A tenancy agreement is a legal contract between you and us, regarding renting your home. When you sign a tenancy agreement with us, you are agreeing to the conditions of tenancy. So it is important that you know and understand what you are agreeing to.
Because if a tenancy condition is broken, we may have grounds to end the tenancy. Or we may apply to the courts to seek an injunction, through which the court can order the tenant to keep the tenancy conditions.
We have responsibilities to perform our obligations in the tenancy conditions too. The majority of these are responsibilities to keep your home in a reasonable state of repair.
Your responsibilities include paying your rent, looking after your home and garden, and behaving in a reasonable way which does not upset people living near you.
If your tenancy is a joint tenancy, we can enforce the tenancy conditions against all joint tenants together or as individuals. The responsibilities that we both sign up to are legally binding.
Your tenancy conditions are part of the legal agreement you make with us when you accept your tenancy. Please read them to understand your rights and responsibilities, and then keep them in a safe place.
You must give us at least 28 days’ notice in writing, signed by you, when you want to give up your tenancy. If you are joint tenants, either of you can end the tenancy by giving written notice which will be binding for both of you.
The last day of your tenancy must be a Sunday, and you must return the keys to us before 12 noon the following Monday. If you fail to do this, you will be charged additional rent.
You must give us possession of the home at the end of the tenancy, and the property must be clean, clear of all your furniture and belongings, and in good repair. If you do not, we may charge you for the following costs.
- The cost of clearing your home or garden.
- Cleaning the home.
- Repairing any damage or neglect.
- Replacing any fixtures or fittings which you have removed and not replaced with alternatives of a reasonable and similar standard.
- Changing the locks.
You must also give us your new address.
Frequently asked questions
The schemes have a general no pet policy. We have made exceptions where this has proven fundamental to someone’s wellbeing and the accommodation is suitable, for example, the property has a separate front door to avoid the pet moving through communal spaces.
The introduction of a pet to a scheme is always done in consultation with the tenants. Where we have a split in whether tenants would like pets or not in the building we have therapy pets that come by the schemes.
You can transfer to another home of ours if you are being affected by the Welfare Reform Act or your home is too big or too small for your household.
Things we consider when discussing a transfer with you include you being up to date with any rent or service charges you may have, no unauthorised alterations to your home and no evidence of nuisance caused at your current home.
Get in touch with us about your circumstances and we will advise you on your next steps.
To ensure our properties meet the needs of both new and existing customers it is not always achievable to carry out a transfer so please bear this in mind if you expect your household size to increase.
If you want to swap homes with another person living in a social housing home then you can advertise this through a website called HomeSwapper. They might live in another part of Bridgend or in another local authority area. Once a match is made you will be notified.
Find out more and register on Homeswapper