NEED TO KNOW: YOUR HOME 1.10 COMMUNAL AREAS

Please follow our guidelines below to keep communal spaces safe and enjoyable for everyone.

• Make sure that you keep all communal areas clear and do not obstruct doors or exits as these are fire escape routes in an emergency.

• Items such as prams, bikes and other possessions are not allowed to be kept in communal areas as they can prevent you from escaping in an emergency and stop the emergency services from getting to you. If items pose a safety risk, they may be removed by Swan staff.

• You are not permitted to have door mats outside your front door in the communal area.

• Don’t leave refuse in the corridors as this is also a fire risk. Rubbish should be disposed of in the designated bin areas.

• Communal doors must be kept closed at all times as these are fire doors.

• You are not allowed to smoke in communal areas or outside main external doors.

• Please dispose of your household waste in the correct place – do not block rubbish chutes with oversized waste such as pizza boxes, or leave rubbish outside bin sheds where foxes can scavenge. Do not store rubbish or items for recycling in communal areas.

• Do not throw anything from any landing, balcony or window.

• You are not allowed to use the communal electricity for any personal electric appliances; this includes running extension leads from communal sockets and plugging in electronic air fresheners.

Please note: We carry out regular inspections of all communal areas and will take action against anyone who is not adhering to the extra conditions for those shared areas that are set out in their tenancy agreement.

Fire crews receive an average of 17 calls a day about broken lifts. The majority of these are a result of vandalism or misuse. Please note that any costs incurred by Swan as a result of a lift breaking down due to vandalism or misuse are a breach of your tenancy agreement and could result in action being taken against you.

NEED TO KNOW: YOUR TENANCY

2.0 YOUR TENANCY

Before you moved into your home, you will have signed a tenancy agreement. Your tenancy agreement is a legal contract between you, ‘the tenant’, and Swan, ‘the landlord’. It sets out the conditions that you need to keep while living in your home. Your tenancy agreement is a legal document and you should keep it in a safe place.

Tenancy types

There are different types of tenancies. The below information may help you to understand your tenancy.

Fixed-term tenancy

In line with our Tenancy Policy, fixed-term tenancies are issued to all tenants who are new to social housing and moving into a three bed or larger home. Initially, you will be asked to sign a one-year fixed-term starter tenancy. As long as you follow the conditions and your circumstances remain the same, you will be invited to sign a five-year fixed-term tenancy at the end of the first year. You will continue to be offered a new fixedterm tenancy every five years as long as your circumstances remain the same and you have followed the conditions set out in the tenancy.

NEED TO KNOW: YOUR TENANCY

Assured tenancy

If you have an assured tenancy, you have the right to stay in your home for an unlimited period of time without signing a new tenancy. Assured tenancies are issued to people who have held a social tenancy since April 2012 or meet the fixed-term tenancy exclusion criteria set out in Swan’s Tenancy Policy. You can download a copy of this policy here: www.swan.org.uk/Corporate-Publications

Starter tenancy

Starter tenancies are a one-year assured shorthold tenancy that automatically convert to an assured tenancy if all the conditions are kept. We can extend a starter tenancy for up to six months, but we will advise you on this before the first 12 months are up.

Assured shorthold tenancy

Assured shorthold tenancies are issued to those in temporary or specialist accommodation. They are not as secure as assured or fixed-term tenancies.

If you have a starter tenancy, you do not have the same rights as tenants who have a secure, assured or fixed-term tenancy such as the right to exchange, transfer or buy. You can find out more about Right to Buy at www.gov.uk.

NEED TO KNOW: YOUR TENANCY

2.1 KEEPING YOUR TENANCY

It is important that you keep to all the conditions of your tenancy otherwise you may lose your home. We want to support you to stay in your home. We would normally only take steps to end your tenancy if:

• You stop living in the property as your main home

• You owe us rent

• You have been violent to someone living with you

• You have been running a business from your home without our permission

• You have not let us into your home to carry out a safety critical check

• Someone living at the property or visiting you has damaged or neglected the property

• Someone living at the property or visiting you has harassed or caused a nuisance to your neighbours

• Someone living at the property or visiting you has been convicted of using your home for an illegal purpose, such as drug dealing

When two or more people sign a tenancy agreement, they are called joint tenants. All tenants are responsible for keeping to the conditions of the tenancy. If one of you breaks a condition of the agreement, we can hold you both responsible.

2.2 CHANGING YOUR TENANCY

If you are a sole tenant of an assured tenancy, you can apply to add someone to your tenancy and we will consider your application.

If you have a five-year fixed-term tenancy or an assured tenancy, you may have the right to assign your tenancy to someone who is living with you if they would qualify to succeed the tenancy if you died.

2.3 PASSING ON YOUR TENANCY

When a tenant dies, there are some circumstances when their tenancy can be passed on to someone else living in their home. This is known as succeeding the tenancy and the new tenant is known as a ‘successor’. This cannot happen if the tenant who died had already succeeded the tenancy.

You have the legal right to take over the tenancy if you were living with the tenant when they died as their husband, wife or civil partner.

We may also let you take over the tenancy if you are another member of the tenant’s family and you have lived with them for at least one year before their death.

If you succeed the tenancy in this way and your home is larger than is needed for your household, you will be required to move somewhere smaller.