Your Tenancy

The tenancy you signed when you accepted our offer of accommodation is a legal document between you as the tenant and CCHA as the landlord. It sets out your rights and responsibilities, so please read it carefully.

Your agreement will be one of the following types:

• A Secure Tenancy: Until 1989, all our tenants had ‘secure’ tenancies. As a secure tenant you have a series of legal rights which are contained in the Tenants’ Charter of the Housing Act 1985. These rights include the right to succession, the right to repair, the right to carry out improvements and the right to take in lodgers. Also, you will be charged a fair rent, which is set by the Rent Officer, an independent third party.
• An Assured Tenancy: From 1989 to 1998 most new tenants had this type of tenancy. The government brought them in and told all housing associations to use them. As an assured tenant, you do not share the legal rights in the Tenants’ Charter. Nevertheless, we are determined to ensure that all assured tenants receive the same rights and services as secure tenants whenever possible. So, while assured tenants have no legal right to carry out improvements, to take in lodgers, etc, they do have the same right under their agreement with CCHA. However, your tenancy is different in a number of ways. For example, assured tenants pay assured rents, which we set, not fair rents.

• An Assured Shorthold Tenancy: Since 1998 nearly all new tenants have had this type of tenancy for their first 12 months. At the end of this period your tenancy will convert automatically to a standard assured tenancy, so long as you have not broken the terms of the agreement. In particular you must not break the agreement by causing neighbour nuisance, harassment, violence, threatening violence, damaging the premises or criminal activity. Your shorthold tenancy contains all the same rights and responsibilities as our standard assured tenancy, but with one important difference. That is, it can be brought to an end without a court hearing. Very few shorthold tenancies end in the first 12 months and most tenants successfully complete this probationary period. Most CCHA tenants are good neighbours and responsible members of their local communities. So, they don’t need to worry about their shorthold tenancy. In fact we believe that most new tenants welcome the added peace of mind this type of tenancy brings to the whole community.

We try to ensure that secure and assured tenants enjoy the same rights and services whenever possible, but we are required by the Tenants’ Guarantee, to provide a good standard of housing management service to our assured tenants and to include certain rights in our assured tenancy agreement. The Tenants’ Guarantee was introduced by the Housing Act 1988, and the Assembly is now responsible for ensuring that housing associations fulfil their obligations.

A copy of the “Tenants’ Guarantee: A Guide to Tenants” is enclosed in your Tenants’ Information Pack and you are advised to read it carefully. A copy of the Tenants’ Guarantee itself is available on request from your local office.