Information about your tenancy 

What are the conditions of my tenancy?

There are a number of different Tenancy Agreements that a person may potentially sign up to. By far, the most frequent is a ‘Secure Tenancy Agreement’.

Examples of general rules and conditions are highlighted below:

• I am moving in to this property and it will be my principal or only home.
• As a current tenant of Sheffield City Council, at the end of the tenancy there will be no occupants remaining in that address.
• As a current owner-occupier, I will take all ‘reasonable’ steps to sell or dispose of my property within six months of the start date of this tenancy. Disposal is not to include letting it.
• I have received a copy of the You and Your Home leaflet and will abide by the conditions that it sets out.
• I understand that by accepting this tenancy, any registration I have with Sheffield City Council will be cancelled.
• I must not keep a cat or dog in a flat or maisonette that has shared parts or a shared entrance.
• Failure to comply with the tenancy’s terms and conditions could jeopardise this tenancy.

More information is included in the You and Your Home leaflet which is available to download or from any of our area offices.  You can also request a copy of the leaflet by emailing your details to enquiries@sheffieldhomes.org.uk

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How do I get a copy of my tenancy agreement?

You can obtain a copy of your Tenancy Agreement by contacting your Area Housing Office.

You can do this in person or via the telephone.

If you visit your Area Office in person you will be asked to verify your ID by presenting some ID, for example a recent utility bill or your benefits book. You will then been given a copy of your Tenancy Agreement.

If you contact your Area Office via telephone, you will be asked a series of questions such as your date of birth to verify your ID. You will then be sent a copy of your Tenancy Agreement in the post.

To contact us by phone, please call:

• 0114 205 3333 if you live in the Central, South East or South West areas.
• 0114 293 0000 if you live in the North, East, North West areas or in a sheltered accommodation scheme managed by us.

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Can I make an alteration to my home, like putting up a new TV aerial, building a fence or building a driveway?

If you want to make an alteration to your home, you must apply to us in writing. You should send your written request, giving as much details as possible, to your local area housing office or Local First Point.

Condition 12 of your tenancy states:  “You must not alter or improve the property unless you have written permission from us”.

We will always write to you, telling you if you can or cannot make the alteration.  If we say no, we will always tell you why. 

You must have our permission before starting work on any of the alterations listed below:

• Building or altering any boundary wall
• Constructing a driveway, hardstanding or dropped kerb
• Making alterations to an internal or external wall
• Fitting or changing patio doors
• Fitting windows (inc UPVC) or a conservatory
• Installing or replacing central heating, gas boiler or gas fires
• Making any alterations to a chimney breast
• Changing any internal or external door
• Constructing a garage or making any alterations to an existing garage
• Renewing part or all of a kitchen or bathroom
• Converting a loft
• Constructing a patio area or decked area
• Any electrical alterations or improvements

Once we have received your letter we may have to visit your home and/or ask you for extra information.  You should also be aware that planning permission may also be required in certain circumstances.

You do not need written permission to decorate your home, but if you are in any doubt you should contact us:

By ringing your local call centre:

• 0114 205 3333 if you live in the Central, South East or South West areas.
  
• 0114 293 0000 if you live in the North, East, North West areas or in a sheltered accommodation scheme managed by us.

By email: enquiries@sheffieldhomes.org.uk

In person: At any local area housing office or your local First Point

If you do not have our written permission, you will be charged for the work to return your home to its original design.

Can I sublet my property?

You must not part with possession or sublet all of the property. 

You may part with possession or sublet part of the property if you have written permission. If permission is refused, you will receive notification of this and an explanation why. We would only consider requests that meet the criteria above.

Authorisation in these matters should be sought from the Housing Co-ordinator based in the Tenancy Management Team at your local Area Housing Office.

The Council’s policy relating to sub-letting can be found in the You and Your Home leaflet.

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Can my tenancy be passed to someone else?

On the death of a secure tenant, who has not already had the tenancy passed to them by someone else, the tenancy is transferred to the person eligible to succeed.  A person is eligible to succeed if they lived in the home as their principal home at the time of the tenant's death and must be:

• The tenant's husband or wife
• A member of the tenant's family, who has lived with the tenant for 12 months before the tenant's death (the person who has lived in the home the longest will succeed to the tenancy).

This is referred to as succession.

For more information on eligibility to succeed contact your local Area Housing Office.

If a tenant is leaving their tenancy permanently and have not succeeded to that tenancy, they may apply to assign it to a member of their family. That person must have lived with them for the past 12 months.  The Assistant Area Manager (or more senior officer) must give agreement in writing before someone can assign their tenancy.  Agreement will only be given if the tenant is:

• Transferring for medical or disability reasons and the new home is not large enough
• Moving to somewhere they will be cared for, such as a residential home
• Going to live with a new partner and neither the tenant's home nor their partner's is large enough for the potential assignee to live with them
• Moving to a different part of the country and the potential assignee has strong links with Sheffield, for example they work or study here

This is referred to as assignment.

For more information contact your local Area Housing Office.

I have a messy garden - can you help?

If your property is a new letting and the garden was ‘inherited’ in this condition, then we may be able to draw upon support from the Estate Services/Management team for that local area.

A team of estate officers will clear your garden of debris and where necessary, cut back the plantation if it is substantially over-grown.

They will leave it in a condition that you will be able to manage and maintain it in a good order.

In extreme cases, where there may be a significant health and safety risk, arrangements and measures should have already been made by the vacants team within the area to carefully have the item/s removed.

In these cases access to the garden should have been restricted and the property should be deemed unfit for letting until the matter had been suitably & satisfactorily resolved.

If you have been in the property for a considerable amount of time (i.e. not taking on a new tenancy) we will not support any removals or tidying.

As part of the tenancy agreement, a person agrees to maintain their garden to a good standard, and therefore it is their responsibility to rectify any ‘mess’ within the garden.

In extreme cases warnings will be issued and action could be taken for breech of tenancy conditions.

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