What you need to do if you are a Highland Council tenant:
Giving Notice
Under the terms of your lease you must give us at least 28 days notice before your tenancy can be ended. The last day of your tenancy will always be a Sunday. You must give us this information in writing, and everybody who is a joint tenant of the property with you must sign it. You should tell us when you intend to move out and what your new address is.
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What you need to do before you move out
Before you move out you must make sure that your rent and any other debt (e.g. court expenses or recharges for repairs) is paid up to the end of your tenancy. You must also make sure:
- You leave your house and garden in a clean and tidy condition.
- Carpets and belongings are removed unless you have reached an agreement with the Housing Officer to leave items for the next tenant.
- Any sheds or outbuildings are removed if they are in a poor or unsafe condition.
- That you check with the Housing Officer whether any improvements you may have made are to be left or removed. You may also be entitled to compensation for some improvements that you have made – see our leaflet on Compensation for Improvements for more details.
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House Inspection
We will contact you to arrange a suitable time for us to come and inspect your house before you move out. It is important that this inspection takes place as we can then discuss any problems. You may be asked to carry out some repairs before you leave if there is any damage to the house, fittings or decoration that is not just fair wear and tear. If you do not carry out these repairs or damage is identified after you leave, we will carry out the work and charge you for the cost of it.
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Handing your keys in
It is important that you hand in all sets of keys - this will normally be two keys for each lock. If you do not hand in all your keys we will change the locks and recharge you for this. If you hand your keys in late you may be charged extra rent.
If you move out before the end of your tenancy and this is between October and March please let us know so that we can drain the water system to avoid burst pipes. If you do not let us know and damage occurs due to burst pipes you will be recharged for this.
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Transferring to another Council house
Normally we will only offer a transfer to another Council house if your rent account is satisfactory, and your house and garden are in a clean and tidy condition.
We will inspect your house before we confirm an offer of another tenancy. What happens next will depend on the condition of your house. The offer may not be made or you may be asked to carry out some repairs before you leave if there is any damage to the house, fittings or decoration that is not just fair wear and tear.
Once you have accepted an offer, you will be told what date the new tenancy will begin. This will always be a Monday. The new tenancy may begin very soon after you have accepted the offer, as the 28 days notice on your home does not apply. All essential repairs will be done before the tenancy starts, however some minor repairs may be carried out after you move in. You will be told whether there are any repairs still to be done.
You must hand in the keys to your old house by 12 noon on the Wednesday after the end of your old tenancy. If you hand them in later than this you will be charged rent on both houses at the same time. Housing Benefit will not normally cover both rents.
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Transferring to a house owned by another landlord
If you accept an offer of housing from another landlord we will require 28 days notice that your tenancy is to end. This will apply if you were nominated by us to a Housing Association or if you have independently applied for and accepted an offer from another landlord.
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Mutual Exchange
You may be able to find someone to exchange tenancies with. They may be a tenant of The Highland Council, a Housing Association or another Council. You need both landlords’ permission to exchange, but this would be refused only where there is good reason. To request an exchange both tenants need to complete a Mutual Exchange Request form and if one has not already been completed, a Housing Application form. Both properties will be inspected by the landlords, and rent accounts must be satisfactory before permission to exchange is given. You will not need to give 28 days notice of your tenancy ending once permission to move has been granted.
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Right to Buy – New Rules
If you transfer to another Council or Housing Association house or you exchange houses your Right to Buy entitlement will change. For more details see the Right to Buy page, or ask at your nearest Housing Office.
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Housing Mobility and Exchange Schemes
Homeswap, the scheme by which council tenants could apply to mutually exchange houses with tenants in other local authority areas, has been closed by the Government. We will publish links to other sites which may assist you to move house as soon as possible.
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Void House Review
To improve our service and to reduce the length of time council houses stand empty, we have carried out a review of void houses in conjunction with tenant representatives. You can view this document under "Current Documents" on the right of the screen.
For more information, please e-mail: housingandproperty@highland.gov.uk
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