Your rights
Right to occupy your home:
You have the right to occupy your home without interference from us. However you must give us access to carry out repairs, servicing work and general inspections of the property. We will give you reasonable notice of any such visit.
You have the right to stay in your home for as long as you want to, providing that you keep to the terms of your tenancy agreement.
We will only take back your home if there is a legal reason to do so e.g. you do not pay your rent or you cause harassment or nuisance to neighbours. We must apply to the court for a possession order before you can be evicted.
If you have a starter tenancy the right to occupy your home only applies to the length of your tenancy.
Right to joint tenancies:
You have the right to be a joint tenant with your spouse or partner.
Where more than one person is the tenant, each tenant is fully liable in respect of all obligations under the tenancy agreement.
For example, if there are any rent arrears at your property you and any other joint tenant would be individually liable for the whole amount.
Right to take in lodgers or sub-let your home:
You have the right to take in lodgers providing that this does not overcrowd your home. You must tell us the lodger’s name in writing.
If you are in receipt of housing benefit and you take in lodgers your entitlement to housing benefit may be affected. Contact Daventry District Council’s housing benefits section for further information about this.
Right to succession:
If you die and did not obtain the tenancy by succeeding from a member of your family, your tenancy can be automatically transferred to either:-
- Your wife or husband if they were living in your home when you died or
- A close relative or your co-habitee if they were living in the property for at least a year before your death
If you succeeded the tenancy yourself there is no further right to succeed (unless this succession happened before your home was transferred from Daventry District Council to Daventry & District Housing).
Tenants in bungalows and sheltered schemes have the same rights of succession, however special circumstances may apply in these cases. Please contact your Housing Officer on 01327 707500 for more information.
Right to make improvements:
You may carry out improvement work to your home provided you have our written permission before you start any work.
We will not unreasonably refuse permission for improvements or changes but we may impose certain conditions.
Buying your home:
If you want to buy your home, you may be able to do so through one of two schemes:
- The Right to Acquire
- The Preserved Right to Buy
This scheme gives some housing association tenants the legal right to buy the home they currently rent. It's based on a grants system. Both the property, and the tenant living in it, must qualify for a purchase to be made under the Right to Acquire.
The Preserved Right to Buy:
The Preserved Right to Buy gives some housing association tenants the legal right to buy the home they currently rent. Only former secure tenants who transferred to Daventry & District Housing qualify. New Daventry & District Housing tenants can't buy their home under this scheme.
The Right to Buy is based on a discount system. This gives a discount on the purchase price of your home, based on the number of years spent as a council or housing association tenant.
As from the 2nd April 2012 the Right to Buy discount available to tenants who qualify for the RTB their home will be up to £75,000 subject to a cap of a maximum discount of 60% for a house and 70% for a flat.
For further information about the Preserved Right to Buy contact 01327 707500.
We will check the application and confirm:
- If you are entitled to buy your home under the Preserved Right to Buy
- The purchase price of the home, based on a market valuation
- The price discount you are entitled to, based on the length of time as a Daventry & District Housing and council tenant.
You are responsible for keeping to the terms of your tenancy agreement.
These terms include:
- Paying your rent on time
- Reporting repairs and faults to us that are our responsibility to carry out
- Allowing us access to carry out repairs and any servicing work especially the annual gas service work
- Not behaving in an abusive, aggressive or threatening way to any of our staff or contractors
- Not to harass or cause a nuisance to neighbours or other residents
- Living in your home as your main or only home and not using it, or allowing it to be used, for any illegal activity
- Not using your home as a base for running a business without our written permission
- Writing to let us know if you are going to be away from your home for more than 28 days.
You are responsible for the general care of your home including:
- Internal decorations
- Keeping your home in a clean and tidy condition
- Regularly testing your smoke alarms
- Minor repairs
- Paying for chargeable repairs
- Your garden – including hedges.
You must make sure that you, or anyone living in or visiting your property, does not cause a nuisance and annoyance, anti-social behaviour or domestic violence to anyone else.
You should:
- Not play loud music or make excessive noise that may disturb others
- Be co-operative if a neighbour asks you to reduce noise
- Not use your home for illegal or immoral purposes
- Keep your pets under control
- Park so as not to restrict access to other people’s homes.
Not keeping to your responsibilities
If you don’t keep to the responsibilities listed above (and to those given in more detail in your tenancy agreement) you have broken your tenancy agreement.
For serious breaches, such as allowing your home to be used as a base for selling illegal drugs, we would take legal action and ask the court to give us back the property.
