Your tenancy
Most tenancies provided by Riversmead are ASSURED tenancies. This means that under law, you have a wide range of rights. In addition, you also have a number of responsibilities. Some of the major details are summarised in this section.
Our obligations and duties to you
Tenancy
Under the terms and conditions of an assured tenancy we can only require you to leave your home if we can obtain a court order. We will not request this unless there is a good and specific reason which has been discussed with you beforehand. Examples of reasons could include:
 persistent refusal to pay rent.
persistently causing danger, nuisance or harassment to neighbours.
misuse of Association property.
not occupying your property as your principal home.
We might also ask the County Court for possession of your home if, for example:
we were due to modernise or demolish the property.
the tenant had died, a succession has been granted, but the home is now too large for the successor’s needs.
In these last two cases other accommodation would be offered to you.
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Repairs
We will keep in good repair and working order the following at your home:
the structure and exterior of the building.
the installations for the supply of water/gas/electricity.
bathroom and toilet fittings.
room heating systems.
water heating systems.
rubbish chutes, lifts and other shared amenities where provided.
It will be your duty to carry out repairs if you, people who live with you, or visitors, cause damage, on purpose or by neglect.
We must carry out repairs which are our responsibility within the stated period of time.
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Insurance
The structure of your property (walls, roof etc) is insured by Riversmead Housing Association. However your own goods and possessions are not covered by this policy, and for your own safety, it is recommended that you take out ‘HOME CONTENTS INSURANCE’ to cover these items.
Any reputable insurance agent or broker will advise you on suitable policies and the amount of cover you require.
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Rights to information
If you ask, we will give you details about:
the information you have supplied to us about yourself and held by us on our files.
our rules on transfers and exchanges.
rules which affect you and your tenancy.
We will advise you four weeks in advance of any changes to your rent or other charges.
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The Preserved Right to Buy
If you had the Right to Buy with East Herts District Council you will have the Preserved Right to Buy with Riversmead. There is very little difference between the two schemes, in that you will still be able to buy your home from Riversmead at a discounted price. The way in which the discount is worked out is the same as the Right to Buy scheme that was in place with the Council and your years as a Council tenant will still count towards calculating the discount you are entitled to.
As was the case before, some properties such as sheltered housing, are excluded from the "Preserved Right to Buy" scheme.
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The Right to Acquire
You may also have an additional right to buy your home; the "Right to Acquire". This scheme is generally less generous than the Preserved Right to Buy Scheme. The Right to Acquire is based on a Voluntary Purchase Grant system, rather than a discount system which operates under the Preserved Right to Buy and, depending upon a number of factors, tenants are entitled in exercising the Right to Acquire to a discount of between £9,000 and £16,000 on the full market value of their home.
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Request RTB and RTA forms @ my home online
Click here to go to my home online, where you can request a right to Buy or Right to Acquire form from the services section.
You can also download the Right to Acquire form from the Housing Corporation's website.
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Your obligations and duties
False statement
If you have made a false statement knowingly or recklessly which leads us to grant you this tenancy, then we may seek a Court Order for Possession.
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Payment of rent
Rent is due weekly in advance and can be paid in a variety of different ways including; at the Post Office, by direct debit, standing order or at one of our local offices.
We may change the rent and other charges annually. If we do we will write and give you at least 28 days notice..
For more information, please see Paying Rent. Alternatively, you can visit our Rents Section at Riversmead.
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Use and occupation of the property
(a) If you, people who live with you or visitors, damage, destroy or lose any of the following:
structure and exterior of the building;
installations for the supply of gas/water/electricity
bathroom and toilet fittings
room heating systems
water heating systems
interior fixtures or fittings
sheds and garages
you will be responsible for the repair or replacement.
(b) You are responsible for keeping the inside of your home, garden and garage:
in a reasonable decorative order.
free from health hazards.
in a safe condition.
(c) If you wish to carry out work to improve your home, for example:
decorate the outside of your home
carry out alterations or additions to your home or the services to it
erect aerials or satellite dishes to your home
alter, add or remove any of our fixtures and fittings in your home
you must get our written agreement beforehand. We will not unreasonably refuse your request and can often provide useful advice and assistance. All such work must be carried out to our satisfaction and at your own expense.
(d) You may keep pets, animals or birds at your home providing they are kept in proper conditions and under proper control. If a pet or other animal causes a nuisance to your neighbours or others, you may be required to control your pet’s behaviour, or find another home for it. You should also ensure that dogs are kept on a lead in estates and in any shared parts of the property.
(e) If you wish to run a business from your home you must first get our written agreement. You may also need planning permission for a ‘change of use’. If agreement is given and your business disturbs your neighbours, our agreement will be withdrawn and you must stop using your home for your business.
(f) You must not:
assign
sublet
exchange
your home, or any part of it, without our written agreement beforehand. If you (or your partner if he/she is the tenant) die, the tenancy can only be allowed to continue under the rules which apply to succession. The rules on succession, assignment and sub-letting are explained more fully later.
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Access to your home
You must allow us access to your home when we need it. We will give you reasonable notice if we need access, for example to inspect or repair your home or a neighbour’s home. In an emergency, we may enter your home without notice by any necessary means. Emergency means a situation which could cause personal injury or damage to your home or a neighbouring home.
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Nuisance, Anti Social Behaviour and Harassment
Under your tenancy agreement, you are responsible for making sure that you, people living in your home, visitors and pets do not cause:
- a nuisance to neighbours, other tenants and anyone else visiting the area around your home, including behaving in a violent or threatening manner
- any kind of harassment, or threat of harassment that interferes with their peace and comfort or which offends them
- harassment, or threats of harassment on the grounds of discrimination
Examples of anti social behaviour include:
- Using or dealing drugs
- Litter and dumped rubbish
- Shouting, screaming, swearing, drunkenness, making indecent or offensive gestures
- Frequently carrying out major repairs to vehicles
- Excessive or persistent noise
Harassment is repeated behaviour that is deliberately intended to upset or harm another person, family or group of people.
Examples include:
- Dumping rubbish
- Damage to property eg graffiti, vandalism
- Verbal abuse and threats of violence
- Violent acts
From time to time neighbours fall out. In most cases, disputes that arise between neighbours can be resolved by talking the problem over between themselves and showing consideration for each other. Neighbours may not realise that they are causing you problems, and a polite, friendly approach (rather than making aggressive demands) may improve the situation dramatically. Where this does not have any effect or if you feel threatened, please report the incident to us.
You can report incidents by going to my home online (please see below), by telephoning 01992 514514 and asking to speak to a Housing Officer, by visiting our offices or writing to us, by e-mail or by speaking to any of our staff.
We have signed up to the Respect Standard. This is a Government initiative whereby local agencies sign up to tackle unacceptable behaviour promptly and effectively and strive to improve the quality of life for for residents. We work closely with our partners, the Police, Local Authorities and solicitors to achieve positive results in reducing anti social behaviour.
To find out more about how we will deal with incidents of anti social behaviour, please download our leaflet Anti Social Behaviour - A guide for tenants and leaseholders.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the pdf file. Use this link and follow the instructions to download it for free from the Adobe website.
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Report an incident of anti-social behaviour @ my home online
Click here to go to my home online, where you can report an incident of anti-social behaviour by going to the services section.
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Ending your tenancy
If you wish to end your tenancy you must give four weeks notice in writing, and give a forwarding address.
We can only end the tenancy by obtaining a Court Order for possession of the premises on one of the Grounds listed in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988.
In both cases all keys must be returned to us by noon on the last day of your tenancy, otherwise rent and other charges will continue to be made.
At the end of your tenancy you must leave your home empty, in a clean and reasonable condition and clear of all rubbish.
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Succession, assignment and subletting
Succession
If you die the tenancy of your home will normally pass to your partner. This is called a ‘SUCCESSION’ of the assured tenancy.
If you have no partner or joint tenant then the tenancy can instead pass to another close member of your family. To qualify, the family member must have lived at your home for at least the 12 months before your death. If there is more than one close relative, then they must agree amongst themselves who is to take over. If there is no agreement then we can select the successor.
The rules say that we can only allow the tenancy to be taken over once following a death. So for example, if it is a joint tenancy then the surviving joint tenant automatically takes over, but after that there can be no more successions. In some cases, we may need to move the successor to smaller accommodation.
The rules are complex. It is best for a close relative or friend to come in and see us if the worst does happen. We can then provide help and guidance to sort out the tenancy.
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Subletting
If you wish to sub-let part of your home, you must obtain our written permission beforehand. We will not refuse you permission to sub-let part of your home without good reason, and we will always explain why to you in writing.
If you sub-let without our permission you will risk court proceedings being brought against both yourself and the unauthorised occupier(s).
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Lodgers
As long as you do not allow your home to become overcrowded (that is, allow more than the permitted number of residents given on your rent notification card), you can take in lodgers to share your home. Remember that if you do take in lodgers:
you must notify us whenever you take in lodgers, and also when they leave
you are responsible for lawfully evicting your lodger if you want them to leave
your lodger will not enjoy ‘security of tenure’ as you do
any income you receive may affect entitlement to Housing Benefit, and you should inform your local benefits office straight away.
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Assignment
An assignment is the transferring of your assured tenancy (including all the legal rights you enjoy as an assured tenant) to somebody else.
There are two cases where we may give you permission to make an assignment. You must apply to us for written permission beforehand. The two cases are:
if it is an exchange of tenancy with another tenant of a registered Housing Association or Local Authority and the exchange has been approved by us
or
if it is in accordance with a court order obtained in matrimonial proceedings
The rules governing lodgers, sub-letting or assignments are complex. We will always try to apply them in a flexible and helpful manner. Help and advice can always be obtained from our offices.
Please note the information contained on this page is intended as a guide only. If you have any queries regarding the rights and responsibilities contained within your tenancy agreement then you should contact your Housing Officer, our Housing Advice Officer, local Citizens Advice Bureaux or, where appropriate, take independent legal advice.
Please contact us about any of the issues raised on this page either by using the Contact Us form, or at:
Riversmead Housing Association
Riversmead House
36 Ware Road
Hertford
Herts
SG13 7HH
e-mail: riversmead@riversmead.org.uk
Telephone: 01992 514514
Fax: 01992 514500
Minicom: 01992 537818
We are open from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday
Personal callers are most welcome, but it is helpful to make an appointment first.
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