Tenant information

See details of the types of tenancy we offer and your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.

 

The type of tenancy you have is printed on the front of the agreement.  There are different types of tenancies within Phoenix. Your tenancy agreement contains more details about your tenancy.

Assured tenancy

Most Phoenix tenants are assured tenants, including all those whose tenancies were transferred from the London Borough of Lewisham.

As an assured tenant with Phoenix, your rights are covered partly by Acts of Parliament and partly by a legally binding contract - your tenancy agreement - between you and Phoenix.

Probationary tenancy

All new Phoenix tenants are given a probationary tenancy. This gives less security than an assured tenancy.

It means it is easier for Phoenix to evict a new tenant for breaking their tenancy conditions. That could include failing to pay rent or antisocial behaviour.

Phoenix staff will visit new probationary tenants after six weeks, three months and eight months to make sure they are receiving the right benefits and support, and are meeting their obligations under the tenancy.  Probationary tenants are also invited to attend a Welcome to Phoenix session to meet staff and pick up useful information about their tenancy.

Probationary tenancies automatically convert to assured tenancies after the first year, so long as there have been no breaches of tenancy conditions.

Assured shorthold tenancy

An assured shorthold tenancy is given to people who are living in a Phoenix property on a temporary basis.

Your rights as a tenant

The tenancy agreement you have signed is a legal contract.

All tenants have a number of rights as part of their tenancy.

The right of security of tenure

As a tenant you have the right to stay in your home (known as ‘security of tenure’), as long as you keep to the conditions of your tenancy agreement.

The right to live in your home peacefully

You should not have to deal with excessive noise or antisocial behaviour. Find out more about what to do if you are suffering from antisocial behaviour.

The right to one succession of tenancy

This is the right to pass on your home to your partner or a member of your family if you die. The person you pass on your home to must have lived in your home with you for at least 12 months. You must obtain our agreement for any succession to go ahead.

The right to one assignment of your tenancy

If you are an assured tenant and need to leave your property to live elsewhere, you may have the right to assign (hand over) your tenancy to someone else. You can assign your tenancy only to those people who would have the right to succeed.

The right to take in a lodger

A lodger is someone living closely with you in your property and paying you rent. You must contact us before taking in a lodger.

The right to sublet your property

Subletting is when you let part of your home to someone else while you are still living there. If you wish to do this you must get our permission first. You must not sublet the whole of your home.

The right to swap your home with someone else

You can swap homes (do a mutual exchange) with another Phoenix resident, local-authority tenant or tenant of another registered social landlord, as long as you and they meet certain conditions. You must first get permission from both landlords. Find out more on our moving home page.

The right to buy your home

If you were a tenant of your home when it was owned by the London Borough of Lewisham you may have the (preserved) right to buy your home. Find out more about the right to buy by contacting us.

The right to be consulted

We will consult you before making any decision on a matter of housing management. This includes the right to be consulted on maintaining and improving homes, providing services and changes to policy likely to affect a number of tenants.

The right not to have your tenancy changed without your consent

Except for changes in rent or service charges, your tenancy agreement may only be altered if both you and Phoenix agree in writing.

The right to see your housing records

You can inspect information held on your housing file or any computer records we hold about you, in accordance with relevant legislation.

The right to repair

If Phoenix does not complete certain repairs within specified timescales, you can request that the work be placed with a designated contractor. See our repairs page for more information.

The right to improve

You have the right to improve your home as long as we, as your landlord, think it is reasonable.

The tenancy agreement you have signed is a legal contract. The contract means that we as your landlord are responsible for certain things, and that you too have certain responsibilities for looking after your home and behaving as agreed.

Your responsibilities

Your tenancy agreement is a legal contract. It means that we as your landlord are responsible for certain things, and that you too have certain responsibilities for looking after your home and behaving as agreed.

Rent payments

You must:

  • pay your rent promptly every week, or in advance if paying fortnightly or monthly.
  • apply for Housing Benefit to help you pay the rent if you receive state benefits or your wages are low.
  • contact us as soon as possible if you can’t pay, and arrange to clear the arrears within a reasonable time.

Phoenix will:

  • help you apply for Housing Benefit, and agree a realistic repayment plan with you.
  • contact you if you don’t make regular payments and don’t contact us.
  • take legal action to recover any unpaid rent if you fail to make or keep to an agreement to repay the arrears.

Looking after the property

You must:

  • take care of your home, and any fixtures and fittings we have supplied.
  • keep the property in a reasonably clean condition and the internal decoration on good order.
  • report any repairs that are our responsibility.
  • allow us reasonable access to do repairs and annual gas servicing.
  • keep your garden in good condition, if you have one.

Phoenix will:

  • respond to any emergency repairs.
  • repair items that are our responsibility.
  • charge you for the cost of any repairs needed because of inappropriate action by you, your family or visitors.
  • do an annual gas service of gas appliances in the property.
  • get the necessary legal authority to enter the property if you don’t let us in to do the service.

Communal (shared) areas

You must:

  • use any communal areas reasonably.
  • dispose of rubbish properly.
  • keep the balcony outside your flat clean, if it is not a walkway.
  • make sure your pet, if you have one, does not foul in the communal areas.

We will:

  • keep the communal areas clean and litter-free
  • do any repairs needed to communal areas swiftly and efficiently.

Consideration of neighbours

You must not:

  • make too much noise, or let those living with you or visiting you do so.
  • do anything that interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of other people.
  • harass, threaten or use violence against anyone else.
  • use the property for illegal purposes.

We will:

  • tell you if you are disturbing your neighbours.
  • investigate anyone living in a property we own who appears not to be the rightful tenant.

Being away from your home for a long time

You must:

  • Get our permission if you are going to be away for longer than two months.

Moving home

You must:

  • Give us four weeks notice that you intend to leave.
  • Pay the rent until the end of your tenancy.
  • Leave the property in good, clean condition and remove any rubbish before you leave.