Reproduced from 2008 Tenancy Conditions on Camden Council website HERE .
Introduction
This booklet sets out the tenancy conditions of a Camden Council secure and introductory tenant. It explains your legal rights, the duties the council has as your landlord and the duties you have as a tenant.
If you accept a tenancy with Camden we expect you to:
● keep to these conditions
● pay your rent on time
● take good care of our property
● have consideration for those living around you.
At Camden Council we want our services to be accessible to everyone who needs them. We aim to tackle discrimination and to promote equality for everyone whatever their race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or faith.
We value the diversity of our borough and are committed to delivering housing services that recognise the different needs of the many communities who live in Camden today.
We expect our tenants, members of their household and their visitors, to behave towards others in the community with care and consideration.
Introductory tenancies
From 7 April 2008 all new Camden Council tenants have introductory tenancies. An introductory tenancy is for a trial period of 1 year before your tenancy becomes secure and you gain the rights of a secure tenant.
Unless we take action to end your tenancy during your trial period your tenancy will automatically become secure on the anniversary of the date your introductory tenancy began.
This does not apply to you if you are already a secure tenant moving from one tenancy to another or if you are an assured tenant of a registered housing association.
This booklet is the tenancy conditions for both introductory and secure tenants. Most of the tenancy conditions are the same for both although introductory tenants have fewer rights. Please read this booklet carefully or ask staff in the District Housing Office to explain it to you Joint tenancies statement
When a new tenancy begins we will normally offer joint tenancies to all married couples, couples with a registered civil partnership and couples who live together. In these conditions, ‘you’ means sole tenants and all joint tenants.
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force on 2 October 2000. This Act brings the European Convention on Human Rights into the laws of the United Kingdom. We are committed to acting in a way that is in keeping with the Act.
A Your rights
1 Security of tenure
a Secure tenants
If you are a secure tenant you have ‘security of tenure’ as long as you remain a secure tenant under the terms of the Housing Act 1985. This means that we can only take possession of your home:
either
● by going to court to get a Possession Order on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985, which include breaking any of the conditions of tenancy. These are summarised in Section I of these conditions.
(We must tell you if we are going to apply for a Possession Order, and give our reasons, before we apply for a court hearing. The court will only grant an order if we prove one or more ‘grounds for possession’).
or ● if we accept your surrender of the tenancy
or ● you serve us with a valid Notice to Quit
or ● if a court has made an order to demote your secure tenancy because you have behaved anti-socially.
b Introductory tenants
If you are an introductory tenant we must go to court to get a Possession Order to repossess your home but we do not have to prove a ground for possession to get one; we only need to prove that we have followed the correct procedure.
We will consider repossessing your tenancy if you have broken your tenancy conditions or if any of the grounds for possession that apply to secure tenancies as set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985 apply to you. A summary of the grounds for possession of a secure tenancy is contained at section 1.
2 Your right to improve
All secure tenants have the right to carry out improvements to their homes.
However, we must first give our permission in writing and you must get the relevant planning permission.
If you are an introductory tenant you do not have this right.
An improvement includes:
● Adding anything to, or altering, your home, the council’s fixtures and fittings, or the provision of services
● Putting up a radio or television aerial
● Decorating the outside of your home.
We will not unreasonably refuse our permission.
You must not put up a satellite dish on any of our properties without first getting our permission in writing. We will only give this in exceptional circumstances.
Security grilles and gates can be unsafe. You must not fit security grilles to your windows, or security doors or gates, unless we have given our permission in writing. We will not refuse permission unreasonably and in considering whether to give permission we will take into account whether:
● the door, gate or grille meets London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority safety guidelines
● you have received planning permission and building control approval when necessary
● the door, gate or grille is likely to damage the structure or outside
of the property.
3 Your right to be consulted
All tenants have the right to be consulted and have their views considered on how we manage their homes.
This includes:
● managing, maintaining, improving or demolishing homes
● providing services or amenities
● changes in the practice or policy of the council likely to substantially affect a number of tenants. Also, tenants have a right to be informed about our allocation policies.
4 Your right to see information we hold about you
Under Data Protection law you have the right to see information we hold about you. If you ask us to make a copy of your records we can ask you to pay £10 towards the cost of this.
B Our duties
1 Security of tenure
We will grant security of tenure to all tenants who are secure tenants under the Housing Act 1985. We will only seek possession against secure tenants through the courts on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985. (These are summarised in Section I.)
2 Repairs
We will keep in repair and maintain:
● the structure and exterior of the premises
● the services supplying water, gas, electricity, sanitation, and space and water heating; and
● appliances for delivering these services which we have installed.
We will not be responsible for carrying out work or repairs for which you could be liable due to your duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner.
We will repair and maintain shared boilers and heating mains. If a breakdown lasts for 7 days or longer in any financial year, we will repay your charges for that time, unless you caused the breakdown. Extra compensation for heating breakdowns will be paid to tenants over the age of 65.
This clause aims to describe in simple language the provisions of Section II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. We accept only the duties given to us by the Act, no more and no less.
3 Services
We will provide any services we think are needed, and maintain them to a reasonable standard. These may include door entry systems, lifts, and caretaking and cleaning services. We will not be responsible for any failure in our services beyond our reasonable control.
4 Quiet enjoyment
We will not interfere with your right to the quiet enjoyment of your home during your tenancy.
5 Anti-social behaviour
We will give you help and advice if you tell us you are the victim of anti-social behaviour, and we will investigate complaints of anti-social behaviour.
6 Major repairs and improvements
We will ask for and consider the views of all tenants who would be affected by any proposed major repair or improvement schemes. We will try where possible to make sure tenants are able to return to their original homes, unless they would be under occupied.
7 Data protection
We process personal data to carry out our work and to meet our duties under these tenancy conditions. Data is processed in a way that keeps to the duties we have under the data protection laws.
C Your duties
1 Rent
a You will pay the weekly rent and other charges for your home regularly and on time.
b Rent is due weekly in advance every Monday. You may pay fortnightly or monthly in advance, if you want to.
c If we change the rent and other charges, such as heating, we must give you at least 4 weeks’ written notice, and let you know you have the right to end the tenancy.
d For most tenants water rates are included in the rent. This means that if the water rate for your home changes we may change your total rent.
e You will also pay as rent any amount you owe us for any current or past tenancy. We will write to you within 90 days of the start of the new tenancy, or send you a formal notice, to tell you how much extra you will have to pay.
f If you need help in paying your rent, or think you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, please contact:
The Benefit Service
The Town Hall
Argyle Street
London WC1H 8NJ
Phone: 020 7974 5760
Email: benefits@camden.gov.uk
Website: www.camden.gov.uk/housingbenefit
Visits: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 08.00-17.00, Wed 08.00-14.30
Telephone: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 09.00-17.00, Wed 09.00-14.30
2 Anti-social behaviour
a If anyone else lives with you, or visits your home, you are responsible for how they behave in and around your home, on any part of the estate, on any property belonging to the council, or in the locality of your home.
Examples of anti-social behaviour include:
● harassment, including racial harassment and domestic
violence
● noise nuisance
● dumping rubbish or furniture
● failing to control children who are causing a nuisance or damage to property, including graffiti
● criminal activity
● throwing things off balconies or out of windows
● breaking shared security, for example allowing strangers to get into the building
● not keeping pets under control, including excessive barking of dogs and dogs fouling in communal or shared areas
● drug dealing in properties or on estates
● spitting or urinating anywhere in the communal areas of the block or on the estate.
b You or anyone else living with you or visiting your home, must not do, cause, encourage or allow to be done, anything which causes or is likely to cause nuisance, or may cause harassment or annoyance to anyone else. This applies in your home, on your estate, on any of our property, or in the locality of your home.
c Section 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976 gives us duties in promoting good relations between people of different racial groups. This means we cannot allow tenants to do, or allow anything to be done, which involves or constitutes racial harassment, including abusive behaviour, verbal or otherwise. This rule applies in their homes and anywhere on any of our estates.
d You must not do or allow anything to be done in your home or on any part of the estate which is harassment. This includes abusive behaviour, verbal or otherwise, on the grounds of gender, disability, age or sexuality.
e You must keep noise, including televisions, radios, record players, musical instruments and so on, to a reasonable volume at all times.
You must not make any noise which can be heard outside your home between 11pm and 8am.
f The following condition applies if you live in a flat or maisonette and we inform you in writing that we are aware of noise nuisance coming from your property:
You must keep all your floors, including hallways and stairs, covered with carpet and a good quality underlay or with a suitable alternative floor covering that has similar noise reducing qualities. This does not apply to kitchens and bathrooms where floor coverings have been supplied by the council.
g The following condition applies to all tenants:
You must not put down laminate floor coverings or other types of wooden or artificial floor coverings without written permission. We will not give you permission unless the District Housing Office is satisfied that you have done enough to reduce noise nuisance to other residents.
h You must not keep any firearms unless you are legally entitled to hold them. Examples of firearms include air-weapons, shotguns, replicas and de-activated weapons. If you have a legal firearm you must use and store it only in ways the law allows.
If you, a member of your household, or a visitor cause a nuisance or annoyance or otherwise break any of these conditions, the council can take legal action against you, for example:
● We can ask a court for an anti-social behaviour injunction (ASBI) or an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO). These are court orders to stop behaviour that causes a nuisance or annoyance and if you break them you can be fined or imprisoned, or both. You may also be banned from your property or the area.
● We can ask a court to give us possession of your home and evict you and anyone living there.
● We can ask a court to demote your secure tenancy so that you lose your security of tenure for a certain period of time.
The council will consider all the legal remedies available to us to deal with nuisance and anti-social behaviour. At the same time we will, if we can, give you advice about what to do to keep your tenancy.
If we take legal action we can ask the court to give us an order against you for our legal costs.
3 Living in your home
a You must use the property as your only or main home.
b We have the right to stop you using your home, or any part of it for anything other than living in.
c During your tenancy you must not (either solely or jointly) own or rent any residential property which it would be reasonable for you to live in as your home. You must tell the District Housing Office if you own a residential property or have another residential lease or tenancy.
If you inherit a property this condition can only be broken once you have owned the property for more than 12 months.
In deciding whether you have broken this tenancy condition we will consider:
● Whether the property is fit to live in
● Whether you have acquired the property for use as a holiday home only and whether it is only suitable for that purpose
● Whether the property is suitable for your household, taking into account the size of the property, your income and employment, any disabilities or medical problems you have and any other relevant circumstances
● Whether it would be reasonable in all the circumstances for you to sell the property.
d You must not assign the tenancy unless:
● You do it by court order under Section 23A or 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973; section 17(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act; paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 or Part 2 of Schedule 5, or paragraph 9 (2) or (3) of Schedule 7, to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
● You do it under the right to exchange (introductory tenants do not have this right); or
● It is to a person who would be legally entitled to succeed to the tenancy.
In this case, you must first get our permission in writing. When we are deciding whether to give our permission, we will look at:
- whether your home would become under-occupied;
- whether your home has any special facilities or adaptations designed to make it suitable for a disabled person; or
- anything else which we think is relevant to the assignment.
e You must not give up possession of or sub-let all your home.
f You must not give up possession of or sub-let any part of your home without our written permission. (introductory tenants do not have this right). We will not refuse permission unreasonably.
g You must tell the District Housing Office if you will be away from home for more than 3 months (this is so we know that you have not abandoned your tenancy). If you don’t use your property as your only or main home, or you don’t tell us when you will be away for more than 3 months, we will consider taking action to end your tenancy.
You will not have broken this tenancy condition if you have been in
hospital.
h You are allowed to be away from your home for up to 6 months and have someone else live there and act as your agent. But you must first tell the District Housing Office and get our written permission. If you do not get our written permission you could put your security of tenure at risk.
In certain circumstances (for example if you are working or studying away from home temporarily) we will consider giving permission for you to be away for more than 6 months as long as we are satisfied that your tenancy address remains your main home.
i You may take in lodgers, as long as you do not give up possession of all your home. Introductory tenants do not have this right but we will consider requests from disabled introductory tenants for a carer to live with them.
j You must not overcrowd your home.
k Joint tenants are not allowed to pass their interest in the joint tenancy to any of the other joint tenants. The only exception to this is where their interest is assigned in one of the ways allowed by these conditions.
4 Relationship with council officers
You must not obstruct abuse, harass, threaten or assault any of the council’s officers or agents. This applies whether or not they are carrying out their duties for the council. You must not cause, allow or encourage anyone else to do so. This rule also applies to anyone living with you or visiting your home.
You must do anything reasonable we ask you to do in connection with the way you use your home and our property. We have the right to gain access to your home at all reasonable hours through our housing management staff, or any other authorised person.
You must give us access if we make a reasonable request for access.
Reasons why we may wish to gain access to your home include, to:
a inspect the state of repair and condition of your home or those next to it
b carry out gas safety inspections
c repair, alter or improve your home, or those next to it. This includes electrical wiring, gas and water pipes or drainage and heating systems
d make sure no-one is breaking these tenancy conditions or Health and Safety regulations.
If we need to get into your home very urgently and you do not agree or we cannot contact you, we have the right to force entry to your home without a court order. Examples of when we could do this include when there is a serious leak of water from your home or we urgently need to repair something that poses a health and safety risk to you or your neighbours.
You must not offer, or give, any gift to any officer or servant of the council.
Do not let anyone into your home unless you are sure about their identity. Anyone representing the council will show their identification card if you ask them.
5 Repairs
a You must tell the Repairs Service (phone 020 7974 1212, or 020 7974 6565 for Bengali speakers) at once about any damage to your home and any defects likely to cause injury or damage to people or property.
b If there is any damage to, or neglect of, your home or the council’s property and it is caused by you, anyone living with you or visiting your home or by your animals you must put it right at your own expense.
c You must keep your home clean and free from rubbish. If you do not, we will charge you for any work we need to do because of this, such as removing rubbish.
d We will normally send you a bill for the cost of lost keys, repairs or damage for which you are responsible. Where necessary, the District Housing Office will find out the price from the District Contractor.
e You (or anyone living with you or visiting your home) must not interfere with security and safety equipment in communal blocks. Doors should not be jammed open and strangers should not be let in without identification.
f You must not tamper with any meters in your home, whether they belong to the council or to other statutory bodies.
g If the heating or hot water services break down, tell us straightaway.
6 Gardens and other areas let with the tenancy
a Any gardens or other areas (for example balconies, patios or yards) let as part of the tenancy are covered by this contract.
b You must not, without our written permission, remove, plant or put up, any hedges or fences, or remove or prune any trees.
c You must keep your garden, patio, balcony, fitted window box or other area let with the tenancy, neat and tidy.
d If you would like to garden any of the communal areas on your estate or outside your block please get the agreement of your Patch Manager first. The council wants to encourage people to improve their environment and Patch Managers will agree reasonable requests (this condition is not intended to cover pot plants or hanging baskets).
7 Animals
a You, people living with you and people visiting you, must not cause, encourage or allow any animal to do anything which causes, or is likely to cause:
● a nuisance; or
● harassment or annoyance to anyone else on any property belonging to us.
This includes persistent barking, and mess caused by dogs fouling our property.
b If you own or keep a dog you must make sure:
i it does not foul any property belonging to us;
ii it is kept on a lead and accompanied by a responsible person whenever it is outside and on any of our property;
iii any mess caused by the dog fouling any of our property is cleared up (unless you are a blind person, and it is your guide dog);
iv it does not enter any children’s play area or other dog-free zone (unless you are a blind person, and it is your guide dog).
c Neither you nor anyone living with you is allowed to cause, encourage or allow more than 2 dogs to be kept in the premises at any one time.
d Neither you nor anyone living with you is allowed to cause, encourage or permit to be kept on the premises, or brought onto the estate, any breeds named in Section 1 of the Dangerous Dog Act 1991, or which may be specified by us.
e We may, if we decide, ban you and anyone living with you from causing, encouraging or allowing any animal to be kept on any of our properties.
This ban will automatically be a new condition of your tenancy.
f If you are a tenant of the Alexandra Road estate you must not allow any dog, except guide dogs for the blind, to be kept on the premises. We will seriously consider taking action, for breach of these tenancy conditions, if a tenant on that estate takes in a dog.
g You must not have more than 3 cats in your home unless you have obtained our written permission to have more. We will only give permission in exceptional circumstances and in considering whether to give you permission we will take into account:
● The size and location of your property
● Whether we have received any complaints about any animals you already have.
h Do not feed pigeons or any other animal likely to become a pest, outside the building or on the balconies.
8 Parking
You must not, without our written permission:
a park a vehicle, or allow anyone living with or visiting you or your home to park a vehicle, on any part of the estate other than on your own parking area or on a visitors’ parking area;
b park a vehicle, or allow any one living with or visiting you or your home, to park a vehicle that can carry more than 8 passengers, or that either does not fit in a parking space or is more than 2.3 metres high.
You are not allowed to sub-let a car parking space which is our property..
You are not allowed to use a garage for any purpose other than to store a roadworthy motor vehicle.
9 Insurance
The council’s buildings insurance does not cover tenants’ possessions. We strongly recommend that you take out household insurance with a reputable insurer to include cover for contents and broken windows (this condition does not affect your legal right to claim compensation from the council if the damage was caused by the negligence of the council or its agents).
If you have arranged household insurance through us and do not pay your insurance charges, then we will cancel the insurance policy.
You must tell us in writing if you want to stop paying your weekly household insurance charge. We will only cancel it from the Monday after we get your notification.
10 Shared areas
a This clause only applies if you live in a street property and we do not provide a caretaking and cleaning service. You, and the other tenants of the building, are responsible for keeping all shared areas in the building and the grounds clean and tidy.
b All tenants must make sure communal stairs and walkways outside their home are kept tidy and free of clutter.
c You must not leave rubbish outside your property unless the council provides a collection service. When a collection service is provided you must not leave rubbish bags or bins anywhere other than the designated area. These must not be put out any earlier than the evening before collection is due unless you are going to be away or unless the District Housing Office has agreed a different arrangement for your property, street, block or estate.
D Ending your tenancy
i Your tenancy may only be ended by a court order, a Notice to Quit from you, or if you surrender it. If you surrender your tenancy you must give us full ‘vacant possession’. You, and everyone else living there, must move out. You must give us back all the sets of keys before your tenancy can be ended.
ii If you want to end your tenancy, you must give us 4 weeks’ notice in writing ending on a Monday. If you do not give this notice, or you give less than 4 weeks’ notice, you will be breaking this condition and you may be charged an amount for damages of up to the equivalent of 4 weeks’ rent.
(This does not apply if you are transferring to another council property.)
iii You must leave the property and garden in a clean and tidy condition.
All your belongings must be removed unless we have given you written permission to leave some belongings in the property. If you do not, we may assume you have abandoned these items and may dispose of them without contacting you although we will keep to our legal duties under Section 41 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
We will also charge you a reasonable cost for removal, storage or
disposal and a sum for lost rental income for the period we are unable to re-let the premises due to having to clear the items.
iv Once you have given us written notice of ending your tenancy, you must allow any prospective tenants we send to come in and look around your home. You, us, and the party wishing to view the premises will agree a reasonable time for this. This also applies if you accept an offer of another home from us.
v If you accept an offer of a tenancy for another council home this means you have surrendered your tenancy.
vi Tenancies start and end on a Monday. You must return the keys to us by 12 noon on the Monday your tenancy ends. This includes all keys to your home, keys to communal areas and door entry key fobs. If you do not do this, you will have to pay an “occupation charge”. (This will be equal to the full rent up to the Monday following the day you return the keys.)
vii When you leave, you must give us a forwarding address. If you do not, we may not contact you to refund any money due to you, for example overpaid rent or heating refund.
E Passing on the tenancy when a tenant dies
Section E below applies to you if your tenancy began before
1 October 2007. If your tenancy began on or after 1 October 2007 please see the amended section E at the end of this booklet.
i If a sole tenant dies we will transfer the tenancy to their husband, wife, civil partner or partner, as long as they were living together in the property when the tenant died and the property is their only or main home. Failing this, we will transfer the tenancy to a member of the tenant’s family if they were living with the tenant continuously for at least 12 months up to the date of the tenant’s death and the property has been their only or main home.
We will look sympathetically at the position of carers wanting to be granted a tenancy when the tenant dies, according to our policy on carers.
iii If there has already been one succession, there is no legal right to a further succession although we will normally consider giving a new tenancy to a person who would otherwise be eligible to succeed unless there are good management reasons for not granting the tenancy, such as nuisance, anti-social behaviour or harassment, or payments for use and occupation have not been made.
iv If the property is bigger than is reasonably needed by the new tenant, we may offer suitable alternative housing. (We will not do this if a husband, wife, civil partner or partner takes over the tenancy.) If necessary we will seek possession through the courts. This action, if taken, will only be started 6 months or more after the tenant died.
v If the property is designed for a person with physical disabilities or special needs and the new tenant is not such a person, we may offer suitable alternative housing. If necessary we will seek possession through the courts.
F Accepting these tenancy conditions
If you ‘enter into possession’ of one of our homes, this means that both you and we agree to keep to these conditions of tenancy. You enter into possession of one of our homes if you, for example:
● move in
● move your belongings in; or
● collect the keys.
G Changes to these tenancy conditions
It is a condition of the tenancy that we may alter these conditions any time by your agreement or by serving you with a ‘notice of variation’. We will tell you before we serve you with a notice of variation. We will write to you and tell you about any proposed changes.
H Serving notices
By us
i If we have to give you written notice we will do this by
● delivering it to you personally; or
● delivering it to your home; or
● sending it by first-class post to your home; or
● any other method approved by law.
This condition applies to any Notice of Seeking Possession; Notice to Quit; and other notices, whether or not under these conditions.
By you
ii If you want to serve a notice on us (including notices in legal
proceedings), it must be served at the District Housing Office or Tenant Management Organisation office.
The addresses are:District Housing Offices
Camden Town District Housing Office
218 Eversholt Street
London NW1 1BD
camdentowndho@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 4422
Kentish Town District Housing Office
49-51 Caversham Road
London NW5 2DR
ktcustomerservices@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6813
Holborn District Housing Office
Bidborough House
20 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BF
holborncustomerservices@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 3566
Gospel Oak District Housing Office
115 Wellesley Road
London NW5 4PA
gospoakcustsvce@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6774
Hampstead District
Housing Office156 West End Lane
London NW6 1SD
hampstead.admin@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6548
Sheltered Housing Team
Sheltered Housing Team
Bidborough House
20 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BF
sheltered.housing@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 3247/4523
Tenant Management Organisations
Maiden Lane Estate Management Board
Maiden Lane Estate Office
102A St Paul’s Crescent
London NW1 9XZ
Tel: 020 7974 8772
St Pancras Court Housing Co-op
52a St Pancras Court
High Road, East Finchley
London N2 9AF
Tel: 020 8444 2100
Abbey Road Housing Co-op
220 Belsize Road
London NW6 4DJ
Tel: 020 7624 6309
abbey.road@camden.gov.uk
Godwin & Crowndale Housing Co-op
Godwin Community Centre
Godwin Court
Crowndale Road
London NW1 1NW
godwincrowndale@wwmail.co.uk
Tel: 020 7916 5686
Carol Street Housing Co-op
Carol Street
London NW1 OHU
Chalk Farm Housing Group
The Old Aid Raid Shelter
Powlett Place
Ferdinand Street
London NW1 8HE
Tel: 020 7209 3011
Agar Grove Housing Co-op Ltd
Ground Floor Offices
Lulworth, Wrotham Road
London NW1 9SS
Tel: 020 7482 4461
I Grounds upon which we may seek possession of a secure tenancy and reasons why we may seek possession of an introductory tenancy.
A summary of the main Grounds for Possession is given below:
Ground
1 If you are behind with your rent or have broken your tenancy conditions in some other way.
2 a i Nuisance or annoyance to people living, visiting or going about their lawful business near your home.
ii Conviction for using the premises for immoral or illegal purposes or committing an arrestable offence near your home.
b Domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence,
which causes a partner to leave your home.
3,4 Damage to the premises, or shared areas, or to any furniture we provide, by the tenant or lodger or sub-tenant.
5 If you got the tenancy by making a false statement (including another joint tenant making a false statement).
6 You got the tenancy through the right to exchange and paid a premium.
8 The tenancy was a temporary one while work was being done to your previous home and that previous home is now fit for you to move back into.
9 The premises are statutorily overcrowded.
10 We need your home to be empty, because we intend to demolish,
rebuild or carry out work on the premises or the building in which
premises are situated.
10 a The premises are in a redevelopment scheme and the
Secretary of State agrees.
13 Your home has been designed for letting to people with disabilities, there is no one with a disability living there, and we need to relet your home to such a person.
15 We intend your home to be let to people with special needs (for example, sheltered housing), there is no one with special needs living in your home, and we need to relet your home to such a person.
16 Your home is bigger than we consider is reasonably needed. This will apply only if you took over the tenancy as a member of a family other than as the partner of a tenant who died, and action to seek possession is taken between 6 and 12 months after the original tenant died.
If we seek possession on any of points 9 to 16 above, we will offer secure tenants suitable alternative accommodation.
The above list is a summary of the main legal grounds that the council can use to gain possession. For the full list see Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985. If you lose your security of tenure the council can also seek possession by serving you a Notice to Quit.
The council can seek possession on any of the above legal grounds or on any other grounds that the law may introduce in the future. However, we will follow any relevant policy in deciding whether to take action. If you have any questions, please contact the housing management staff at the local District Housing Office.
J Sheltered housing tenancies
i This applies only if you live in sheltered housing.
ii The tenant must agree to all reasonable requests by the sheltered housing manager, for example:
a requests for regular contact at least once a week, to check on your
well being. (In most cases, contact will take place at least twice
weekly.)
b keeping to the proper hours and conditions of use for shared facilities (such as laundry rooms, and so on).
c using alarm equipment properly, and allowing access for repairs to facilities, including alarm equipment.
K Properties where the council does not own the freehold
i This applies only if you live in a property where we do not own the freehold. If this condition applies to you we will have told you when we offered you the tenancy.
ii You have to keep to certain conditions that are imposed on us by the freeholder in their lease. The conditions are those that were set out in the offer of tenancy letter and they form part of your conditions of tenancy.
Amended section E for secure tenancies that begin on or after 1 October 2007 and for introductory tenancies
E Passing on the tenancy when a tenant dies
i If a sole tenant dies we will transfer the tenancy to anyone who has a statutory right to succeed. Your District Housing Office can explain who has this right.
ii If there has already been one succession there is no legal right to a further succession although we will normally consider giving a new tenancy to a person who would otherwise be eligible to succeed provided that they have lived in the property continuously for 5 years up to the date of the tenant’s death. A tenancy will not be granted if there are good management reasons for not doing so; these may include anti-social behaviour or payments for use and occupation not being made.
iii We will look sympathetically at the position of carers wanting to be granted a tenancy when the tenant dies, according to our policy on carers. Carers must have been living at the property with the tenant as their only or main home for at least 12 months up to the date of the tenant’s death
Introduction
This booklet sets out the tenancy conditions of a Camden Council secure and introductory tenant. It explains your legal rights, the duties the council has as your landlord and the duties you have as a tenant.
If you accept a tenancy with Camden we expect you to:
● keep to these conditions
● pay your rent on time
● take good care of our property
● have consideration for those living around you.
At Camden Council we want our services to be accessible to everyone who needs them. We aim to tackle discrimination and to promote equality for everyone whatever their race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or faith.
We value the diversity of our borough and are committed to delivering housing services that recognise the different needs of the many communities who live in Camden today.
We expect our tenants, members of their household and their visitors, to behave towards others in the community with care and consideration.
Introductory tenancies
From 7 April 2008 all new Camden Council tenants have introductory tenancies. An introductory tenancy is for a trial period of 1 year before your tenancy becomes secure and you gain the rights of a secure tenant.
Unless we take action to end your tenancy during your trial period your tenancy will automatically become secure on the anniversary of the date your introductory tenancy began.
This does not apply to you if you are already a secure tenant moving from one tenancy to another or if you are an assured tenant of a registered housing association.
This booklet is the tenancy conditions for both introductory and secure tenants. Most of the tenancy conditions are the same for both although introductory tenants have fewer rights. Please read this booklet carefully or ask staff in the District Housing Office to explain it to you Joint tenancies statement
When a new tenancy begins we will normally offer joint tenancies to all married couples, couples with a registered civil partnership and couples who live together. In these conditions, ‘you’ means sole tenants and all joint tenants.
Human Rights Act 1998
The Human Rights Act 1998 came into force on 2 October 2000. This Act brings the European Convention on Human Rights into the laws of the United Kingdom. We are committed to acting in a way that is in keeping with the Act.
A Your rights
1 Security of tenure
a Secure tenants
If you are a secure tenant you have ‘security of tenure’ as long as you remain a secure tenant under the terms of the Housing Act 1985. This means that we can only take possession of your home:
either
● by going to court to get a Possession Order on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985, which include breaking any of the conditions of tenancy. These are summarised in Section I of these conditions.
(We must tell you if we are going to apply for a Possession Order, and give our reasons, before we apply for a court hearing. The court will only grant an order if we prove one or more ‘grounds for possession’).
or ● if we accept your surrender of the tenancy
or ● you serve us with a valid Notice to Quit
or ● if a court has made an order to demote your secure tenancy because you have behaved anti-socially.
b Introductory tenants
If you are an introductory tenant we must go to court to get a Possession Order to repossess your home but we do not have to prove a ground for possession to get one; we only need to prove that we have followed the correct procedure.
We will consider repossessing your tenancy if you have broken your tenancy conditions or if any of the grounds for possession that apply to secure tenancies as set out in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985 apply to you. A summary of the grounds for possession of a secure tenancy is contained at section 1.
2 Your right to improve
All secure tenants have the right to carry out improvements to their homes.
However, we must first give our permission in writing and you must get the relevant planning permission.
If you are an introductory tenant you do not have this right.
An improvement includes:
● Adding anything to, or altering, your home, the council’s fixtures and fittings, or the provision of services
● Putting up a radio or television aerial
● Decorating the outside of your home.
We will not unreasonably refuse our permission.
You must not put up a satellite dish on any of our properties without first getting our permission in writing. We will only give this in exceptional circumstances.
Security grilles and gates can be unsafe. You must not fit security grilles to your windows, or security doors or gates, unless we have given our permission in writing. We will not refuse permission unreasonably and in considering whether to give permission we will take into account whether:
● the door, gate or grille meets London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority safety guidelines
● you have received planning permission and building control approval when necessary
● the door, gate or grille is likely to damage the structure or outside
of the property.
3 Your right to be consulted
All tenants have the right to be consulted and have their views considered on how we manage their homes.
This includes:
● managing, maintaining, improving or demolishing homes
● providing services or amenities
● changes in the practice or policy of the council likely to substantially affect a number of tenants. Also, tenants have a right to be informed about our allocation policies.
4 Your right to see information we hold about you
Under Data Protection law you have the right to see information we hold about you. If you ask us to make a copy of your records we can ask you to pay £10 towards the cost of this.
B Our duties
1 Security of tenure
We will grant security of tenure to all tenants who are secure tenants under the Housing Act 1985. We will only seek possession against secure tenants through the courts on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985. (These are summarised in Section I.)
2 Repairs
We will keep in repair and maintain:
● the structure and exterior of the premises
● the services supplying water, gas, electricity, sanitation, and space and water heating; and
● appliances for delivering these services which we have installed.
We will not be responsible for carrying out work or repairs for which you could be liable due to your duty to use the premises in a tenant-like manner.
We will repair and maintain shared boilers and heating mains. If a breakdown lasts for 7 days or longer in any financial year, we will repay your charges for that time, unless you caused the breakdown. Extra compensation for heating breakdowns will be paid to tenants over the age of 65.
This clause aims to describe in simple language the provisions of Section II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. We accept only the duties given to us by the Act, no more and no less.
3 Services
We will provide any services we think are needed, and maintain them to a reasonable standard. These may include door entry systems, lifts, and caretaking and cleaning services. We will not be responsible for any failure in our services beyond our reasonable control.
4 Quiet enjoyment
We will not interfere with your right to the quiet enjoyment of your home during your tenancy.
5 Anti-social behaviour
We will give you help and advice if you tell us you are the victim of anti-social behaviour, and we will investigate complaints of anti-social behaviour.
6 Major repairs and improvements
We will ask for and consider the views of all tenants who would be affected by any proposed major repair or improvement schemes. We will try where possible to make sure tenants are able to return to their original homes, unless they would be under occupied.
7 Data protection
We process personal data to carry out our work and to meet our duties under these tenancy conditions. Data is processed in a way that keeps to the duties we have under the data protection laws.
C Your duties
1 Rent
a You will pay the weekly rent and other charges for your home regularly and on time.
b Rent is due weekly in advance every Monday. You may pay fortnightly or monthly in advance, if you want to.
c If we change the rent and other charges, such as heating, we must give you at least 4 weeks’ written notice, and let you know you have the right to end the tenancy.
d For most tenants water rates are included in the rent. This means that if the water rate for your home changes we may change your total rent.
e You will also pay as rent any amount you owe us for any current or past tenancy. We will write to you within 90 days of the start of the new tenancy, or send you a formal notice, to tell you how much extra you will have to pay.
f If you need help in paying your rent, or think you may be entitled to Housing Benefit, please contact:
The Benefit Service
The Town Hall
Argyle Street
London WC1H 8NJ
Phone: 020 7974 5760
Email: benefits@camden.gov.uk
Website: www.camden.gov.uk/housingbenefit
Visits: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 08.00-17.00, Wed 08.00-14.30
Telephone: Mon-Tue, Thu-Fri 09.00-17.00, Wed 09.00-14.30
2 Anti-social behaviour
a If anyone else lives with you, or visits your home, you are responsible for how they behave in and around your home, on any part of the estate, on any property belonging to the council, or in the locality of your home.
Examples of anti-social behaviour include:
● harassment, including racial harassment and domestic
violence
● noise nuisance
● dumping rubbish or furniture
● failing to control children who are causing a nuisance or damage to property, including graffiti
● criminal activity
● throwing things off balconies or out of windows
● breaking shared security, for example allowing strangers to get into the building
● not keeping pets under control, including excessive barking of dogs and dogs fouling in communal or shared areas
● drug dealing in properties or on estates
● spitting or urinating anywhere in the communal areas of the block or on the estate.
b You or anyone else living with you or visiting your home, must not do, cause, encourage or allow to be done, anything which causes or is likely to cause nuisance, or may cause harassment or annoyance to anyone else. This applies in your home, on your estate, on any of our property, or in the locality of your home.
c Section 71 of the Race Relations Act 1976 gives us duties in promoting good relations between people of different racial groups. This means we cannot allow tenants to do, or allow anything to be done, which involves or constitutes racial harassment, including abusive behaviour, verbal or otherwise. This rule applies in their homes and anywhere on any of our estates.
d You must not do or allow anything to be done in your home or on any part of the estate which is harassment. This includes abusive behaviour, verbal or otherwise, on the grounds of gender, disability, age or sexuality.
e You must keep noise, including televisions, radios, record players, musical instruments and so on, to a reasonable volume at all times.
You must not make any noise which can be heard outside your home between 11pm and 8am.
f The following condition applies if you live in a flat or maisonette and we inform you in writing that we are aware of noise nuisance coming from your property:
You must keep all your floors, including hallways and stairs, covered with carpet and a good quality underlay or with a suitable alternative floor covering that has similar noise reducing qualities. This does not apply to kitchens and bathrooms where floor coverings have been supplied by the council.
g The following condition applies to all tenants:
You must not put down laminate floor coverings or other types of wooden or artificial floor coverings without written permission. We will not give you permission unless the District Housing Office is satisfied that you have done enough to reduce noise nuisance to other residents.
h You must not keep any firearms unless you are legally entitled to hold them. Examples of firearms include air-weapons, shotguns, replicas and de-activated weapons. If you have a legal firearm you must use and store it only in ways the law allows.
If you, a member of your household, or a visitor cause a nuisance or annoyance or otherwise break any of these conditions, the council can take legal action against you, for example:
● We can ask a court for an anti-social behaviour injunction (ASBI) or an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO). These are court orders to stop behaviour that causes a nuisance or annoyance and if you break them you can be fined or imprisoned, or both. You may also be banned from your property or the area.
● We can ask a court to give us possession of your home and evict you and anyone living there.
● We can ask a court to demote your secure tenancy so that you lose your security of tenure for a certain period of time.
The council will consider all the legal remedies available to us to deal with nuisance and anti-social behaviour. At the same time we will, if we can, give you advice about what to do to keep your tenancy.
If we take legal action we can ask the court to give us an order against you for our legal costs.
3 Living in your home
a You must use the property as your only or main home.
b We have the right to stop you using your home, or any part of it for anything other than living in.
c During your tenancy you must not (either solely or jointly) own or rent any residential property which it would be reasonable for you to live in as your home. You must tell the District Housing Office if you own a residential property or have another residential lease or tenancy.
If you inherit a property this condition can only be broken once you have owned the property for more than 12 months.
In deciding whether you have broken this tenancy condition we will consider:
● Whether the property is fit to live in
● Whether you have acquired the property for use as a holiday home only and whether it is only suitable for that purpose
● Whether the property is suitable for your household, taking into account the size of the property, your income and employment, any disabilities or medical problems you have and any other relevant circumstances
● Whether it would be reasonable in all the circumstances for you to sell the property.
d You must not assign the tenancy unless:
● You do it by court order under Section 23A or 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973; section 17(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act; paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 or Part 2 of Schedule 5, or paragraph 9 (2) or (3) of Schedule 7, to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
● You do it under the right to exchange (introductory tenants do not have this right); or
● It is to a person who would be legally entitled to succeed to the tenancy.
In this case, you must first get our permission in writing. When we are deciding whether to give our permission, we will look at:
- whether your home would become under-occupied;
- whether your home has any special facilities or adaptations designed to make it suitable for a disabled person; or
- anything else which we think is relevant to the assignment.
e You must not give up possession of or sub-let all your home.
f You must not give up possession of or sub-let any part of your home without our written permission. (introductory tenants do not have this right). We will not refuse permission unreasonably.
g You must tell the District Housing Office if you will be away from home for more than 3 months (this is so we know that you have not abandoned your tenancy). If you don’t use your property as your only or main home, or you don’t tell us when you will be away for more than 3 months, we will consider taking action to end your tenancy.
You will not have broken this tenancy condition if you have been in
hospital.
h You are allowed to be away from your home for up to 6 months and have someone else live there and act as your agent. But you must first tell the District Housing Office and get our written permission. If you do not get our written permission you could put your security of tenure at risk.
In certain circumstances (for example if you are working or studying away from home temporarily) we will consider giving permission for you to be away for more than 6 months as long as we are satisfied that your tenancy address remains your main home.
i You may take in lodgers, as long as you do not give up possession of all your home. Introductory tenants do not have this right but we will consider requests from disabled introductory tenants for a carer to live with them.
j You must not overcrowd your home.
k Joint tenants are not allowed to pass their interest in the joint tenancy to any of the other joint tenants. The only exception to this is where their interest is assigned in one of the ways allowed by these conditions.
4 Relationship with council officers
You must not obstruct abuse, harass, threaten or assault any of the council’s officers or agents. This applies whether or not they are carrying out their duties for the council. You must not cause, allow or encourage anyone else to do so. This rule also applies to anyone living with you or visiting your home.
You must do anything reasonable we ask you to do in connection with the way you use your home and our property. We have the right to gain access to your home at all reasonable hours through our housing management staff, or any other authorised person.
You must give us access if we make a reasonable request for access.
Reasons why we may wish to gain access to your home include, to:
a inspect the state of repair and condition of your home or those next to it
b carry out gas safety inspections
c repair, alter or improve your home, or those next to it. This includes electrical wiring, gas and water pipes or drainage and heating systems
d make sure no-one is breaking these tenancy conditions or Health and Safety regulations.
If we need to get into your home very urgently and you do not agree or we cannot contact you, we have the right to force entry to your home without a court order. Examples of when we could do this include when there is a serious leak of water from your home or we urgently need to repair something that poses a health and safety risk to you or your neighbours.
You must not offer, or give, any gift to any officer or servant of the council.
Do not let anyone into your home unless you are sure about their identity. Anyone representing the council will show their identification card if you ask them.
5 Repairs
a You must tell the Repairs Service (phone 020 7974 1212, or 020 7974 6565 for Bengali speakers) at once about any damage to your home and any defects likely to cause injury or damage to people or property.
b If there is any damage to, or neglect of, your home or the council’s property and it is caused by you, anyone living with you or visiting your home or by your animals you must put it right at your own expense.
c You must keep your home clean and free from rubbish. If you do not, we will charge you for any work we need to do because of this, such as removing rubbish.
d We will normally send you a bill for the cost of lost keys, repairs or damage for which you are responsible. Where necessary, the District Housing Office will find out the price from the District Contractor.
e You (or anyone living with you or visiting your home) must not interfere with security and safety equipment in communal blocks. Doors should not be jammed open and strangers should not be let in without identification.
f You must not tamper with any meters in your home, whether they belong to the council or to other statutory bodies.
g If the heating or hot water services break down, tell us straightaway.
6 Gardens and other areas let with the tenancy
a Any gardens or other areas (for example balconies, patios or yards) let as part of the tenancy are covered by this contract.
b You must not, without our written permission, remove, plant or put up, any hedges or fences, or remove or prune any trees.
c You must keep your garden, patio, balcony, fitted window box or other area let with the tenancy, neat and tidy.
d If you would like to garden any of the communal areas on your estate or outside your block please get the agreement of your Patch Manager first. The council wants to encourage people to improve their environment and Patch Managers will agree reasonable requests (this condition is not intended to cover pot plants or hanging baskets).
7 Animals
a You, people living with you and people visiting you, must not cause, encourage or allow any animal to do anything which causes, or is likely to cause:
● a nuisance; or
● harassment or annoyance to anyone else on any property belonging to us.
This includes persistent barking, and mess caused by dogs fouling our property.
b If you own or keep a dog you must make sure:
i it does not foul any property belonging to us;
ii it is kept on a lead and accompanied by a responsible person whenever it is outside and on any of our property;
iii any mess caused by the dog fouling any of our property is cleared up (unless you are a blind person, and it is your guide dog);
iv it does not enter any children’s play area or other dog-free zone (unless you are a blind person, and it is your guide dog).
c Neither you nor anyone living with you is allowed to cause, encourage or allow more than 2 dogs to be kept in the premises at any one time.
d Neither you nor anyone living with you is allowed to cause, encourage or permit to be kept on the premises, or brought onto the estate, any breeds named in Section 1 of the Dangerous Dog Act 1991, or which may be specified by us.
e We may, if we decide, ban you and anyone living with you from causing, encouraging or allowing any animal to be kept on any of our properties.
This ban will automatically be a new condition of your tenancy.
f If you are a tenant of the Alexandra Road estate you must not allow any dog, except guide dogs for the blind, to be kept on the premises. We will seriously consider taking action, for breach of these tenancy conditions, if a tenant on that estate takes in a dog.
g You must not have more than 3 cats in your home unless you have obtained our written permission to have more. We will only give permission in exceptional circumstances and in considering whether to give you permission we will take into account:
● The size and location of your property
● Whether we have received any complaints about any animals you already have.
h Do not feed pigeons or any other animal likely to become a pest, outside the building or on the balconies.
8 Parking
You must not, without our written permission:
a park a vehicle, or allow anyone living with or visiting you or your home to park a vehicle, on any part of the estate other than on your own parking area or on a visitors’ parking area;
b park a vehicle, or allow any one living with or visiting you or your home, to park a vehicle that can carry more than 8 passengers, or that either does not fit in a parking space or is more than 2.3 metres high.
You are not allowed to sub-let a car parking space which is our property..
You are not allowed to use a garage for any purpose other than to store a roadworthy motor vehicle.
9 Insurance
The council’s buildings insurance does not cover tenants’ possessions. We strongly recommend that you take out household insurance with a reputable insurer to include cover for contents and broken windows (this condition does not affect your legal right to claim compensation from the council if the damage was caused by the negligence of the council or its agents).
If you have arranged household insurance through us and do not pay your insurance charges, then we will cancel the insurance policy.
You must tell us in writing if you want to stop paying your weekly household insurance charge. We will only cancel it from the Monday after we get your notification.
10 Shared areas
a This clause only applies if you live in a street property and we do not provide a caretaking and cleaning service. You, and the other tenants of the building, are responsible for keeping all shared areas in the building and the grounds clean and tidy.
b All tenants must make sure communal stairs and walkways outside their home are kept tidy and free of clutter.
c You must not leave rubbish outside your property unless the council provides a collection service. When a collection service is provided you must not leave rubbish bags or bins anywhere other than the designated area. These must not be put out any earlier than the evening before collection is due unless you are going to be away or unless the District Housing Office has agreed a different arrangement for your property, street, block or estate.
D Ending your tenancy
i Your tenancy may only be ended by a court order, a Notice to Quit from you, or if you surrender it. If you surrender your tenancy you must give us full ‘vacant possession’. You, and everyone else living there, must move out. You must give us back all the sets of keys before your tenancy can be ended.
ii If you want to end your tenancy, you must give us 4 weeks’ notice in writing ending on a Monday. If you do not give this notice, or you give less than 4 weeks’ notice, you will be breaking this condition and you may be charged an amount for damages of up to the equivalent of 4 weeks’ rent.
(This does not apply if you are transferring to another council property.)
iii You must leave the property and garden in a clean and tidy condition.
All your belongings must be removed unless we have given you written permission to leave some belongings in the property. If you do not, we may assume you have abandoned these items and may dispose of them without contacting you although we will keep to our legal duties under Section 41 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.
We will also charge you a reasonable cost for removal, storage or
disposal and a sum for lost rental income for the period we are unable to re-let the premises due to having to clear the items.
iv Once you have given us written notice of ending your tenancy, you must allow any prospective tenants we send to come in and look around your home. You, us, and the party wishing to view the premises will agree a reasonable time for this. This also applies if you accept an offer of another home from us.
v If you accept an offer of a tenancy for another council home this means you have surrendered your tenancy.
vi Tenancies start and end on a Monday. You must return the keys to us by 12 noon on the Monday your tenancy ends. This includes all keys to your home, keys to communal areas and door entry key fobs. If you do not do this, you will have to pay an “occupation charge”. (This will be equal to the full rent up to the Monday following the day you return the keys.)
vii When you leave, you must give us a forwarding address. If you do not, we may not contact you to refund any money due to you, for example overpaid rent or heating refund.
E Passing on the tenancy when a tenant dies
Section E below applies to you if your tenancy began before
1 October 2007. If your tenancy began on or after 1 October 2007 please see the amended section E at the end of this booklet.
i If a sole tenant dies we will transfer the tenancy to their husband, wife, civil partner or partner, as long as they were living together in the property when the tenant died and the property is their only or main home. Failing this, we will transfer the tenancy to a member of the tenant’s family if they were living with the tenant continuously for at least 12 months up to the date of the tenant’s death and the property has been their only or main home.
We will look sympathetically at the position of carers wanting to be granted a tenancy when the tenant dies, according to our policy on carers.
iii If there has already been one succession, there is no legal right to a further succession although we will normally consider giving a new tenancy to a person who would otherwise be eligible to succeed unless there are good management reasons for not granting the tenancy, such as nuisance, anti-social behaviour or harassment, or payments for use and occupation have not been made.
iv If the property is bigger than is reasonably needed by the new tenant, we may offer suitable alternative housing. (We will not do this if a husband, wife, civil partner or partner takes over the tenancy.) If necessary we will seek possession through the courts. This action, if taken, will only be started 6 months or more after the tenant died.
v If the property is designed for a person with physical disabilities or special needs and the new tenant is not such a person, we may offer suitable alternative housing. If necessary we will seek possession through the courts.
F Accepting these tenancy conditions
If you ‘enter into possession’ of one of our homes, this means that both you and we agree to keep to these conditions of tenancy. You enter into possession of one of our homes if you, for example:
● move in
● move your belongings in; or
● collect the keys.
G Changes to these tenancy conditions
It is a condition of the tenancy that we may alter these conditions any time by your agreement or by serving you with a ‘notice of variation’. We will tell you before we serve you with a notice of variation. We will write to you and tell you about any proposed changes.
H Serving notices
By us
i If we have to give you written notice we will do this by
● delivering it to you personally; or
● delivering it to your home; or
● sending it by first-class post to your home; or
● any other method approved by law.
This condition applies to any Notice of Seeking Possession; Notice to Quit; and other notices, whether or not under these conditions.
By you
ii If you want to serve a notice on us (including notices in legal
proceedings), it must be served at the District Housing Office or Tenant Management Organisation office.
The addresses are:District Housing Offices
Camden Town District Housing Office
218 Eversholt Street
London NW1 1BD
camdentowndho@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 4422
Kentish Town District Housing Office
49-51 Caversham Road
London NW5 2DR
ktcustomerservices@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6813
Holborn District Housing Office
Bidborough House
20 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BF
holborncustomerservices@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 3566
Gospel Oak District Housing Office
115 Wellesley Road
London NW5 4PA
gospoakcustsvce@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6774
Hampstead District
Housing Office156 West End Lane
London NW6 1SD
hampstead.admin@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 6548
Sheltered Housing Team
Sheltered Housing Team
Bidborough House
20 Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BF
sheltered.housing@camden.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7974 3247/4523
Tenant Management Organisations
Maiden Lane Estate Management Board
Maiden Lane Estate Office
102A St Paul’s Crescent
London NW1 9XZ
Tel: 020 7974 8772
St Pancras Court Housing Co-op
52a St Pancras Court
High Road, East Finchley
London N2 9AF
Tel: 020 8444 2100
Abbey Road Housing Co-op
220 Belsize Road
London NW6 4DJ
Tel: 020 7624 6309
abbey.road@camden.gov.uk
Godwin & Crowndale Housing Co-op
Godwin Community Centre
Godwin Court
Crowndale Road
London NW1 1NW
godwincrowndale@wwmail.co.uk
Tel: 020 7916 5686
Carol Street Housing Co-op
Carol Street
London NW1 OHU
Chalk Farm Housing Group
The Old Aid Raid Shelter
Powlett Place
Ferdinand Street
London NW1 8HE
Tel: 020 7209 3011
Agar Grove Housing Co-op Ltd
Ground Floor Offices
Lulworth, Wrotham Road
London NW1 9SS
Tel: 020 7482 4461
I Grounds upon which we may seek possession of a secure tenancy and reasons why we may seek possession of an introductory tenancy.
A summary of the main Grounds for Possession is given below:
Ground
1 If you are behind with your rent or have broken your tenancy conditions in some other way.
2 a i Nuisance or annoyance to people living, visiting or going about their lawful business near your home.
ii Conviction for using the premises for immoral or illegal purposes or committing an arrestable offence near your home.
b Domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence,
which causes a partner to leave your home.
3,4 Damage to the premises, or shared areas, or to any furniture we provide, by the tenant or lodger or sub-tenant.
5 If you got the tenancy by making a false statement (including another joint tenant making a false statement).
6 You got the tenancy through the right to exchange and paid a premium.
8 The tenancy was a temporary one while work was being done to your previous home and that previous home is now fit for you to move back into.
9 The premises are statutorily overcrowded.
10 We need your home to be empty, because we intend to demolish,
rebuild or carry out work on the premises or the building in which
premises are situated.
10 a The premises are in a redevelopment scheme and the
Secretary of State agrees.
13 Your home has been designed for letting to people with disabilities, there is no one with a disability living there, and we need to relet your home to such a person.
15 We intend your home to be let to people with special needs (for example, sheltered housing), there is no one with special needs living in your home, and we need to relet your home to such a person.
16 Your home is bigger than we consider is reasonably needed. This will apply only if you took over the tenancy as a member of a family other than as the partner of a tenant who died, and action to seek possession is taken between 6 and 12 months after the original tenant died.
If we seek possession on any of points 9 to 16 above, we will offer secure tenants suitable alternative accommodation.
The above list is a summary of the main legal grounds that the council can use to gain possession. For the full list see Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1985. If you lose your security of tenure the council can also seek possession by serving you a Notice to Quit.
The council can seek possession on any of the above legal grounds or on any other grounds that the law may introduce in the future. However, we will follow any relevant policy in deciding whether to take action. If you have any questions, please contact the housing management staff at the local District Housing Office.
J Sheltered housing tenancies
i This applies only if you live in sheltered housing.
ii The tenant must agree to all reasonable requests by the sheltered housing manager, for example:
a requests for regular contact at least once a week, to check on your
well being. (In most cases, contact will take place at least twice
weekly.)
b keeping to the proper hours and conditions of use for shared facilities (such as laundry rooms, and so on).
c using alarm equipment properly, and allowing access for repairs to facilities, including alarm equipment.
K Properties where the council does not own the freehold
i This applies only if you live in a property where we do not own the freehold. If this condition applies to you we will have told you when we offered you the tenancy.
ii You have to keep to certain conditions that are imposed on us by the freeholder in their lease. The conditions are those that were set out in the offer of tenancy letter and they form part of your conditions of tenancy.
Amended section E for secure tenancies that begin on or after 1 October 2007 and for introductory tenancies
E Passing on the tenancy when a tenant dies
i If a sole tenant dies we will transfer the tenancy to anyone who has a statutory right to succeed. Your District Housing Office can explain who has this right.
ii If there has already been one succession there is no legal right to a further succession although we will normally consider giving a new tenancy to a person who would otherwise be eligible to succeed provided that they have lived in the property continuously for 5 years up to the date of the tenant’s death. A tenancy will not be granted if there are good management reasons for not doing so; these may include anti-social behaviour or payments for use and occupation not being made.
iii We will look sympathetically at the position of carers wanting to be granted a tenancy when the tenant dies, according to our policy on carers. Carers must have been living at the property with the tenant as their only or main home for at least 12 months up to the date of the tenant’s death
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