Housing Associations and Co-ops
Housing Association Tenants Rights
Tenants of Registered Social Landlords have
certain rights, e.g. a right to a written tenancy agreement, as
well as responsibilities e.g. to pay rent on
time.
Listed below is a selection that may be of use:
Your rights as a housing association tenant -
Your rights and responsibilities as a housing association
tenant.
Moving home - Help in moving. Getting money to
help you get involved
Our Community Training and Enabling (CTE) grants
programme could help you and your residents. Complaining about a
housing association - This leaflet is mainly for: tenants and
leaseholders of housing associations registered with the Housing
Corporation; other people who want to complain about a housing
association.
The Active Tenants Handbook - Having a nice place
to live is not just about the quality of your home but also about
the neighbourhood, the surroundings, and the services and
facilities available locally. Communities in control: options for
residents (At a glance guide 2) - Options for community housing and
community training and enabling policy.
A Charter for housing association applicants and
residents - The Residents Charter sets out what housing
association applicants and residents can expect from their housing
association landlords. It replaces the eight separate Residents
Charters issued in 1998 and 1999.
Tenant Consumer Panel - The Tenant Consumer Panel
is an advisory Body to the Housing Corporation. It looks at - and
comments on - policies affecting tenants.
Tenant Inspectors - Our pool of Tenant Inspectors
work with our inspection teams to help bring a tenant perspective
to our inspections. Together with the staff, tenants and
associations involved in our pathfinder inspections we have
evaluated our experience of involving tenant inspectors and refined
our approach.
Right to Buy
The Right to Buy scheme helps social tenants
in England to buy their council home at a discount. Bedford
Borough Council transferred its housing stock to bpha in 1990 and
so does not have any council tenants that this scheme would be
applicable to. However, you can apply for Right to Buy if
you’ve been a public sector tenant for five years (it doesn’t have
to be five years in a row). You are a public sector tenant if you
have lived in properties provided by a housing association, the
armed services or a public body like an NHS trust.
You can make a ‘joint application’ to buy your
home through Right to Buy with someone who shares the tenancy with
you or with members of your family. They must have lived with you
for the past 12 months.
You can’t buy through the
scheme if:
·
the property isn't your main home
·
the property isn't self-contained (has a shared kitchen or
bathroom)
·
there's a court order saying you must leave your home
·
you're an 'undischarged bankrupt'
·
you're being declared bankrupt
·
you owe money to creditors
For more information on Right to Buy
click here.