Your tenancy

As a new tenant with Dudley Council you will have signed a tenancy agreement. This is the formal, legal agreement between Dudley MBC as your landlord and you as our tenant.

 

It sets out the rights and responsibilities you have as well as what we must do to look after your property. A copy of your tenancy conditions will have been provided at your sign up interview and you will need to keep it safe – together with this handbook might be a good idea.

 

It is important that you read through your tenancy conditions and if there is anything you do not understand or want further advice on please do not hesitate to ask your housing manager. They can be contacted on 01384 812345.

 

 

Most council tenants are what we call secure tenants. This is a legal term under the Housing Act 1985 which means that you have a number of legal rights to your home. For example, it says that you can remain in your property for as long as you wish to do so as long as it is your only or main home, and that you abide by the tenancy conditions.

 

We expect you to accept your tenancy conditions and abide by certain common-sense rules about being respectful to neighbours and your own environment. You will also need to regularly pay your rent on time and not be a nuisance to the people around you. If you break these rules you will be regarded as breaching your tenancy, which could lead to you losing your home.

 

If the council ever does serve you with a notice for breaching any of your tenancy conditions you will have the right to request a review of the decision, but must do it within 14 days.

 

 

New tenants will be given an introductory tenancy for the first twelve months – this is most probably the kind of tenancy you will have at first. At the end of twelve months you will automatically become a secure tenant unless there have been problems with your tenancy.

 

As an introductory tenant you have fewer rights than a secure tenant. For example, you will not be able to assign your tenancy to another person or have the ‘Right To Buy’ your home.

 

 

More than one person can become a tenant. A joint tenancy gives equal rights to each applicant signing the tenancy agreement. Both tenants are responsible for abiding by the tenancy conditions. You must inform your housing manager if you or the other joint tenant moves out.

 

 

You can end your tenancy whenever you like. We can only end it if the law says we can. This can happen in certain conditions, which are called ‘grounds for possession’. The first step we have to take is to serve a notice of seeking possession. This allows us to begin legal proceedings against you. The notice will tell you why this action is being taken.

 

However, before we get to that stage we will always attempt to resolve any issues with you. Most tenants stay with us for many years without any problems. However, we do take our responsibilities as a landlord very seriously and you must remember this.