Secure lifetime tenancy
If your council tenancy started before 1 April 2013 you will probably have a secure lifetime tenancy. If you do and you transfer to another council property you will still retain a lifetime tenancy.
If your tenancy started after 1 April 2013 and you were aged 60 or over on the date the tenancy started you will also have a lifetime secure tenancy (unless you have a child in your household or a financial interest in another permanent residence).
A secure tenancy agreement is a legal contract between you (the tenant) and us (the landlord), the conditions of tenancy set out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Being a secure lifetime tenant gives you a number of legal rights – to exchange your home with another tenant, to buy your home, to pass on your tenancy when you die, to improve your home, to be consulted, to take in lodgers and to sub-let part of your home. You also have the right to stay in your home, unless we obtain a court order (known as a possession order).
The following pdf document is a copy of our secure tenancy agreement for tenancies starting on or before 31 March 2012:
Secure council tenancy agreement up to 31 March 2012 (pdf 296kb)
The following pdf document is a copy of our secure tenancy agreement for tenancies that started between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013: Secure council tenancy agreement from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 (pdf 1mb)
The following pdf document is a copy of our secure lifetime tenancy agreement for such tenancies starting on or after 1 April 2013:
Secure lifetime council tenancy agreement from 1 April 2013 (pdf 694kb)
Flexible Secure Tenancies
All other new tenancies that start on or after 1 April 2013 will be flexible secure tenancies.
Five-year flexible secure tenancies are given to applicants under 60 years of age who do not have children residing with them, or the children residing with them are aged 16 or over on the day the tenancy starts.
Where a household contains one or more children under the age of 16 they will have a flexible secure tenancy for a minimum of five and a maximum of 21 years depending on the age of the youngest child on the day the tenancy starts.
The following pdf document is a copy of our flexible secure tenancy agreement for such tenancies starting on or after 1 April 2013:
Flexible secure council tenancy agreement from 1 April 2013 (pdf 695kb)
More information about tenancy types can be found in our Council Housing Tenancy Policy.
Demoted tenancy
You may have a demoted tenancy if we have had to take you to court for anti-social behaviour, and the court has awarded us a demotion order. The order means that you lose certain tenancy rights for a year, such as the Right to Buy. If no further problems occur during the year your tenancy will automatically revert to a secure tenancy, but if the anti-social behaviour continues we will apply to evict you (this is a much faster process when the tenancy has been demoted).
Non-secure tenancy
If you applied for council housing because you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, you may have been given a non-secure tenancy while we determine your application, or while you are waiting for suitable accommodation to become available. A non-secure tenancy agreement is a two-year licence to occupy a property. It is a legal agreement between you and us, but it does not have the same rights as a secure tenancy. You will have to pay rent for the property (but may be able to claim housing benefit) and will have to abide by certain terms and conditions.
The following pdf document is a copy of our non-secure tenancy agreement.
Non-secure council tenancy agreement (pdf 170kb)