Endingyour tenancy

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Ending Your Tenancy

Ending your tenancy Guidance information and frequently asked questions We know that leaving your home is a big step, so before making the final decision please contact us to talk through all your options.

We also know that it can sometimes be difficult to manage your tenancy. If you are having problems, or your home is no longer suitable, then we may be able to help.

Please do not leave without telling usIf you move out without telling us or give your keys to someone else to hand in, we won’t be able to end your tenancy until we have completed our investigations and issued you with a notice. The notice will last for at least 28 days and you will continue to be responsible for the rent and property until it ends. If you claim housing benefit, this will stop being paid from the date you leave the property and full rent will be charged. This could result in thousands of pounds of rent arrears or repair costs for you.

This will also affect the reference we give to other landlords if you wish to rent in the future.

How do I end my tenancy? Unless you are moving to another Coast & Country property or exchanging with another tenant, you will need to tell us in writing at least four weeks before you plan to move, giving full forwarding address details.

The easiest way to do this is to complete and sign a ‘Notice of termination of tenancy’ form at your local housing office. If the tenancy is in joint names, either tenant can sign on behalf of both – however, it is important to ensure both individuals know what’s going on.

The date of your notice will be four weeks from the Monday after we receive your signed ‘Notice of termination of tenancy’ form.

Someone else (for example a relative) may be able to give notice if you cannot do this yourself. In these circumstances, you would need to tell us in writing who is acting on your behalf and sign to confirm this.

If the tenant is unable to sign, someone else can only act on their behalf if they have Power of Attorney and we will need to see evidence of this.

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If the tenant has gone into residential care or a nursing home, the manager of the care home or a social worker can confirm that the tenant is unable to sign.

If you can’t call into your local housing office, please let us know and we can make other arrangements with you, for example, visiting you at home.

Tenants moving from one Coast & Country property to another

If you are transferring from one Coast & Country tenancy to another, your old tenancy will end on the day your new one starts, as long as the keys are returned on the same day. If the keys are not returned on time, you will be charged for both properties so will have to pay two rents. Housing benefit will not normally be payable for both properties at the same time.

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Ending Your Tenancy

If you are in receipt of home contents insurance provided through Coast & Country, a new Insurance Transfer form will need to be completed.

What happens if I leave my home before the end of the notice period? If you leave your home while the four weeks’ notice is running, you will still need to pay the full rent until the notice period ends. If you claim Housing and Council Tax benefit, this will not be paid if you are not living at the property. This means you will be responsible for the full rent and could result in rent arrears building up.

If you have good reasons for moving out early, housing benefit may still be paid for up to four weeks from when you move out. If you receive housing benefit towards your rent, you need to apply for this to be paid after you’ve left the property. In these circumstances, it is very important that you apply to prevent you building up rent arrears. Please contact us for assistance with this.

If you leave before the notice period ends and do not hand your keys in, you are still responsible for looking after the property and will be charged for any damage that may be caused when you are not there.

What happens next? Once we get a signed copy of the ‘Notice of termination of tenancy’ form, we will make an appointment to visit you in your home to carry out an inspection of your property. This will normally be within 48 hours from the receipt of the notice.

During the visit, we will discuss your rent account and help you with any other forms that may need completing before you move. If you have rent arrears or other debts, we will discuss how you plan to clear these before your tenancy ends (see ‘What about my rent’ on this page). We will then inspect your property to identify any repairs or other issues. If we find any repairs that are not due to fair wear and tear, we will tell you what you will need to do to avoid being charged. If you do not want to carry out these repairs yourself, we can let you know the cost involved (including discounts if you pay in advance).

Before the visit, you will need to make sure that all rooms and gardens are accessible and surfaces are free from clutter to allow a full inspection to be carried out.

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What about my rent?

Rent will be charged until the date your notice period ends and we have collected all your keys.

When you complete the ‘Notice of termination of tenancy’ form, we will give you a copy of your rent statement.

Your rent account, court costs or other debts must be clear when your tenancy ends. This means paying your rent up to the Monday your tenancy ends. If you have difficulty in doing this, please talk to us.

When we collect your keys we will check that your rent account and all other debts are clear.

If you leave with any outstanding debts, you will receive an invoice separately for these, for example, rechargeable repairs. If we do not

receive payments or reach a mutual agreement, Coast & Country will pursue the debt via the County Court. This may result in a County Court Judgement being registered against you and will affect your personal credit rating.

Remember – we are here to give support and advice. If you do not tell us when you have difficulties then we will not be able to help you.

We will send you a final rent letter within 10 weeks after your tenancy has ended. If there is a credit, this will usually be paid to you within 10 weeks of your tenancy ending. The reason this can take so long is that when several different benefits are involved, these take time to get sorted and we must check we are crediting you the correct amount.

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Ending Your Tenancy

Housing & council tax benefits: To receive housing benefit you must be living in your home. We will tell housing benefits the date you move out of your home. If you move out early, this will affect the rent you have to pay (see notes above about Leaving your Home during the notice period).

Moving within Redcar & Cleveland and renting another property

If you are moving within the Redcar & Cleveland area and have to pay rent for another home, your housing and council tax benefit will stop from the day before you move out.

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Moving outside of the Redcar & Cleveland area or not renting another property If you are moving outside of the area or no longer have to pay rent, your housing benefit will stop from the Sunday after you move out and council tax benefit from the day before you move out.

Other benefits We will tell the Department for Work and Pensions and the Inland Revenue of the date you move out.

Council tax We will tell the Council the date you move out. You will stop being charged from the day before you move out.

HomeCall If you receive funding for HomeCall this will cease in line with your tenancy end date or on the date you vacate the property if this is sooner.

Garages You must tell us if you rent a separate garage from us. If you want to keep the garage, you must tell us your forwarding address so we can change our records. Please bear in mind that garage rents are higher for non Coast & Country tenants, so your garage rent may increase when you move from your property.

If you do not want to keep the garage, you will need to sign a form to end the garage tenancy. You will also need to clear all belongings and leave it in a tidy condition. If not, there is a charge for us to do this. Please contact the District Office if you are unsure.

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Ending Your Tenancy

Gas and electricity Before you give us the keys, you will need to read the meters so that the final bill can be paid. You will also need to tell us who supplies the gas and electricity.

Water meters If there is a water meter, you will need to turn off the water at the stop tap. You will also need to read the meter so that the final bill can be paid.

Alarm codes If the property has a burglar alarm system, you will need to tell us the security codes.

Handing in the keys An appointment will be made for us to collect the keys from you at your property. We will always fit in with your moving out date, but you must bear in mind that rent is being charged until your notice ends. If keys are not received before 12 noon on the Monday the tenancy is due to end, this will result in additional rent being charged.

If you fail to keep the appointment on the final day, you may be charged another week’s rent.

We also expect you to hand in a minimum of 2 full sets of keys for every lock.

How you can contact us Remember – we are here to help so please contact us via:

Our website at www.cch-online.org.uk

Telephone 01642 771300

In person at your local housing office or our HQ at:

14 Ennis Square, Dormanstown. Redcar, TS10 5JR

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Guidance information on the Exiting Standard

Please remember that the property you are leaving must not be damaged and must be left in a clean and tidy condition for the next tenant. If you do not do this, you will be charged for work that we have to carry out on your behalf.

Unfortunately, there are a minority of tenants who do not follow these principles. Repairs to Coast & Country properties are paid for by current tenants who regularly pay their rent. It is therefore unfair that responsible tenants should have to pay for wilful damage caused by others.

Your property must be clean and cleared of all possessions and rubbish, including the loft space, any outbuildings and sheds, and the garden should be in a neat and tidy condition.

We will carry out an inspection of your property to identify any repairs that are not due to fair wear and tear and any alterations you have made. We will then advise you about whether the work is satisfactory, what you have to do to ensure you are not recharged and the cost of recharges.

Remember – we are here to help so please ask – this will ensure you are not charged for repairs, clearance or cleaning costs, which you could have avoided.

Exterior All fencing, walls, brickwork, paths and driveways to be undamaged.

The garden should be in a neat and tidy condition, grass must not be overgrown and no bulky items should be left. No items from the property to be fly-tipped elsewhere. Wheelie bins to be secured, cleaned and left within the property.

Flooring / Walls / Ceilings All floors to be swept and clean, with no carpets left in place, unless this has previously been agreed with Coast & Country staff.

All walls should be in good condition, have no visible defects, and be free from any deliberate or accidental damage, for example, holes. Door frames, skirting boards, mouldings and banister rails must be in good condition, clean and dirt free.

Windows and doors Please make sure there are no smashed windows and all glazing and frames are intact. Windows and frames should be washed.

You must leave the property secure with all windows and doors shut and locked

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Ending Your Tenancy

(any window lock keys to remain within the home).

All windows should be clean, free from grease or dirt, including window frames and sills (inside only).

All doors should be hung properly, open and close. Handles, locks and catches should be in working order and free from grease and dirt. Doors, and any glazing within them, should be intact and meet the relevant safety standards.

Doors must not have holes in them or be hanging off their hinges.

Kitchen All kitchen cupboard doors should open and close and catches should work properly. Kitchen drawers, door handles, doors, drawer fronts, tiles and worktops should be in good condition, being clean and dirt free.

Kitchen taps should be operating correctly.

All white goods to be disconnected and removed from the property; this includes electric and gas cookers, fridges and washing machines.

Bathroom All bathroom fittings should be intact, clean and dirt free; this includes the bath, bathroom sinks, WC and bath panel. The WC should flush and have a properly fitted seat. The taps on the bath and sink should work correctly, have no cracks or chips and plugs should be in place.

An electric shower can be left within the property, providing it has been installed within current legal guidelines and there is relevant paperwork or certificates to support this. Should this not be the case, it must be removed by a qualified electrician and the plasterwork made good; this includes areas of tiling that have been disturbed and appropriate plumbing disconnection.

Heating Appliances Fires, radiators, boilers and storage heaters, should be clean and should not be damaged. Where necessary, these must be correctly fitted to floor/walls – radiators, for example, should not be hanging off walls.

Electrical fittings All light fittings, sockets and switches must be clean, intact, must work and not be damaged. This includes door entry systems.

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Any non-standard ceiling fittings must be replaced with a pendant fitting. Any non-standard wall lights/spotlights must be removed and plasterwork made good.

All electrical work must be carried out by a qualified electrician.

What if I have made alterations? When you leave the property, it should be left in a good condition and include all the original fixtures and fittings. The only exception is where you have been granted permission to carry out improvements. In this case, you should abide by any conditions agreed when the improvement was carried out. If you do not abide by these conditions you may be recharged the cost of reinstating the property to its original condition.

In some circumstances you may be able to apply for compensation for alterations and improvements to your home when you leave Coast & Country. You can ask for more details from your local housing office. Compensation is not paid where you are granted another tenancy with Coast & Country.

Clearance and cleaning If anything is left in the property, we will assume that it is no longer wanted and it will be disposed of. You should not make arrangements to leave anything in the property for the new tenant. Coast & Country will NOT be held responsible for such arrangements or any belongings that may subsequently be disposed of whilst the property is empty.

Please remember, you will be responsible for the cost of repairs, cleaning and pest treatment, which are as a result of neglect, misuse, or deliberate malicious, criminal or accidental damage by you, people living with you, or people visiting your home. Please discuss this with us so you know what the charges are and what to do to avoid these.

Examples of common charges are:(charges shown are subject to change)

Replace toilet seat £29.62 Renew internal door £60.40 Plaster patch small hole £10.97 Reglaze double glazed window £112.85 Renew kitchen drawer front £32.08 Removal of minor items such as a carpet and three piece suite £21.87

Coast & CountryHeadquarters14 Ennis SquareRedcarTS10 5JR

T: 01642 771 300E: enquiries@cchousing.org.ukwww.cch-online.org.ukfacebook.com/coastandcountryhousingtwitter.com/cchousingonline