Tenants' rights and responsibilities

We want you to enjoy living in your home. To make your tenancy a happy one, it's important to understand your tenancy agreement.

Your tenancy agreement is a legal contract between you and us. It ensures we meet our responsibilities as landlords while you take care of your home, pay your rent on time, and be a considerate neighbour. 

You will have signed and received a copy of your tenancy agreement before you move into your home. Please keep it in a safe place. 

Paying rent and service charges on time.
Keeping your home in good condition and reporting any repair issues.
Being considerate and ensuring you or your visitors do not cause any nuisance or annoyance to others.
Allowing access for mandatory repairs, gas servicing and electrical testing.
Maintaining your garden to an acceptable level and using communal areas appropriately.
Requesting permission for keeping pets such as cats or dogs in your home.
Requesting permission to make changes to your home so that we can give you the necessary permissions.

We have to provide you with a safe, healthy home that is free from things that could cause you or anyone living in your home serious harm. The Decent Homes Standard  has been set by Government and all our homes must meet the standard. We also comply with Health and Safety and Tenancy regulations.

Here's a quick guide to our responsibilities. We'll:

contact you if there’s a problem with how you’re managing your tenancy
carry out repairs which are reported to us in a timely manner
keep you informed of any planned maintenance and cyclical work required to your home
inform and consult with you on the rent increase and on any changes to the service you receive
we won't enter your home without you providing access.

Meeting changing needs

If you have a disability, you have the right to request changes to make your home more accessible and comfortable.

To do this, you go through your GP, who will arrange occupational therapy assessments. Your local authority will consider the recommendations made by them and will provide funding through Disabled Facilities Grants for work that they agree you need.

We work with your local council to ensure the recommended adjustments are made, unless it is unreasonable to do so within the property.

We can also offer adaptations through our disabled adaptations policy (219kb, PDF).

If you have any concerns or need more information about tenant rights and responsibilities, please get in touch.

Moving into your new home

Moving into your new home can be exciting and daunting all at the same time. We're here to make this as easy as possible.

We want to:

give you a warm, safe and clean home
help you settle into your home and become part of your area
make sure you can be proud of your home.

Lettable standard

Providing curtains, floorcoverings and decorations are our welcome when you move in to your new home giving you a comfortable start, something that not all housing associations do.

This is on top of our checks to ensure your property is safe, clean and in a reasonable state of repair.

We call this the lettable standard and it sets out the standard that ISHA properties will meet when they are let to new tenants.

We will try to complete all works before you move into the property, but, where works are not urgent, we may have to carry them out after you have moved in. In those cases, we will give you a target time for completion of the works.

For more information, download the lettable standard (PDF, 204kb) .

Before you move in

Before you move in, we will inspect:

roofs (where practical)
external walls (where practical)
windows and external joinery
doors
floors
internal joinery
internal walls and ceilings
kitchens
bathrooms
plumbing
heating systems /gas appliances
electrical installation
fire alarms
decorations
cleanliness
gardens and boundaries (where applicable)
energy conservation (where appropriate).

Documents you will get

As a new ISHA tenant you will be provided with the following documents:

tenancy agreement
a copy of the current Landlord's Gas Safety record
a copy of the current electrical certificate
energy certificate
local welcome pack.

More information

When you move into your home, you will probably have questions about it and where you live.

In the my area section, you'll find useful information about where you live and links to other helpful websites. The support hub section of this website also provides general information about being an ISHA resident such as leaflets and guidance, and copies of our policies.

Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant