As an assured tenant, you normally have the right to live in your home for as long as you like, providing:

• you stick to the rules of your tenancy agreement
• you live in the property as your main or principal home, and
• you do not use your home to run a business or break the law.

We can only end your tenancy by asking a court’s permission.

If you are an assured shorthold tenant, you have a temporary or fixed-term tenancy. After a certain amount of time, we can apply to end your tenancy. However, we can bring it to an end sooner if you break the rules.

Equality

All residents have a right to fair and equal treatment. Your tenancy agreement and our equal opportunities policy both reflect our commitment to meeting the law and best practice on treating people equally.

Succession – passing on the tenancy

If you are an assured tenant and you die, a member of your family may have the right to take over your tenancy. This person must have lived with you for 12 months or more before your death.

If you have a joint tenancy and one partner dies, the tenancy continues for the joint tenant. If the second joint tenant dies, no-one has a right to the tenancy.

You may have the right to succeed to a tenancy as an assured shorthold tenant with a fixed-term agreement.

Assignment – passing on the tenancy

You can pass on your tenancy to someone else, before you die, if you are an assured tenant, or you have a fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy, and:

• you are swapping homes with another social housing tenant with a similar right to exchange – you need written permission from us and the other landlord, before you move
• a court orders you to pass the tenancy to your spouse, civil partner, or someone who lives with you as a partner, or
• you are a joint tenant and you no longer want to live together – the remaining partner must write to us, so that we can alter the tenancy. We will not normally offer a new tenancy to the joint tenant who leaves.

Lodgers

A lodger is someone who comes to live with you as a member of your household.

You do not need our permission to take in a lodger if you are an assured tenant, but you must tell us their name, age and sex so that we can make sure your home is not overcrowded.

You are not allowed to have a lodger if you are an assured shorthold tenant.

Sub-letting

Sub-letting is when someone has exclusive use of part or all of a property.

You are not allowed to move out and sub-let your entire home. If you do this, you are committing social fraud and we will go to court to take back the property. You could also be fined or go to prison.

You are allowed to sub-let part of your home if you are an assured tenant, providing you still live there. However, you need our written permission first. We will not refuse any requests unreasonably.

You are not allowed to sub-let if you are an assured shorthold tenant.

Pets

Before keeping a pet, you must ask our permission. If we give permission, you must make sure your pet is not a nuisance or a danger to anyone in the area.

Gardens

If you have a garden or other outdoor area, you must keep it well maintained and tidy.