Ending or changing your tenancy

If you have an existing tenancy with us, you might want to let us know if your circumstances have changed.

Ending your tenancy

If you want to end your tenancy with Berneslai Homes, it’s important that you let us know formally, this is a condition of your tenancy and will prevent extra rent changes being added to your account after you’ve left the property.

Moving to another property

If you’re ending your Berneslai Homes tenancy to move to an alternative property, you can let us know online:

Let us know you’re moving to another Berneslai Homes property Let us know you’re moving to a non Berneslai Homes property

If you have any problems completing a form or would like to discuss ending your tenancy in more detail, contact our Homeseeker team:

Email homeseeker@berneslaihomes.co.uk
Phone 01226 787878

Don’t forget to tell us your full name and current address.

 

Letting us know somebody has died

If you’re the next of kin and wish to inform us of the death of a tenant, here’s how to do it.

Let us know if the tenant has died and you intend to return the property to us by:

Please include your full name and contact details, and the full name and address of the tenant.

Let us know if the tenant has died and you wish to remain in the property (make a Succession Application) by:

Please note, you’ll need do this even if you were a joint tenant at the property.

All requests to succeed a tenancy will be considered in line with the relevant legislation. If you’re considering applying to succeed a tenancy but are not sure if you’ll be able to, there’s some helpful guidance from Shelter (below).

You can also chat with our Homeseeker team by:

Read Shelter’s succession guidance

After you’ve given notice

Once you’ve given us notice, we’ll contact you to inform you of the end date of your tenancy, make arrangements to return the keys for the property to us, and to arrange an end of tenancy visit with a member of our housing management team.

The end of tenancy visit will be an opportunity for you to discuss any outstanding issues with us, including any alterations that you may have made to the property or any non standard appliances you may have had fitted during the course of your tenancy.  

Clearing the property

Where the tenant or the tenant’s representative gives notice to end the tenancy, they also agree to clear the property of contents before the keys are handed in. We may agree to some good quality belongings being left in for the new tenant’s use (for example good quality carpets and window coverings). Any contents left in the property after the tenancy has ended become the property of Berneslai Homes and we have the right to dispose of such items and recharge the outgoing tenant or their estate. 

Where the former tenant or their representative have not given proper notice to end the tenancy and/or where there is any doubt about their intention in respect of the contents of the home, we will follow the legal process to dispose of any personal items or high value items. This may incur a cost for the former tenant or their representative.

Rent payments

Please remember that rent remains chargeable up to the agreed end date of your tenancy, even if you vacate the property before that date. This is the case even if you receive Universal Credit and/or Housing Benefit. If you wish to discuss your rent account at the end of your tenancy, please contact our Income Team by:

Things to think about before moving out

To avoid additional charges at the end of your tenancy and to protect you against the risk of fraud please make sure that the following are completed before you return the keys to your property to us:

  • Gas, electric and water supply – take final readings of any meters and report these to your supplier, please shut off the gas and electric supply at the meters, and the water supply using the stop cock.
  • Post – we recommend that you contact the Post Office and have any post redirected to your new address, as we’re unable to forward on any post received for you at your old address.
  • Property condition inside - please remove all furniture, carpets (unless agreed to leave during end of tenancy visit), and appliances belonging to you before you leave the property for the final time. If you have a gas cooker, it’s very important that this is removed by a qualified Gas Safe Engineer and that the pipe is correctly sealed. Failure to do so puts yourself and your neighbours in danger and could leave you liable to prosecution.
  • Gardens and outside - all gardens and outbuildings should be clear of belongings and left in a tidy condition.   

If you need to extend your notice

We can allow you to extend your notice time in certain circumstances, for example, if your new home isn’t ready. You must tell us that you want to extend your notice before your tenancy ends (the date we agreed when you gave notice). If you don’t extend your notice and your tenancy ends, we don’t legally have to let you stay in the property. If you wish to discuss extending your notice, please contact the Homeseeker team by: