Your Home

Your Home

Your tenancy agreement is the legal contract which allows you to occupy your home and sets out your rights and responsibilities and those of Cernach Housing Association.

Please make sure you keep this document in a safe place; you should refer to it if you have any questions or anything you need to about your tenancy. The information below provides a brief summary of the key areas of our tenancy agreement.

Ending your tenancy

If you wish to end your tenancy, you must give us at least 28 days' written notice. Notice can be provided by:

Emailing us a signed written notice; or

Completing our Termination of Tenancy Form.

Completed forms can be returned by email: admin@cernachha.co.uk, post or hand delivery to our office. If you are submitting a written letter, please include: your full name, your address, the date you intend to leave the property and a forwarding address.

Where the tenancy is held jointly, all tenants must sign the notice to confirm they agree to end the tenancy.

Before you leave

Before your tenancy ends, we will arrange an inspection of your home. You may be asked to complete any repairs that are your responsibility.

When leaving the property, you must:

Leave the home clean and tidy

Remove all furniture, belongings and rubbish

Return the property in good condition

Any items left behind will be removed by the Association, and you may be charged for the cost of disposal. Where the property is not left in an acceptable condition, you may also be charged for any work required to bring it back to the required standard.

On the day your tenancy ends, all keys must be returned to our office by 10.00am.

If you are responsible for dealing with the tenancy of a deceased relative, the Association will normally ask that the property is cleared, and all keys returned within two weeks of the date of death.

If you require additional time or support, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss your circumstances.

Succession

Recent changes to succession rights have been introduced through the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025.

A co-habiting partner may be entitled to succeed to your tenancy if they:

Have occupied the property as their only or principal home for at least six months immediately before your death; and
We have been formally notified that they are living in the property as their only or principal home.

The six-month qualifying period only begins from the date the Association is notified. Notification can be provided by:

You (the tenant);
A joint tenant; or
The person who wishes to succeed to the tenancy.

If more than one person meets the conditions to succeed to the tenancy, they must agree between themselves who will take over the tenancy. If agreement cannot be reached, the Association will make the decision.

If no qualifying co-habiting partner is entitled to, or wishes to, succeed to the tenancy, a member of your family may be eligible provided they:

Are aged 16 or over at the date of your death;
Occupied the property as their only or principal home at the date of the death of the tenancy holder.
Have lived in the property as their only or principal home for at least six months immediately at the date of the death of the tenancy holder.

As with co-habiting partners, the six-month qualifying period only begins once the Association has been notified that the family member is living in the property as their only or principal home. Notification can be provided by:

You (the tenant);
A joint tenant; or
The family member who wishes to succeed to the tenancy.

The qualifying period is calculated from the date the Association receives this notification.

If a person who is entitled to succeed to the tenancy chooses not to do so, they have the right to remain in the property for up to six months from the date they formally notify the Association that they are declining the tenancy.

Assignation of tenancy

The Assignation of a tenancy occurs when a tenant wants to transfer the rights of their tenancy to a third party.

A tenant can assign their tenancy and tenancy rights to another person (known as the assignee) with consent from the Association. The assignee must be 16 years old or over, must have lived in the property as their only or principal home for 12 months prior to the application for assignation being made and the Association must have been notified of them living in the property the 12-month residency period starts when the landlord has been notified and granted permission to stay).

If you wish to assign your tenancy to someone, please complete an Application for assignment of tenancy form and return it to the office. Alternatively, you can call into the office, and a member of staff will complete it with you.

Subletting

Subletting is where a tenant of the Association wishes to allow part, or the whole of the property they rent from the Association to be used by a third party for a specified period, not usually longer than 6 months. During this time the legal contract still exists between the tenant and Cernach Housing Association. If you sub-let, you remain responsible for paying the rent and for any problems caused by your sub-tenant.

If you wish to sub-let your property you must complete an application to sub-let form.

Taking in a lodger

Taking in a lodger is where you rent out a room in your home to someone else, but you keep living in the property.

The key information to note is the tenant must obtain our written consent before renting a room to a lodger. We will not refuse unreasonably. If you want to take in a lodger, you must put this in writing or call into the office, and we can take the details from you. If you are sending a letter, please include your name and address, the name of your lodger, their date of birth, address, relationship to you (if any) and date of when they are planning to move in.

You can find further information in our Allocations Policy.