Charnwood Borough Council - Leading in Leicestershire

For more information visit the Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing website

This section deals with the ways that your tenancy may legally come to an end.

If you want to leave your home then you can end your tenancy by giving us four weeks notice in writing. The tenancy will always end on a Monday. In the case of joint tenants, notice from one tenant will end the whole tenancy.

If you have an Introductory Tenancy then we can end the tenancy if you repeatedly break or seriously break this Agreement. We will serve you with a Notice of Proceedings giving you 6 weeks notice that we are applying for an order of the Court for Possession. Introductory Tenants can be evicted more easily than Secure Tenants if there is a need to do so. You have a right of review against our decision to apply to court to evict you. Further information on Introductory Tenancies is provided in the Tenants’ Information Pack or is available from Housing Services.

The Notice of Proceedings will tell you why we are seeking possession.

If you have a Secure Tenancy then we may end your tenancy if you repeatedly break or seriously break this Agreement. We may apply for an Order for Possession from the Court after we have served you with a Notice Seeking Possession stating the reason(s) why we are applying to evict you. Further information on the grounds for possession is contained in the Tenants’ Information Pack or is available from Housing Services.

The Notice Seeking Possession will tell you why we are seeking possession.

Your Rights

Security of Occupation

You have the right to occupy your home for as long as you wish so long as you do not breach the conditions of your Secure Tenancy. If you repeatedly break or seriously break this Agreement then we may decide to start Court Proceedings to evict you. You cannot be evicted from your home without a court order.

The Right of Succession to a tenancy

Succession is the transfer of your tenancy to someone after you have died. The law states that only certain people can inherit (succeed to) your tenancy. We have extended the rights of succession to unmarried couples and same sex couples. Succession can usually only take place once, so if you inherited your tenancy from a relative then no one can or has the right to inherit your tenancy. However we may allow a succession to take place again in special circumstances.

The people that we allow to succeed are:

· your husband or wife with whom you live, or
· your unmarried partner with whom you have lived for at least 12 months, or
· your same sex partner with whom you have lived with for at least 12 months, or
· a member of your family for example child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, nephew or nieces providing they have lived with you for at least 12 months.

Your husband, wife, partner or relative who succeeds you will become a Secure Tenant and will have the same rights as you under this Tenancy Agreement.

Where your home passes to someone other than your husband, wife or partner then we may consider whether your home is too big for your relative. If we decide that your home is too big for your relative then we can serve a Notice within one year and can apply to the court for possession of your home. In these cases, we will offer your relative a smaller home.

If you do not have a husband, wife or partner and there is more than one relative asking to succeed to your tenancy then, if they cannot agree who will succeed you, we will decide.

The Right to assign your tenancy

Assigning your tenancy is where your tenancy is legally passed onto someone else. Where there has been a legal assignment then you will no longer be the tenant for that property. Assignment is only allowed in the following situations:

· Assigning the tenancy under the Right to Exchange (see below) but only with our written permission; or

· In the case of Joint Tenants where the Court assigns the tenancy to one of the joint tenants following a divorce, family breakdown or dispute regarding maintenance for your children. This type of order is known as a property adjustment order. If you want to know more about this type of order then you should consult a Solicitor, the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, or a Law Centre; or

· Assigning your tenancy to a person who is legally entitled to succeed you. This includes your husband, wife, partner or relative (see right of succession above) You must have our written permission for this type of assignment and we may refuse permission if your home would be too big for your husband, wife, partner or relative.

The Right to Exchange

Secure Tenants have a legal right to swap (exchange) their home with another Secure Tenant. For Introductory Tenants this right is at the discretion of the Director of Housing and Health. You must get our written permission first. Permission cannot be withheld for Secure Tenants unless either tenant is going through legal proceedings for possession, or unless the exchange would lead to either home being too big or too small for the new tenant.

For more information on Mutual Exchanges please click here

• Xchange (Mutual Exchanges)

Your Responsibilities

You must tell us in writing at least four weeks before you want to leave your home. This four-week ‘notice’ must end on a Monday. You must return your keys to the Housing Services on the day that you leave your home.

If you do not return your keys to us then we will have to change the locks to the property and we may charge you for the cost of doing this.

You must leave your home and the fixtures and any furnishings we have provided in as good condition as they were when the tenancy started, this does not include normal wear and tear. Do not leave any of your belongings behind – we will dispose of them if you do and charge you for the cost of doing so.

If you are a joint tenant then any one of you can end the tenancy by giving us four weeks notice. We will decide if the other joint tenant can stay in your home.

You must not and cannot assign your tenancy without our written permission.