1. Council Housing
1.5 Rights and responsibilities of Council tenants
Generally Council tenants are given a copy of a Tenants' Handbook which provides much useful and easy-to-follow information on both the rights and responsibilities of Council tenants and the services that the Council provides for them.
Repairs and Maintenance
The responsibility for repairs to Council houses is shared between the Council and the tenant. In essence, the Council is responsible for maintaining the fabric and permanent fittings for the building in good condition whereas the tenant is responsible for internal decoration, furnishings and removable fittings like clothes lines, TV aerials, curtain rails and so on.
Repairs are categorised by the Council as emergency, urgent, routine or 'other' and dealt with accordingly. Planned maintenance to replace and/or upgrade parts of the building fabric takes place according to priorities and a programme set by the Council, generally after consultation with local tenants' associations or representative groups.
Adaptations and additional housing support
The Council ensures that support is available to help older or disabled people to continue living comfortably and independently in their own homes. Funding is available to adapt Council houses to meet the care needs of a Council tenant. Typical amendments carried out include putting in showers, extra heating, handrails and ramped accesses.
Requests for adaptations should be put in writing to the Council. The applicant's needs are usually then assessed jointly by officers from both the Social Work/Services and the Housing Department. An occupational therapist's assessment is likely and a more comprehensive community care assessment may also be required. For more information contact the Council.
Buying the Council house under the 'Right to Buy' scheme
All Council tenants who held a tenancy prior to 30th September 2002 have a statutory right to buy their houses after two years' residence if they were tenants. For new tenants who hold a Scottish Secure Tenancy after 30th September 2002, and tenants who transfer (5 years from September 2002 for new tenants and for tenants who transferred after 30th September 2002) in a Council house (which does not necessarily have to be the same Council house as the one they want to buy) they will receive a minimum discount of 32% (20% from September 2002) on the valuation price, rising to a 60% (35% from September 2002) discount after 30 (15 after September 2002) years' residence. From September 2002 there is no difference between a flat and a house. There is a maximum discount of £15,000.
There is a possibility that tenants will not be able to exercise the right to buy if that right has been suspended, either for rent or council tax arrears, or the Council has served a notice of recovery of possession on the tenant. Local authorities may have designated an area, a 'pressured' area, which affects the right to buy for some tenants. The Council should be contacted for clarification on this.
Prospective 'Right to Buy' applicants should ask the Council's housing staff for the relevant application form and accompanying booklet. The completed form should be returned to the Council. The department will be specified in the booklet.
The sale of the property can only take place after its value has been officially assessed by the District Valuer (DV), a government official. There is no right of appeal against the DV's valuation.
Once the valuation has been received by the Council, the Legal Services Department will make the applicant an offer of purchase. It is very important at this stage that the applicant has the services of a solicitor to help them complete the legal transaction properly. The whole Right to Buy transaction from the date of application to the point of legal completion of the purchase can take several months. Check with the Council for the likely timescale. A useful Scottish Executive leaflet 'Your Right to Buy Your Home' explains the different ways you can exercise your right to buy your home. It is available from the Scottish Executive Development Department, Housing Division 1-G, Victoria Quay, EH6 6QQ or from the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk.
Transfers and mutual exchanges
Any Council tenant can apply for a transfer or to join a mutual exchange scheme. Most transfers and mutual exchanges take place locally although there are also opportunities (but a lot fewer of them) for Council tenants to swap their houses for public sectors houses in other parts of the UK.
Applications for transfers within the Council area are made usually to the Council's Housing Department and assessed and pointed in accordance with Council's Allocation Policy and Points System (see Section 1.2). A property is then allocated in the same way to a transfer applicant as to a general needs applicant.
There may be other transfer or financial incentive schemes addressing specific needs in the area. Check with the Council
The mutual exchange scheme is designed to help tenants who want to move within the Council area and anyone renting a house from the Council. If two tenants agree that they would like to swap houses, each must request this in writing and not move until the Council has given its written consent for this to go ahead.
HOMES
HOMES, the Housing Mobility and Exchange Services, manage similar schemes, which help to reduce the barriers for people moving locally or nationally in the UK's social housing sector. These are the HOMES Mobility Scheme, HOMESWAP and Available HOMES at http://www.availablehomes.org.uk
HOMES Mobility Scheme
This is a nomination scheme that helps people who have social, health or employment reasons for needing to move to other parts of the UK. The landlord, or local housing authority, nominates the applicant to another landlord and if the applicant is accepted onto the scheme, they may be awarded additional priority. Landlords participate in the scheme on a voluntary basis, so they have no obligation to re-house people through the scheme. The applicant should contact their landlord or local housing authority for further advice.
HOMESWAP
HOMESWAP is a mutual exchange service for council or housing association tenants wishing to exchange locally or nationally (the Scottish Secure Tenancy includes the 'right to exchange'). The scheme is self-facilitated so people need to register on to the scheme either via http://www.availablehomes.org.uk or by post to HOMES. Once registered they can search online for potential HOMESWAP partners and every six weeks they will receive lists of potential matches, if any are found. Tenants can also visit their local housing office to search through HOMESWAP lists and obtain registration forms.
www.availablehomes.org.uk
Available HOMES is an Internet service which includes a facility to conduct online searches for properties that are available for immediate let, exchange or low cost home ownership throughout the UK. Anyone can use the site to find and apply for houses for immediate let or low cost home ownership, but to use the online HOMESWAP service the user must be a tenant of a local authority or housing association (RSL).
The site also includes information on other schemes, such as the HOMES Mobility Scheme, details on forthcoming events and gives landlords access to the UK online HOMES Directory.
For further information on any of the HOMES services please contact:
Debbie Burns, National Manager (Scotland), 6 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh, EH12 5AA. Tel: 0131 226 7216 Fax: 0131 226 7233 Email: customer.services@homes.org.uk
Contact the Council for details of accommodation available.
