What your Tenancy Agreement means

Your tenancy agreement is the legally binding contract between you as a tenant and Shepherds Bush Housing Association (SBHA). It contains a number of clauses that detail your responsibilities as a tenant and ours as your landlord which act as a clear guide on how we should treat each other and what happens if either of us breaks the agreement. It is probably the most important document you will get from us and you should keep it safe.

It is divided into four areas:

the clauses legally required to make it a true tenancy agreement
SBHA's rights and responsibilities to you as a tenant
your rights and responsibilities to SBHA as your landlord
the legal rights you have in your tenancy.

1. Legal clauses
In order to be legal your tenancy agreement must contain the following:

SBHA's name and address
confirmation that your landlord is registered with the Housing Corporation as a 'Registered Social Landlord' (the Housing Corporation is the official housing body that is responsible to the Government and regulates the way in which Registered Social Landlords operate)
the type of tenancy you have, either 'secure' or 'assured' (if your agreement was signed before 15 January 1989, you have a 'secure' tenancy and if it was signed after the 15 January 1989, you have an 'assured' tenancy). There are a number of differences in these tenancies - please talk to the Customer Services team at our registered Chiswick office on 020 8222 7300 if you require more details
the date you began living at your home and the date the rent is due. This is only valid as long as your home is your only or main home
the amount of rent and other charges you must pay and details of how your rent can only be increased once a year
two signatures on the agreement, yours and the representative of SBHA and the date it was signed.

If there are changes in the law that affect your tenancy and they happen after you have signed it, the changes are automatically included into your agreement so you get the same rights as everyone else.

If you lose your tenancy agreement we are not allowed to replace it. However we can give you a copy which we will have to mark as such.

2. SBHA's rights and responsibilities
Your tenancy agreement lists the rights and responsibilities to which you are entitled by SBHA. Briefly they are:

to give you 'possession' of your home at the beginning of your tenancy
not to interrupt or interfere with your right to peacefully occupy your home
to be given access to your home for emergency repairs
to only end your tenancy by a court order. SBHA has to prove that you have broken a clause in your tenancy agreement in court before the tenancy can be ended. SBHA also has to follow set rules and regulations on this and you have the right to defend yourself at all times
to keep in good repair the structure outside of your home
to keep in good repair the installations in your home. These are central heating systems, water pipes, gas and electricity supplies, waste disposal such as toilets and sinks
to take care of the common areas around your home that are owned by SBHA
to redecorate outside your home every 6 years
to give you information on SBHA's policies and procedures in managing your home and to consult you on those decisions.

3. Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant
Your tenancy agreement lists the following:

you must move into your home on the date your rent is due and occupy it as your main and principal home
you must pay the rent and other charges weekly and in advance. If you do not pay and fall into rent arrears, we can take you to court and ask the court to allow us to evict you. They will only allow this in certain circumstances and you do have the right to defend yourself
you must not move out of your home without informing us and you must not sublet it totally to another person
you must pay the water charges, gas and electricity charges
you must not run a business from your home
a statement saying that the personal circumstances you have given us about you and your family are true
you or any visitor of yours must not harass any other person or tenant and the term 'harassment' is explained. This also is the same for racial or sexual harassment and for acts of domestic violence
you or any of your visitors must not cause any wilful damage to your home
you are responsible for the behaviour of your visitors at your home
you are not to cause any nuisance to your neighbours
you must not use your home for immoral or illegal purposes
you cannot keep any animals without SBHA's permission
you are responsible for decorating the inside of your home and keeping it in good and clean condition
you must report all your outstanding repairs to SBHA and allow contractors to come into your home to do your repairs
you must give 4 weeks notice to SBHA when leaving your home permanently, remove all of your possessions and return all keys and give SBHA 'vacant' possession of your home.

4. Your recognised legal rights
These are put into your tenancy agreement to protect you:

in the event of your death, your tenancy can be passed on to your spouse if your are an assured tenant and your spouse and a member of your family if you are a secure tenant
you can give or 'assign' your tenancy to someone else (although there are rules restricting this)
you can exchange or swap your tenancy with other tenants of Housing Associations and Councils with our permission
you can take in lodgers or sublet part of your home with our permission
you can make improvements with our permission
you can claim some compensation for failures in emergency repairs.

For further details or a copy of your tenancy agreement please contact the Customer Services team on 020 8222 7300.