Tenancy

Yes, if you rent your home from us you will (in most cases) be allowed to take in a lodger, provided you have our written permission. However there are some very important aspects for you to consider before making this decision.

If you are a leaseholder you should check the terms of your lease, and if in doubt, please call us on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody.

No, sub-letting the whole of the home will be treated as abandonment and a breach of your tenancy agreement. We will take action to regain possession if the whole of the home has been sub-let. You may also be liable to criminal prosecution in some circumstances.

No, Peabody residents wishing to apply for the transfer list must have resided in their property for a minimum of twelve months – this does not apply to management transfers, decants or supported housing move-ons.

This will depend on whether you share the garden with other residents.

If you do not share a garden with other residents and only you have access to the garden, then no, you will not need our permission. However if you leave the property, you will be responsible for taking the shed with you.

If it is a communal garden (one that you share with other residents) then we will need to give permission for you to have a shed.

In this case, please contact us with details of where and when you would like to put the shed up. We will then let you know if it is ok for you to go ahead.

You can call us on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody.

As a sole tenancy holder you should be aware of what giving up your sole interests means and how it may affect your rights. By opting to change to a joint tenancy, you are ending the sole tenancy agreement you entered into and are entering a new joint tenancy agreement where both tenants have equal rights to the property.

We will grant a joint tenancy based on the following:
• Where both tenants are on the original application at sign up.
• Where there is two people forming a married couple, cohabiting couple or civil partnership.
• Providing all other relevant eligibility criteria are met and we have 12 months’ proof of residence for all parties, a joint tenancy may also be granted.

We will not grant joint tenancies to more than two people or to family members other than spouses or civil partners, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

To add someone to your tenancy agreement, please call us on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody.

Please note that your application can only be considered:

• If the proposed new household member lived at your property for a minimum period of 12 months.
• This must be their main and principle home.
• You must have a clear rent account
• If you can provide the relevant evidence for the proposed new household member.
• An adult child who moved out of your home and has returned can only be added as a Guest member. (this does not include a child that is studying at university)

If you would like to add a household member, you can call us on 0300 123 3456, or contacting us via My Peabody.

You should have been given a copy of your Tenancy Agreement at the time of signature. If you do not have it, please contact us to request an electronic copy, either by phone on 0300 123 3456 or by contacting us via My Peabody.

To update your personal details, please call us on 0300 123 3456 or contact us via My Peabody.

This will depend on the type of tenancy you have and in most cases will not be allowed, apart from when succession applies.

For further support please call us on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody.

Yes, as this is a breach of tenancy. However, we are likely to ask you to make good the damage that has occurred. If you do not meet this request we have the right to take the matter to court.

In this situation the live-in carer can be added as a household member for the purposes of transferring to another property.

Please note however we will require confirmation via a social care assessment that you need care overnight and this is why you require a resident carer.

If you have any queries please email us or call us on 0300 123 3456.

If you suspect a Peabody property has been illegally sublet, please contact us – anonymously if you prefer – via phone on 0300 123 3456 or via My Peabody.

Your tenancy agreement specifies whether you are allowed to take a lodger. We will not withhold consent from tenants to take in a lodger providing their tenancy agreement allows them to do so, it does not result in overcrowding or any other breach of tenancy and a risk assessment has been completed if appropriate.
We will respond with our decision in 10 working days.

Residents must:

• live at the property on a full-time bases (four or more nights)
• Must have a separate spare bedroom to accommodate a lodger
• Declare earnings to Housing Benefits otherwise they are committing fraud (HB allows the first £20.00 per week without deductions)
• Be responsible for their Lodger’s behaviour
• Understand that this is third party agreement. Peabody will not assist with evictions or arrears. If lodger refuses to leave when given notice the tenanr must contact the police.
• Responsible for getting relevant references etc
• Providing Peabody with the details of their lodgers

You would need to discuss who will leave the tenancy, if a decision cannot be made then you can approach Citizen's Advice for a mediator. A Court order can determine who should hold the tenancy under matrimonial or family law.

If your ex-partner moves out and remaims on the tenancy, they can move back in at any point while they’re still named as a tenant. If you move out, you are still expected to pay the rent if you’re still a named tenant.

If it is not safe to stay in your home because of domestic abuse, please urgently let us know by calling 0300 123 3456.

When a tenant dies, a relative may be entitled to take over the tenancy provided they lived with them in the property, and can provide proof. This passing on of tenancy is known as ‘succession’.

However other criteria will also need to be met before the tenancy can be passed onto another person. For more information please call us on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody. 

If this has resulted in someone leaving the property they can apply to the local authority for housing in their own right, or seek private rented accommodation. They cannot apply direct to us for a property, we do not have a duty to re-house them and they will always need to go through their local authority first to have their housing needs assessed.

You should always let us know if there have been changes in your household so that we can keep your records up to date. You can let us know in the following ways:

Call us on 0300 123 3456 or contact us via My Peabody.

A joint tenancy is where more than one person has signed the tenancy agreement and all signatories are jointly and individually liable for the tenancy, including paying the rent and any breaches of tenancy. Also, either joint tenant can terminate the tenancy.

Both joint tenants must live at the home as their only or principal home and they must both sign the tenancy agreement.

Please note that Peabody will not grant joint tenancies to more than two people.

An ‘NTQ’ stands for ‘Notice to Quit’ and it is a legal notice to terminate the tenancy. There are variations of NTQ’s dependent on the type of tenancy that needs to be terminated. An NTQ can be served by either the tenant, or the landlord.

Please contact the Customer Hub on 0300 123 3456 to obtain a NTQ.

This means that there is no limit to the length of your tenancy, as long as you do not break the terms of the tenancy agreement. A secure tenancy agreement will begin with a 12-month starter tenancy that will convert to a full assured tenancy at the end of this period.

This agreement is for an initial trial period of up to 12 months from the start date of the tenancy, and it may be extended for a further six months trial period, if you breach the terms of the agreement.

Within the first year you do not have all the rights of an Assured Tenancy. If you successfully manage your tenancy in the first year, we will covert the starter tenancy to full assured tenancy.

A void is an empty property. The property may be void following a tenant moving or needs major works or maintenance.

This is a lifetime tenancy and is usually given to you if:

You previously held a starter tenancy which was extended by Peabody following the 12 month probationary period.

Before you moved, you had a lifetime tenancy with us, or another social housing landlord and you did not breach any of its terms and conditions.

‘Succession’ takes place when one of our tenants passes away and a relative who has been living with them at the property may be entitled to take over the tenancy.

A lodger:
A lodger is someone who has access to; shares all of the facilities of the home and is treated like a member of the family or the household.
A lodger will normally have their own bedroom but will not have the right to refuse entry to the landlord.

A sub-tenant:
A sub-tenant is someone who has exclusive rights (a tenancy) over all, or a part of a home, for example a bedroom.
A sub-tenant is different to a lodger as a sub-tenant will normally have exclusive possession of a part of a building and will not normally share other parts of the home.
A sub-tenant will also have a key to their own room and the right to refuse the landlord entry except in circumstances set out in the tenancy agreement.

Please contact us and provide us with the following details if possible:

• The property address.
• The last time you saw someone enter the property.
• Why you feel that the property has been abandoned.
• Are there any windows or doors open?
• Are there any lights on?
• Are there any pets in the property?
• This information will be passed to our neighbourhood management team who will investigate the claim.

You can report this to us by phone 0300 123 3456, or by contacting us via My Peabody.

To become a joint tenant you must be a ‘qualifying joint tenant’. This means you must be a spouse, civil partner, or partner, including a same-sex partner.

We will issue a joint tenancy to new tenants if the local authority, or other referring body, nominates two people who are living together as a married couple, civil partnership or are living together as partners, including same-sex partners.

We will not grant joint tenancies to more than two people or to family members.

For more information please call us on 0300 123 3456 or contact us via My Peabody.

Your tenancy agreement specifies whether you are allowed to take a lodger. You will (in most cases) be allowed to take in a lodger, provided you have our written permission. However there are some very important aspects for you to consider before making this decision.

You should check the terms of your tenancy agreement first, and then call the Customer Hub on 0300 123 3456, or contact us via My Peabody.

A remaining joint tenant will qualify for ‘survivorship’ to the tenancy (this means the tenancy transfers into their sole name).

A spouse will have an automatic right to succeed, unless there has been a succession on the tenancy before. This is because succession of a tenancy can only happen once.

Family members may be able to succeed, but this will depend on the type of tenancy they have.

For more information please call us on 0300 123 1234.