Tenancy Agreement

Your Residency Agreement is the legal contract that describes your ‘rights and responsibilities’ (as the resident) and Lincs Rural’s ‘rights and responsibilities’ (as the landlord).

It also sets out the rent and service charges you need to pay for your home, and informs you about the services you can expect from Lincs Rural.

Lincs Rural uses probationary Residency Agreements (or ‘starter’residency agreements) for some new residents. If you have a ‘Starter Residency’, you can live in your home for 12 months. At the end of this time your residency will be reviewed and a decision will be made as to whether to grant you an assured residency.

Lincs Rural will usually agree to an ‘Assured Residency’ if you have kept to your side of the Agreement – for example, paying your rent on time and not behaving in an anti-social way.

Assured Residency Agreement

This is a ‘lifetime’ residency, which usually gives you the right to remain in your property for the rest of your life, if you keep to your side of the Residency agreement.

If you have any problems keeping to the terms set out in your Residency Agreement, for example you fall behind with your rent, please contact us straight away and Lincs Rural will do what we can to help you.

If you don’t keep to the terms of your Residency, you are effectively breaking your contract and this could lead to you losing your home.

Ending Your Residency

Your Residency does not automatically end when you move out of your home. It is a legal agreement and can only be ended by you giving us proper notification to terminate your Residency or by a Court Order, so please plan ahead if you are moving.

If you wish to end your Residency you must give Lincs Rural at least 28 days (4 weeks) notice in writing. All Residencies start and end on a Monday, so your notice period will start on the first Monday after your notice is received.

If you are joint resident and one of you terminates the Residency by giving Lincs Rural four weeks’ notice, the whole Residency comes to an end. Lincs Rural does not legally have to allow the other joint resident(s) to stay in the home, it depends on your circumstances, and whether the property could be more suitable for another type of household (like a family for instance).

If you are the executor or next of kin of a resident who has passed away, Lincs Rural still requires 4 weeks’ notice for ending residencies, unless there is a successor or surviving joint resident. Please contact us and we will be happy to discuss this further and assist you as much as possible.

All properties must be returned in accordance with the ‘Lettable Standards’, which will be included with your acknowledgment letter of your termination. Lincs Rural will inspect your property within one working day of receiving your notice and, if necessary, advise you of any work that must be completed before you leave. Another inspection will be arranged the week before you leave to make sure that you have completed any works that you were requested to carry out before the termination date.

LRHA Property Condition and Lettable Standards

A member of staff will then arrange to meet you at the property to collect the keys and conduct a final inspection. It is essential that you attend on this day to officially sign and hand the keys back to the Association, as you will still be liable for the property until then. If any work has not been carried out by the end of your Residency, you will be charged a relevant sum.

It is important to make arrangements for your rent to be paid up to date. A statement will be issued with your acknowledgement letter. You are also required to inform Lincs Rural of your new forwarding address.

For any further help and assistance please contact us.

Rural Gold Star Service

The Rural Gold Star Service is Lincs Rural’s way of saying thank you to residents who pay their rent on time and follow the terms of their Residency Agreement.

To become a Rural Gold Star member, you need to apply and meet the following criteria

• Have held the residency for at least six months;
• Have maintained a clear rent account for the past three months, or have a repayment agreement in place to clear any arrears within six months and have kept to the Agreement for three months; and
• Have kept to all aspects of the Residency Agreement, which includes no anti-social behaviour, and keeping your home and garden clean and tidy.

Member benefits include entry into two prize draws a year which four members will receive £250. Also where possible, provision of faster routine repairs and priority with planned maintenance.

If you wish to apply please complete the Rural Gold Star Service application form.