Easy read guide to tenancy agreements

Transcription

1 Version - FINAL Housing Commissioning Team Adult Social Care Housing Toolkit: Tenancy Agreement Housing Toolkit: Easy read guide to tenancy agreements T A guide for people with learning disabilities in East Sussex July 2013 eastsussex.gov.uk 1

2 Tenancy Agreement A tenancy agreement is a written agreement about where you live. It is a legal contract between you and your landlord. A tenancy agreement gives you the right to live in your house or flat as long as you: Pay the rent Rent is money you pay each week or month to live somewhere. Pay the service charge (if there is one) The Service charge is money you pay each week or month. It may help to pay towards things like window cleaning, gardening, heating and lighting in shared areas. It may also be used to keep the halls or shared areas clean. You pay rent and service charges to the landlord. Look after your home and follow any other rules in the agreement. 2

3 Your tenancy agreement also tells you what rights you have and what you can expect from your landlord. Ask your landlord if you have any questions. How to use this booklet You can use this booklet to write down important information from your tenancy agreement. If you need someone to help you with this you can ask a friend, support worker or someone from your family. This guide does not replace your Tenancy Agreement. It can be used to help you to understand it or to find information more easily. Types of tenancies Page 9 of this booklet has information about different types of tenancy agreements. It will help you to understand your rights (for example how long you can stay at a property). Find the type of tenancy you have on these pages and put a tick in the box beside it. 3

4 Easy read guide to your Tenancy Agreement Your name (you are the tenant): Your landlord (the owner of the property or building) is: Landlords phone number: 4

5 Your tenancy start date: The date you move in date (if different from tenancy start date) Your home (address) is: Money The rent for your flat is The service charge is Total to pay You must pay this every 5

6 Your landlord must: Keep your home in good condition. This includes making sure the heating, plumbing and lighting work all the time. Tell you what repair work they are going to do and when they are going to do it. Tell you how you can complain if you are not happy about something. Tell you when they are going to ask you to pay more rent (they can only do this once a year). You must: Live in your home and keep it clean and tidy. Put your rubbish in the bins and not leave it lying around. Tell your landlord if something is broken or needs repairing. You may need to take care of small repairs yourself. Talk to your landlord if you are not sure. 6

7 Let your landlord in to do repairs, decorate or do any other work on your home that he needs to do. Be a good neighbour and respect others living near your home. Keep to any other rules that are in your tenancy agreement. Ask your landlord if you are thinking of getting a pet. Each landlord has their own rules about whether you can have pets so you will need to check. You must not: Damage your home, furniture or fittings. Annoy your neighbours (the other people that live in the building). Create noise that will disturb your neighbours 7

8 Moving out You must send your landlord a letter if you want to leave your home for good. You must send the letter at least one month before you want to go. What happens if you don t stick to the rules in your tenancy agreement? If you break the rules, your landlord might ask you to leave. Before you are asked to leave, there would need to be a meeting about this. You can only be asked to leave when your agreement ends. If the landlord wants you to leave because you have broken the rules they will have prove this in a court of law. The court must agree with the reasons that you must leave. Make sure you understand and accept your tenancy agreement before you sign! 8

9 Different kinds of tenancy agreement Below is a list of the different kinds of tenancy agreement. This information will help you to understand your rights. Tick the box beside your tenancy agreement. The type of tenancy you have is written on your tenancy agreement. Introductory Tenancies These are sometimes called probationary or trial tenancies. You would move into the property for a year. After months there is a meeting is to check you are: settling in well and want to stay paying the rent keeping to the rules of the agreement (taking good care of the home etc) If there are no problems and both you and the landlord are happy, an assured tenancy will begin. 9

10 Assured Tenancies The tenancy agreement says what rules you and the landlord must keep to (for example, paying the rent and taking care of the property). If no rules are broken, you can keep on living in the home for as long as you both agree. You have the right to stay. If you want to leave the home you must tell the landlord. After 4 weeks you can leave. If the landlord wants you to leave they will have to prove that you have broken the rules in a court of law. Assured Shorthold Tenancies The tenancy agreement says what rules you and the landlord must keep to (for example, paying the rent and taking care of the property). Every 6 12 months the landlord will check you are: settling in well and want to stay paying the rent keeping to the rules of the agreement (taking good care of the home etc) If everyone is happy then the tenancy can be re-newed. This means it can carry on for another 6 or 12 months. In a shorthold agreement the landlord can ask you to move out at the end of the 6 12 months if they wish, 10

11 even if rules are not broken. You do not have the right to stay. This is different to an assured tenancy where you have the right to stay as long as you keep to the rules. This kind of agreement is most often used by estate agents. Some Housing Associations use them, for example, if tenants are going to move on after a time of learning to live more independently. Fixed Term or Flexible Tenancies. Councils and Housing Associations are able to give you a tenancy agreement that lasts for 2 or 5 years. Secure Tenancies Secure tenancy agreements are used by the Council. The rules are the same as assured tenancies. Licence Agreements These agreements are usually used in shared homes. This could mean that you have your own bedroom but share the other rooms. In these agreements landlords can ask someone to leave at any time (they would have a special letter called ( notice to quit ). 11

12 You can use this page to write down anything else you may want to remember about your tenancy agreement. 12