Tenancy conditions
Islington Council is your landlord. If you are a new council tenant, you may have an introductory tenancy. Your rights and responsibilities as a secure tenant or introductory tenant are set out in your Conditions of Tenancy
What are my responsibilities?
In summary, your main responsibilities as a tenant of the council are:
- To live in the property as your only or main home
- To pay your rent in advance (on time)
- To carry out the repairs you are responsible for
- To report the repairs we are responsible for to Housing Direct and to allow us and our contractors into your home when required
- To give us 4 weeks notice if you decide to end your tenancy
- To get our written permission if you want to make alterations or put up a satellite dish
- To be responsible for the behaviour of every person, including children, living or visiting your home. This includes communal areas.
- To tell us if you are going away for longer than one month
- To look after the communal areas
- To ask us for permission to keep a dog.
Summary of your rights as a secure tenant
Most council tenants are secure tenants under the Housing Act 1985. This means that we cannot evict you without issuing a Notice Seeking Possession (NoSP) and going to court for a Possession Order. If you are a new tenant, you may have an introductory tenancy which limits your rights for a probationary period (usually one year). The Housing Act and more recent law gives secure tenants certain rights about making changes to their tenancy.
- Succession – the law gives certain people the right to succeed to (take over) your tenancy when you die
- Assignment – you have the right to assign (hand over) your tenancy to someone else in certain circumstances
- Mutual exchange – you can swap homes with another tenant of the council or housing association
- Right to buy – you have the right to buy your home under certain circumstances
- Joint tenancies - tenancies can be changed from sole to joint or joint to sole (this will affect your tenancy rights.
Applying for permission to keep a dog
Before you get a new dog you must apply to us for permission and sign up to a Responsible Dog Owner's Agreement. We will consider your request and will not unreasonably refuse it. The housing service works with animal wardens to provide the best advice for our residents on responsible dog ownership.