunity to resolve the matter.
You may be able to take your Landlord to court. This can be a complex matter and you should always take your independent advice before doing so.
We do not own any housing stock itself. Following a ballot by tenants, we transferred all of our homes to a housing association in 2010. We work in partnership with a number of housing associations operating in the borough. However, as our stock transfer Landlord Clarion Housing group is by far the largest with over 6000 rented units in the borough and almost 3000 leaseholders.