Rights
of tenants after transfer will be the same or very similar
to the rights they have now as a Council tenant. Tenants
are "secure tenants' of the Council, but if the transfer
goes ahead they become "assured tenants" of Herefordshire
Housing. The rights of a secure tenant are set down by Act
of Parliament but assured tenants rights are covered partly
by Act of Parliament and partly by the new Tenancy Agreement
that the tenant will enter into with Herefordshire Housing.
Herefordshire
Housing will send to each transferring tenant a new Tenancy
Agreement, certainly within three months of completion,
(this will be part of the agreement with the Council) and
each tenant will hopefully sign and return the new Tenancy
Agreement to the Company. If a tenant does not sign the
new Tenancy Agreement, the tenant would still have an assured
tenancy but without the enhanced rights (such as the preserved
Right to Buy and the Right to Succession, even if the tenant
was himself a successor).
The
new Assured Tenancy Agreement will contain, as far as possible,
all the legal rights that the tenant has with the Council.
The Company cannot change the new Tenancy Agreement in future
without the tenants' agreement (except for changes to rent
and services charges).
There
are only two rights that cannot be given under the assured
tenancy the rent to mortgage scheme and the right to manage
but nationally, these rights have rarely been taken up by
tenants.
The
Preserved Right to Buy
The "Right to Buy" is enjoyed by secure tenants
who have been public sector tenants, or in their particular
dwelling for at least two years, (provided they do not have
an order for possession against them, or are an undischarged
bankrupt, have made a composition or arrangement with their
creditors, the terms of which are fulfilled, or if they
have a bankruptcy petition pending against them).
There
are also various other exceptions to the Rights to Buy,
for instance tenants of charities, including charitable
housing associations, do not have the right, nor do tenants
where the landlord has an interest of less than 21 years
left on a lease of a property, or tenants in properties
linked with employment, or in certain properties for the
disabled, elderly or people with special needs.
All
Council tenants who have the Right to Buy would keep that
right after transfer and the right would then be known as
the "Preserved Right to Buy".
Like
the Right to Buy, the Preserved Right to Buy would entitle
tenants to a discount on the purchase price of their home,
based on the number of years they have been a tenant of
a landlord such as the Council or a housing association.
The discount would continue to grow after the transfer.
The
amount of discount the tenants could claim is sometimes
limited by the Governments "cost floor rules"
which mean that a tenant cannot buy his home for less than
it cost Herefordshire Housing to repair, improve, build
or buy it. These rules are virtually the same as those covering
the Right to Buy from the Council but there are two main
differences:
(a) Money paid out by Herefordshire Housing and the Council
on the property over the last 15 years would be taken into
account rather than the 10 years under the Right to Buy;
and
(b)
The cost of the works carried out to the tenant's home in
the repairs and improvements programme after transfer would
also be included in the cost floor calculations, even if
the works listed have not been done when the tenant applied
to buy his or her home.
These
changes would, in some cases, reduce the amount of discount
given, but probably, not by very much.
The
Right to Acquire
Transferring tenants would also have the Right to Acquire.
This is another scheme to enable tenants to buy their homes,
but is generally less generous than the Preserved right
to Buy. The Right to Acquire would also be available to
people who became tenants of Herefordshire Housing after
the transfer.
Transferring
tenants can purchase their properties either under the Preserved
right to Buy or the Right to Acquire, they cannot have both
discounts.
The
Right of Succession
The Right of Succession is the tenants right to pass on
his or her home on death. If the transfer goes ahead, transferring
tenants would be able to pass on their tenancy on the death
of a previous tenant, relative or partner. People would
not be able to do this as Council tenants as in those circumstances
a successor is not entitled to pass on their tenancy when
they die. The Company will specifically set out this commitment
in the Tenancy Agreement.
