Your tenancy agreement and your responsibilities and legal rights

Your new tenancy

All tenancies we grant on behalf of Wolverhampton City Council will be introductory tenancies for 12 months. However, if you are already a secure tenant of Wolverhampton City Council or another council, or an assured tenant a housing association, your new tenancy will be a secure tenancy.

The type of tenancy we grant will be clearly shown on your tenancy agreement.

If you are not sure which type of tenancy you have, please ask your local housing office or for general information please use our online e-form (This is not to be used as an application form).

Ending your tenancy

Your tenancy may be ended either by you giving notice or by an order of a court.

What should I do if I want to leave?

Under your tenancy agreement you must give us four weeks’ notice in writing. The notice must be dated and include a Monday at least four weeks in the future on which you intend to leave. You must also provide your new address. If you do not give us proper notice, we will charge you rent for up to four weeks after we receive the keys. Also, if you do not give notice in this way, we do not have to accept it.
You must leave the property in a clean and tidy condition. We will charge you for any damage or missing items.
Please give your keys to your housing office before 12 noon on the Monday your tenancy ends. Please also confirm your new address.

If you have any questions about ending or changing your tenancy, contact you local housing office or use our online e-form (secure)

Responsibilities

Antisocial behaviour

We are firmly committed to the right of our tenants to enjoy their homes in peace and comfort.

‘Safer Estates’ (a joint project between us and the police), antisocial behaviour orders, acceptable behaviour contracts, introductory tenancies, demoted tenancies, injunctions and possession orders are some of the legal and non-legal action we can use.

We will act quickly against anyone who commits antisocial behaviour. Please remember that you are responsible for the behaviour of anyone living with you or visiting your home.

We will always try to sort the problem out but if you refuse to co-operate and change your behaviour, we may take legal action to end your tenancy.

Rent

In line with the conditions of your tenancy, we charge rent each week. You must pay your rent regularly and on time.

If we evict you due to missed rent payments, the council may not rehouse you.

Main home

You must live in your property as your only and main home. This means that it must be your permanent home. If you live elsewhere, you may lose your rights as a secure tenant and we can start legal action to evict you.

Reporting repairs

You should immediately report any repairs to your home that are our responsibility (see section 5).

Going away

If you are going away for more than four weeks, we need to know. It would be useful if you give us the name and phone number of someone we can contact in an emergency. The main reason we need to know is so that we can tell when properties have been abandoned. If a property appears to be abandoned, we will try to contact the tenant. If we can’t get hold of them, we will send a ‘notice to quit’ to that address and take action to end the tenancy.

When you go away we recommend that you turn off your water supply to prevent burst pipes and possible damage to your home, or other people’s homes.

Please see the following information on Ending your Tenancy Agreement.