Signing your Tenancy Agreement

What to expect when signing your Tenancy Agreement

Your neighbourhood officer will help you understand what to expect from your tenancy with us. When signing your Tenancy Agreement they will talk you through the details of your new home, this will include:

• Your rights and responsibilities – Your Tenancy Agreement will detail exactly what is your responsibility and what services you can expect from us.
• How to make rent payments ­– With a number of rent payment options, you can choose whatever works best for you. It is very important that you pay your rent on time as failure to pay may result in losing your home.
• Your utilities and services – It’s your responsibility to set up and pay for your utilities such gas, electricity, water and phone line. To avoid building up debt you should set these accounts up as soon as you move into your home.
• Our quality and safety standards – We maintain a quality standard for all of our empty properties. This means that we make sure certain things are safe and working effectively (for example we test gas and electric systems) before you move into your new home.
• Being a considerate neighbour ­– Please be aware of the noise you may be making (including TVs, stereos, barking dogs or alarms) which could cause unintended nuisance noise for your neighbours.
• Your communal areas – Each communal area has it’s own policy for services (such as cleaning shared halls, stairways or gardens).
• Getting insurance ­– It is very important that you insure your belongings within your property.
• Help moving in – We will provide information on whether a handyman is available to help you with small jobs (such as fixing curtain rails) when moving into your new home.

We can also provide advice and support with the practical side of running a home, such as managing bills, understanding your benefits or finding a local job.