How to end a Council Tenancy

What you need to do
Other important information
Special circumstances
Contact us
Useful links

This information is intended to help customers deal with the ending of their tenancy in the correct manner. If you are in doubt, or need further guidance, please contact your local Housing Office.

What you need to do

The tenancy agreement you signed when you were given the keys to the property is a legal contract and in order to end the tenancy you must:

Give four weeks written notice
Ensure the premises are clean and tidy, and fit to re-let to somebody else
Pay any outstanding rent
Ensure the keys are handed into your local Housing Office before you leave

1. Contact your local housing office

You will be given/sent a Notice of Tenancy Termination (A) form, and if appropriate, a Housing Benefit Overlap Request form to complete and return. These forms ask for your name, address, forwarding address, reason for moving, etc. All notifications to end a tenancy must be in writing.

The notice period required to end a tenancy is four weeks, starting on Monday. The tenancy ends when the four weeks notice period has been served.

The tenancy will still only end after the keys to the property have been handed into the Housing Office.

If the keys are received after 10.00am on the last Monday morning, the rent will be charged for the rest of that week.

Handing in the keys during the four week notice period will not end the tenancy any earlier.

NB: Handing in the keys without giving the notice required by the tenancy agreement does not end the tenancy and you will be liable for the full rent for the next four weeks.

2. Ensure that the property and the garden and any out-buildings are clean, tidy, in good condition and that you have removed all your belongings before moving out.

We will not be responsible for anything you leave in the property and you will be charged:

If we have to remove anything
If we have to repair or replace anything which has been damaged or is missing
If we have to clean the property

3. Pay any outstanding rent

The rent account must be cleared before the tenancy ends. If this is not possible, contact your Housing Officer, or if the tenancy has already ended, contact the Former Tenants Section at Paderborn House, Bolton (telephone 01204 335226, 335227 or 335252). They will discuss the matter with you.

NB: If you have been receiving Housing Benefit, any adjustments to your entitlement, or to Supporting People Subsidy, could affect your rent account now or at a later date.

4. Hand the keys into your local Housing Office

Do not post keys through the office letter box, hand them in so that you can be given a receipt to keep as proof.

This is so that the tenancy can be formally ended without you incurring any extra costs.

Other important information

If Housing Benefit is being paid towards your rent this usually stops as soon as you move out of the property and can only be paid to the end of the tenancy in certain cases. This means the full rent will be charged. Contact Housing Benefits or ask at the Local Housing Office for a "Housing Benefit Overlap Request" form.
Any unpaid rent will be recovered from you.
If you are considering leaving the property because you are having problems, please discuss this with your Housing Officer, we may be able to help.

Special circumstances

1. When someone goes into a nursing home or hospital

Please notify the local Housing Office (by letter, telephone or by visiting in person) of:

the date that it was decided that the tenant would not be returning to their property because they are in a nursing home or hospital and that the tenancy can be terminated.
you will be given or sent a "Notice of Tenancy Termination (B)" form to complete and return. This asks for your name, address, relationship to the tenant, address of the property in question, etc. It is important that this document is completed so that the tenancy can be ended correctly.
the notice period required to end a tenancy is four weeks.

The tenancy will still only end after the keys to the property have been handed into the Housing Office.

If the keys are received after 10am on a Monday morning, the rent will be charged for the rest of that week.

If a longer period is needed so that the property can be emptied, rent will continue to be charged.

NB: Housing Benefit cannot be paid after the tenant has decided not to return to the property and the full rent will be charged until the tenancy has ended. If you need any help or advice please ask.

2. When someone dies

Please inform the local Housing Office (by letter, telephone or by visiting in person):

that the tenant has died and that the tenancy can be terminated.
the date of death, especially if the tenant was receiving any Housing Benefit towards the cost of the rent, because benefit cannot be paid after someone dies.
you will be given or sent a "Notice of Tenancy Termination (B)" form to complete and return. This asks for your name, address, relationship to the tenant, address of the property in question, etc. It is important that this document is completed so that the tenancy can be ended correctly.
the normal notice period required to end a tenancy is four weeks.

However, in the circumstances this may be reduced to a shorter period. The tenancy will still only end after the keys to the property have been handed into the Housing Office.

If the keys are received after 10am on a Monday morning, the rent will be charged for the rest of that week.

If a longer period is needed so that the property can be emptied , rent will continue to be charged until the keys to the property have been handed into the Housing Office.

NB: Housing Benefit cannot be paid after the tenant has died and the full rent will be charged until the tenancy has ended.
If you need any help or advice please ask.

3. When someone goes into prison

If you are in prison (either on remand or serving a prison sentence) you must ensure that Bolton at Home is informed.
It may be in your best interests for you to end your tenancy, especially if you are likely to be away from home for more than 13 weeks.

Contact your Housing Officer to discuss the situation or ask your Probation Officer to contact us on your behalf.

If you were receiving Housing Benefit towards the cost of your rent, this will stop depending on how long you will be away and you will be responsible for paying the full rent.

Abandoning

If you move out of the property without giving the necessary written notice, you will be charged the full rent from when you left until we find out you have gone, plus the four weeks in lieu of notice.
Large debts accrue unnecessarily this way.

If a "Notice to Quit" is served on the property because it appears that you have moved out without notifying us, the full rent will be charged for the four weeks up to the tenancy ending.

We do no want you to be in debt, talk to us before you leave.

Contact us

For further information, please contact your housing officer at your local housing officer. (See link below)

Useful links

Neighbourhood Housing office contact list
Notice of Tenancy Termination (A) form (Word 76kb opens in a new window)
Housing Benefit Overlap Request form (Word 39kb opens in a new window)
Notice of Tenancy Termination (B) form (Word 67kb opens in a new window)
Problems paying your rent?