It's important to know your rights as a social housing resident
We've created this webpage to help you to understand your rights as a social housing tenant, and to spell-out the ways we (Bolton at Home) and other organisations can help you to exercise these rights. This includes the various ways you can hold us to account if you think we've fallen short of expectations - such as making a complaint or approaching the Housing Ombudsman.
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You have a right to be safe in your home
You have a right to be safe in your home
As a social housing landlord, we have a legal duty to provide safe and habitable properties for our customers that meet health and safety legislation.
This includes ensuring that your home is free from serious hazards, including damp and mould, as required by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), the Housing Act 2004, and the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023.
More information relating to the Housing Act and Safety Rating system can be found here:
- Tap here for details on the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) - guidance for landlords and property-related professionals (opens in a new tab).
- Tap here for details on The Housing Act 2004 (opens in a new tab).
- Tap here for details on The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2024 (opens in a new tab).
We adhere to the requirements of the Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018, which is designed to ensure that all rented accommodation is fit for human habitation and to strengthen tenants’ means of redress against the minority of landlords, who do not fulfil their legal obligations to keep their properties safe. More information relating to the Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018 can be found by tapping here (opens in a new tab).
We also have to comply with The Building Safety Act 2022, which offers customers living in buildings over seven storeys or 18 metres tall more rights and protections. It ensures that buildings are properly maintained and faults are fixed whilst protecting customers from costs. This offers customers greater peace of mind in a safe and secure home. More information relating to The Building Safety Act 2022 can be found by tapping here (opens in a new tab).
Important advice and guidance on staying safe at home
You have a right to a good quality home that meets the Decent Homes Standard, and a good neighbourhood to live in
You have a right to a good quality home that meets the Decent Homes Standard, and a good neighbourhood to live in
As your landlord, we're committed to keeping your home in good repair and ensuring that our neighbourhoods are looked after and are good places to live, work, visit, and play.
We'll provide you with notice of any visits to carry out repairs or maintenance or to view the condition and state of repair of the premises.
- If you need to report a repair, you can tap here for further information on how to do it.
- For more information on how we tackle and resolve neighbourhood nuisance, antisocial behaviour (ASB) and Hate Crime, tap here.
- For information on our approach to maintaining our land, tap here.
- For details on how we can support victims of domestic abuse and violence, tap here.
- For information on home adaptations and our Care and Repair service, tap here.
- For information on garages and car parking, tap here.
You have a right to know how your landlord is performing
You have a right to know how your landlord is performing
We're committed to being a transparent landlord and showing our customers how we're performing in various areas.
We publish information relating to a number of service areas, including repairs, complaints, safety, and how we spend the money we generate, so you can hold us to account.
Our website contains lots of readily available information you can access, including our annual report:
You can make a complaint, leave a compliment, or make a suggestion
You have the right to have your complaints dealt with promptly and fairly, with access to the Housing Ombudsman (who will give you swift and fair redress when needed)
We want you to be happy with the services you receive and we value your feedback. We welcome both positive and negative comments as they help us to improve and learn from our experiences. We want to:
- listen to your feedback, good or bad,
- deal with complaints efficiently and effectively,
- keep you up to date with progress,
- and be open and honest about the process.
If we fail to deliver on our promises, you may wish to complain. If you'd like:
- steps on how to make a complaint, leave a compliment, or make a suggestion,
- details on how we're learning and improving,
- and details on how to approach the Housing Ombudsman (if you still aren't satisfied with how we've dealt with your complaint)..
..please tap here to visit our Complaints, compliments, and suggestions page.
External information on complaints and the Housing Ombudsman
- The Housing Ombudsman is a free service that helps resolve disputes between tenants and landlords and you can read more about it here: www.housing-ombudsman.org.uk (opens in a new tab).
- Our approach to handling complaints is compliant with the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code, which you can read by tapping here (opens in a new tab).
- The UK government website also provides information for social housing tenants, including how to complain, and you can access it by tapping here (opens in a new tab).
You have the right to be treated with respect
You have the right to be treated with respect
We're committed to treating all our customers with respect, and we have a range of mechanisms in place that support us to do so.
- Together with Tenants is a sector-wide initiative focused on strengthening the relationship between residents and housing association landlords. To read the six commitments we've made as part of the Together with Tenants charter, tap here.
- We have to demonstrate that we meet the strict requirements contained within the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer Standards. The Regulator of Social Housing’s latest Consumer Standards latest standards can be found by tapping here (opens in a new tab).
- Before we attend your home to carry out a repair or check the condition of the property, you'll recieve notice from us. Appointments can be confirmed in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, the use of text messages and letters.
Ways to be involved and tell us what you think
You have the right to have your voice heard by your landlord
We want to give you more opportunities to share your views to help us improve our services.
Tap the tabs below to learn more about some of the ways you can have your say, or tap here for a full list of ways you can be involved as a customer.
Join our Resident Voices Channel
Complete surveys. Improve your neighbourhood. Get rewarded. Join our Resident Voices Channel today:
Give your opinion to improve the services you get from us, suggest new ideas, and get free shopping vouchers- all from the comfort and safety of your own home.
Be part of our new Resident Voices Channel (RVC) and share your thoughts to help us deliver a better service for all tenants.
Join our Group Customer Scrutiny Panel
Join our Group Customer Scrutiny Panel
Made up of a majority of tenants, alongside leaseholders and customers, our Scrutiny panel's main roles are to:
- Deliver independent scrutiny of our housing services with the aim of making them better for our customers,
- Ensure our housing services are accessible and meet the needs of all customers,
- Promote better value for money, identifying any areas they feel savings could be made,
- Inform, and- where possible- involve more of our tenants in their activities,
- Support the aims and objectives of the Bolton at Home Group.
Join our Resident Building Safety Panel
Do you live in one of our high-rise buildings** (at least seven stories, or 18 metres in height)
**Our current high-rise buildings are:
- Rainford House,
- Blackshaw House,
- Rogerstead House,
- Fernstead House,
- and Arundel Court.
If you live in one of these buildings, you're eligible to join our Resident Building Safety Panel, where you'll have an exclusive space to voice your opinions and shape our decision making on important safety matters going forward (and we may offer you rewards for your contributions).
Join our Group Operations Committee or become a Group Board Member
Our Group Operations Committee:
Members of our Group Operations Committee make sure that our frontline services are working to provide the best possible services for our tenants and other customers in our communities.
At any one time the Committee is made up of around seven people, with at least half of members being tenants, former tenants or other customers of our services. You can learn more about our Operations Committee and see vacancies when they're available by tapping here.
Our Group Board:
The Board is a group of appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of the organisation.
Our Board sets the strategic direction and is accountable to BH customers and other stakeholders for our overall performance in delivering housing and regeneration services to its customers. You can learn more about our Board, and see vacancies when they're available by tapping here.
Stay in touch with us on social media
Follow us on Facebook:
- Tap here to visit our main Bolton at Home Facebook page (opens in a new tab).
- You can also tap here to follow our Bolton at Home Communities and UCAN centres Facebook page (opens in a new tab) for the latest updates from our UCAN centres and Community Engagement teams.
- And you can tap here to follow our Bolton at Work Facebook page, which regularly shares details on local employment and training opportunities (opens in a new tab).
Follow us on Twitter/X:
You can tap here to follow us on Twitter/X (opens in a new tab) to get the latest news and events information.
Follow us on LinkedIn:
You can tap here to follow us on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab).
Home ownership
You have rights if you’re a tenant thinking about buying your Bolton at Home property
- If you became our tenant before 28 March 2011: please tap here to visit the gov.uk site for more information on the Right to Buy scheme (opens in a new tab).
- If you became our tenant after 28 March 2011: you only qualify for the ‘Right to Acquire’ which has a set discount of £9,000 off the purchase price. Please tap here to learn more about the 'Right to Acquire' scheme on the government website (opens in a new tab).
If you'd like a rough idea of the discount that you may be eligible for under the 'Right to Buy' scheme, tap here (opens in a new tab).
For more information on buying your Bolton at Home property through the 'Right to Buy' or 'Right to Acquire' schemes, please phone our Home Ownership Team on 01204 328000 or email: homeownership@boltonathome.org.uk.
We also have other options if you're interested in owning a home
- Rent to Buy:
Rent to Buy helps tenants in England save for a deposit to buy a home by offering properties at a discount. This is normally 20% below market rent (source: gov.uk).
For more information on how Rent to Buy works and eligibility, tap here to visit the gov.uk website (opens in a new tab).
You can also see some of our most recent new build developments with Rent to Buy properties by tapping here. If you're interested in our Rent to Buy scheme/properties, please contact our Landlord Services Team (www.boltonathome.org.uk/landlord-services) or call our Contact Centre on 01204 328000.
- Shared Ownership:
Put simply, shared ownership is a cross between buying and renting a home. You buy a share of the property, usually between a quarter and three quarters, and then rent the part you don’t own at a reduced rate. You then have the option to buy a bigger share in the property in future.
For further information on our Shared Ownership offer (through our 'Stonecross Homes' brand), tap here.
Other customer rights and regulation information
More information on regulation and your rights
Your rights and responsibilities will be outlined in your Tenancy Agreement. It will detail things like rent and service charges, repairs, and acceptable behaviour. A summary of your rights are:
- Right to possession: you can live in your home for as long as you want to, providing you keep to the regulations and conditions of the tenancy.
- Right to Buy/Acquire: you may have the right to buy or acquire your home at a discount.
- Right of succession: you can pass on your home to someone in your family living with you when you die, if they have been living with you in the property for 12 months immediately prior to your death. This can only happen once during a tenancy (see your Tenancy Agreement for the list of people able to succeed).
- Right to take in lodgers: with our permission, you can take in lodgers so long as your home will not become overcrowded.
- Right to improve your home: you can carry out improvements to your home with our permission.
- Right to compensation for improvements: you can be paid for certain improvements you have made if you move house.
- Right to exchange: with our permission, you can exchange your property for another one.
- Right to consultation: you have a right to be consulted on housing management matters.
- Right to information: you have a right to a Tenancy Agreement and information on your rights. You can ask to look at information that we hold on our records about you
If you'd like to see our most frequently-asked questions regarding your tenancy, please tap here.
For more information on how we're governed, please tap here.
Social housing providers are regulated by the Regulator of Social Housing, which ensures social housing providers are financially stable, well-managed, and meet these obligations. For more information on the Regulator of Social Housing, please tap here (opens in a new tab).
If you'd like details on how to access personal data held by Bolton at Home, please tap here.
Here are some additional resources to support you to understand your rights
- Housing Rights is a charity that offers advice on social housing rights: tap here to learn more about social housing tenants' rights and responsibilities on the Housing Rights website (opens in a new tab).
- Shelter (also a UK charity) have a page to help you understand your tenancy rights - tap here to view it (opens in a new tab).
- Shelter also have a page on using the 'right to repair' scheme where certain qualifying repairs have not been completed within a prescribed period - tap here to view it (opens in a new tab).
- The gov.uk website has a page explaining the Regulator of Social Housing's role and what happens when they receive a complaint or a referral - tap here to view it (opens in a new tab).
- The gov.uk website also has a page that clarifies the support you can expect if you're a tenant experiencing antisocial behaviour - tap here to view it (opens in a new tab).
Together with tenants signpost
Did you know we've made six commitments as part of the Together with tenants charter..?
As part of our ongoing efforts across the organisation to strengthen our relationship with customers, enhance levels of engagement and improve satisfaction, we follow the Together with tenants framework and charter.
The charter consists of six commitments and gives us another opportunity to put customers at the heart of strategic decision-making, strengthen our accountability, and work together to deliver positive change.
Know your rights: Four Million Homes
To help you understand and exercise your rights as a social housing resident, there’s a government-funded initiative called Four Million Homes
The Four Million Homes initiative offers advice and training to anyone living in the four million social housing homes in England. The main goals of the initiative are:
- to empower you with knowledge of your landlord’s (Bolton at Home's) responsibilities to provide safe and decent homes,
- to enable you to feel confident in reporting problems to your landlord,
- to encourage you to be involved and take an active role in how homes are managed,
- and to help you to know your rights and how to access the Housing Ombudsman service.
To access a full suite of guidance and training on your rights as a social housing resident, please visit: www.fourmillionhomes.org (opens in a new window).