Keeping in touch

We believe that involving residents in the way the Society is run helps us to provide you with the best possible service.

YOUR TENANCY AGREEMENT

Most residents are offered a Secure of an Assured tenancy. Your Tenancy Agreement gives details of your rights and this part of the handbook explains them in more detail.

SECURE TENANCIES

Residents who signed their tenancy agreement before 15th January 1989 are 'Secure' Residents and have Tenants' Charter rights under the 1985 Housing Act. Radcliffe secure tenants, who transfer to a new tenancy within Radcliffe's housing stock after that date retain their secure tenancy status.

The rents of Secure Residents are 'fair' rents with a maximum rent set by Independent Rent Officers. Secure Residents may also have the Right to Buy their property. The terms of a Secure tenancy agreement can be changed after consultation with tenants.

ASSURED TENANCIES

Since 15th January 1989 most Housing Association tenancies are let under Assured tenancy agreements.

Assured tenants have their rights set out in the Assured Residents Charter and are subject to the Tenants' Guarantee.

You can get a full copy of the Tenants' Guarantee on request from your Housing Manager.

Radcliffe Housing Society sets the rents for Assured tenants following a formula set by the Tenant Services Authority.

The terms of an Assured tenancy agreement (except for changes to the rent and service charge) can only be altered if both the Resident and the Association agree the change in writing, or unless the law changes.

SECURITY OF TENURE

You have security of tenure in your property as long as you occupy it as your only or principal home. This means that your tenancy can only be brought to an end by an order from the court. We never want to evict residents but if there is a serious breach of your tenancy agreement and there is no alternative solution then we may have no choice but to start legal proceedings.

There are several stages when we will try to contact you to reach an agreement. If the problems continue we have to serve you with a written Notice of Seeking Possession, which details the reasons why we are taking legal action. The grounds we can use are detailed in your tenancy agreement. The grounds include rent arrears, serious nuisance and damage to property.

After the Notice expires we can then apply to the County Court for a possession order. In some cases, this will be a suspended order, which means that if the resident keeps to the terms of the court order (for example, by paying off the rent arrears owed) no further action will be taken. Some grounds for possession are discretionary for Secure tenants, but are obligatory for Assured tenants, i.e. the court must give a possession order.

After obtaining a possession order from the court, if there is no other solution, the Society may seek to obtain a bailiffs' warrant and evict the tenant. We only evict people as a last resort, where all other efforts to resolve the matter have failed.

RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN

If a relationship breaks down, one partner may wish to leave the home. Before this step is taken, please consult your Housing Manager, or Solicitor, or Citizens Advice Bureau to make sure you understand the full implications of this action.

As part of a divorce or separation, the court may make an order granting one of the joint Residents the tenancy. This is usually in favour of the partner who is given custody of any children.

The Society has no powers, unless there is a direction by the courts, to transfer the tenancy from joint names to the sole name of the partner who is remaining in the property, unless the partner who has left signs a 'Deed of Assignment'. Please contact your housing manager for further advice.

VIOLENCE

If you are experiencing violence from your partner and you feel in danger or feel forced to leave the home - contact the Housing Manager, a Solicitor or Citizens Advice Bureau as a matter of urgency and obtain information about the Society's policy regarding your tenancy.

RESIDENTS MEETINGS

Where no Association has been set up, Radcliffe holds meetings to obtain residents views and discuss issues of concern to them. We find the input from these meetings very valuable.

THE RADCLIFFE RECORDER

We have a newsletter that comes out every six months to let you know what is going on. We also welcome letters and articles from residents for inclusion in the newsletter.

CONSULTING TENANTS

We will continue to carry out satisfaction surveys to find out your views on the services that we provide.

We will consult you before carrying out major repair works and ask you for your views once they are complete.

We will consult you before changing the services we provide you with when that may have an impact on your service charge.

ANNUAL VISIT

Your Housing Manager will visit you at least once a year. You will have the opportunity to let them know your views as to how you think we can improve our services and gives us the opportunity to check the condition of your home.

RESIDENTS SUGGESTION SCHEME

We aim to consult residents as much as possible about the services we provide and involve them in improving them where possible.

If you have something you would like us to consider, then our resident suggestion scheme is one way you can do it. We always welcome good ideas, so if you can think of a way we could improve our service then please send it to us for the attention of the Chief Executive.

Suggestions could cover any of the following:-

  • Ways we could improve the services we provide.
  • New services we could offer.
  • Ways of saving money, energy, reducing waste, our costs etc.
  • Any other good ideas you have.

Whatever your suggestion, it should aim to benefit as many people as possible rather than just one or two.

What will happen to my suggestion?

  • Every suggestion will be considered initially by the Chief Executive and then by the Board.
  • The Board will weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of putting your suggestions into practice.
  • The Chief Executive will write to your personally.
  • £25 will be given for all suggestions put into practice.

How to put forward suggestions:

  • Use the suggestion form. We can post/email it to you or you can downloan it from this site.
  • Write, fax or email our office addressing it to “Resident Suggestion Scheme”. Don’t forget to include your name and address.