Torus housing
Action group
TENANTS
Apply for a home
Types of tenancy
Standard of your home
Complaints
Buying your home
Apply for a home
Housing associations offer similar types of housing as local councils – often to people on a low income or who need extra support.
You can apply:
directly to a housing association
often through your local council
You can apply to more than one housing association at a time.
Waiting list
Once you apply, you’ll be put on a waiting list.
Housing associations normally offer housing to people most suited to that particular property. You may have to wait a long time for a suitable property to become available.
Housing associations are also known as Registered Social Landlords or Private Registered Providers of Social Housing.
Types of tenancy
Your rights and responsibilities depend on the type of tenancy you have.
Your tenancy agreement is a legal document that tells you all the rules about living in your property.
Starter tenancy
New housing association tenants may be offered a starter tenancy. These usually last 12 months and are like a ‘trial’ period.
You become an assured or fixed term tenant after 12 months, unless your housing association has either:
started action to evict you
extended your starter tenancy
Assured and fixed-term tenancies
At the end of your starter tenancy you’ll be offered either:
an assured tenancy – meaning you can normally live in your property for the rest of your life
a fixed-term tenancy – usually lasting for at least 5 years (your landlord will decide whether it’s renewed)
You rights may include:
buying your home
having your home repaired
swapping your home with another council or housing association tenant
Ending your tenancy
Your tenancy can be ended if:
you give the housing association 4 weeks’ notice in writing
the housing association evicts you
you transfer your tenancy to someone else or swap homes
the housing association needs to move you (eg to redevelop your property) – it should offer you a new property
social housing
Improve where you live by making sure your landlord provides what you need.
Man fitting a lock to a door
What is it?
If you’re a social housing tenant, you have the power to make sure your landlord provides the services, support and advice you need.
This means that you can take a bigger role in your community by looking at your landlord’s performance and negotiating improvements. You’ll be able to help resolve local complaints, run a maintenance service, or even take on the management of local housing services.
How can I get involved?
You can play a bigger role in your community by:
getting training and support to challenge your landlord
setting up a tenant panel where you live
helping to shape services
managing a housing service or repairs budget
exercising your ‘Right to Manage’, which lets council tenants take over management of local housing services
This is all part of the Tenant Empowerment Programme. You can also follow the programme on Twitter.
Standard of your home
Your landlord has to make sure that your home meets certain standards. It must be:
safe and free from ‘category 1 hazards’ – these are things that can cause death or pose a serious danger to your health (eg by causing lung cancer, 80% burn injuries, loss of limbs, poisoning)
in a reasonable state of repair
equipped with reasonably modern facilities
warm enough
If you have concerns about the standard of your home you can make a complaint.
As a social housing tenant you can help run a maintenance service
Many critics have argued that housing associations have drifted so far away from their philanthropic roots.
Gov Housing associations
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