Tenant’s rights    and responsibilities

Introduction

Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant depend largely on your tenancy agreement, however, some rights and responsibilities are provided for by both statute and common law.

Rights and responsibilities depend on what sort of agreement you have. This article summarises the most common of them, namely relating to an assured shorthold tenancy, which is the most common residential tenancy. Of course if you breach the rules in your tenancy agreement then you could loose your home so it is important that you understand the rules, your rights as a tenant and what to do if there is a problem.

Provisions in your tenancy agreement

Rent

This section contains the legal definitions of terms in your tenancy agreement and sets out the details of the rent and other charges (if any) that you must pay.  It may also contain your rent guarantee. This guarantees how much your rent can increase over your tenancy term.

Your obligations / covenants

This section sets out what you must do as the tenant of your home. It is quite detailed and you must make sure that you read and understand it fully. By signing the tenancy agreement you have agreed to keep to all these conditions and if you break them we may take action against you. In serious cases this action could include us asking the court to end you tenancy and evict you.

The main obligations you have as a tenant are:

-              to live in the property as your main home;

-              to pay the rent and any service charges in advance every week

-              not to cause any nuisance or anti-social behaviour

-              keep your home including any gardens clean and tidy and make sure that any pets do not cause a problem;

-              not run a business from your home without our permission;

-              you must not use your home for any illegal purposes such as storing stolen property or drugs;

-              you are likely to be responsible for some small repairs to your home such as light bulbs, internal door handles and cupboard catches and sink and bath plugs and toilet seats.

Rights and Responsibilities

Your rights

For instance you have the right to make improvements to your home (with permission) and rights to have certain small repairs carried out within set timescales. You also have the right to be consulted on major changes about the way the property is managed or maintained.

Succession, Assignment & Exchange

You may or may not be able to pass your tenancy onto a third party. This depends on what you have agreed in the tenancy agreement.