Your tenancy agreement
Your tenancy agreement or lease is the legal contract between you and Optivo. This page provides information about your responsibilities as a resident and ours as a landlord.
As an Optivo resident, you must:
- Pay your rent on time. If you receive welfare benefits, let us know immediately about any changes which may affect your rent or your ability to pay
- Live in your home - you cannot sublet your home to someone else
- Allow us access to your home for gas inspections or to carry out repairs we’re responsible for
- Let us know if you’re going to be away for more than 28 days. And give us details of who we can contact in case of an emergency.
- Be a respectful neighbour – make sure everyone in your home (including visitors) is considerate and doesn’t cause a nuisance to neighbours. Read more about Anti-social behaviour.
- Tell us when you intend to move out and give us at least a month’s notice
- Get our permission if you want to make changes or alterations to your home
- Get our permission if you want to run a business from your home
- Never use your home for any illegal activities.
We expect you to:
- Keep to your tenancy conditions
- Look after your home (and garden where applicable) and not cause damage to it
- Tell us about repairs needed to your home. Remember you are responsible for damage you cause to your home
- Report damage you, members of your household or visitors have caused
- Always keep us up to date with who’s living in your home
- Keep your shared areas clear and not leave caravans, boats or untaxed vehicles on your drive
- Take responsibility for your personal contents (we recommend you take out home contents insurance)
If you break your tenancy agreement we’ll contact you and take appropriate action. If it’s a serious breach, we can take legal action.
Our responsibilities
- Keep to the tenancy conditions
- Take your views into account and consult with you about significant changes to our services
- Carry out the repairs we’re responsible for
- Allow you to carry out your own improvements and alterations with our permission
- Allow you to swap homes with another social landlord or council tenant. This is providing you’re not in rent arrears, have no history of anti-social behaviour and your tenancy agreement permits it
- Give you information on the personal information we hold on you. See our Privacy Statement.
Updating us about who lives in your home.
We expect you to always keep us up to date with who’s living in your home.
Find out more about how to update us.
If you are one of our residents and keen to help Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country then we are here to help. We want to support residents who’d like to volunteer a spare room through the Government's 'Homes for Ukraine' programme.
Before you apply for the scheme we ask that you contact us first.
Find out more about the process involved.