Housing Association tenancies

Starter tenancy

If you haven’t been a housing association tenant before, you may be offered a starter tenancy with your housing association. This is like a one-year trial period.

You become an assured or fixed term tenant after 12 months, unless your housing association has

• started action to evict you
• extended your starter tenancy

Assured tenancy

You can live in your home for the rest of your life as long as you keep to the terms of the agreement. 

Fixed term tenancy

You can live in your home for a set number of years.   A review will be carried out before the end of the fixed term.

Your rights

Your rights will be set out in your tenancy agreement. Contact your housing association if you aren’t clear what they are.

They may include:

• the Right to Acquire your home at a discount after five years
• having your home repaired
• swapping your home with another council or housing association tenant

If you have these rights, you will have to ask your housing association before you do things like swap your home with another tenant.

More about assured short hold tenancies - Gov.uk