Social rent tenancy agreement

Being a tenant brings both rights and responsibilities. These are set out in detail in your tenancy agreement.

Our different type of tenancies

Starter tenants

If you are new to One Housing, you will have been granted a Starter Tenancy for the first 12 months of your tenancy. This limits the amount of security of tenure you have and your rights.

While you are a Starter Tenant, you do not have a legal right to:

  • transfer or exchange your home
  • take in lodgers or sublet part of your home
  • make improvements
  • buy your home.

We will visit you during your Starter Tenancy and 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 permanent 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.

Upon the successful completion of the Starter Tenancy, you will receive an Assured Tenancy Agreement.

Fixed term tenants

In 2019, we took the decision to abolish Fixed Term Tenancies. We are starting to implement the changes.

We no longer issue Fixed Term Tenancies. Residents currently on Fixed Term Tenancies will be offered Lifetime Tenancies in a phased approach due to be completed by the end of 2020.

We will, however, continue to issue Short Term Tenancies in our specialist health, care and support schemes, including homes provided as part of the Rough Sleeper Initiative (RSI).

Assured tenancies

Following the successful completion of your Starter Tenancy, you will be granted an Assured Tenancy:

  • if you were new to social housing
  • if you had an Assured or Secure Tenancy that started after 1 April 2012 when you became a Starter Tenant with us.

Please see our Tenancy Policy if you would like to see more detailed information on when you may be required to move to a new home.

Always refer to your tenancy agreement, which details your rights and responsibilities.

Here are some of the most popular questions about your rights.

What might cause you to end my tenancy?
  • you living elsewhere, rather than using our property as your only or main home
  • the death of the named tenant. If you are also living there, the tenancy will not necessarily pass on to you automatically if the named tenant dies
  • falling behind with your rent and/or regularly making late payments
  • damaging your home or not looking after it
  • behaving antisocially or annoying your neighbours
  • getting convicted of using your home for a criminal offence
  • seriously breaching any of the terms of your tenancy agreement.
Can my tenancy agreement be changed?

We can change the weekly rent, service charge and the services covered by the service charges. For any other changes, we must let you know in advance and give you time to talk to us about them. After that, we have to give you four weeks' notice before making the changes.

Can I pass on my tenancy to someone else?

You can only pass on your tenancy to someone else if you have a court order to do so (e.g. as part of divorce proceedings) or with written permission from your landlord if the terms of your tenancy allow (e.g. through assignment by mutual exchange or to a qualifying successor).

You must have our permission to pass on your tenancy, if you do not we have the right to take legal action against you and get a bailiff’s warrant to evict any unlawful occupants residing in the property.

If you end my tenancy, will you offer me alternative accommodation?

We might offer you suitable alternative accommodation if we end your tenancy because:

  • we need to demolish, rebuild or refurbish your home, and we can't do so while you are still living there
  • you live in a home specially adapted for old or disabled people and you don't need these facilities
  • you succeeded to a tenancy from a relative (not a partner) and the home is larger than you need.
Can my tenancy agreement be changed?

We can change the weekly rent, service charge and the services covered by the service charges. For any other changes, we must let you know in advance and give you time to talk to us about them. After that, we have to give you four weeks' notice before making the changes.

Can I have a joint tenancy with someone else?

We will only create joint tenancies at the lettings stage when both parties have applied together or have been nominated together by the local authority. We will allow a tenancy change only in exceptional circumstances, where the tenant is vulnerable and at risk of losing their home.

We will base our decision on the evidence that the change will improve the tenant’s likelihood of sustaining the tenancy.

Can I pass on my tenancy to someone else?

You can only pass on your tenancy to someone else if you have a court order to do so (for example as part of divorce proceedings) or with written permission from your landlord if the terms of your tenancy allow it (such as through assignment by mutual exchange or to a qualifying successor).

If you don't meet these conditions, we have the right to take legal action against you to evict any unlawful occupants living in the property.