As a secure tenant, you can normally live in the property for the rest of your life, as long as you do not break the conditions of the tenancy. As an assured housing association tenant, you can normally live in your property for the rest of your life. New tenants may start with a 12 month 'trial' tenancy.
Key points
✓As a secure tenant, you can normally live in the property for the rest of your life, as long as you do not break the conditions of the tenancy.
✓New council tenants may be offered an introductory tenancy and new housing association tenants a starter tenancy, which usually last 12 months and are like a 'trial' period.
✓Your council is responsible for making sure the structure of your property is kept in good condition, gas and electricity appliances work safely, shared parts are kept in good condition and fire safety issues are dealt with.
✓Awaab's Law means social landlords must investigate significant hazards caused by damp or mould and all emergency hazards in your home and make them safe within set deadlines.
✓If you have a problem, complain to your landlord first, then contact the Housing Ombudsman if you and your landlord cannot resolve the problem.
Types of social housing tenancy
Secure tenancy (council)
You can rent out rooms, but you cannot sub-let the whole property
You can buy your property through the Right to Buy scheme
You can swap your home with another council or housing association tenant, with your council's permission
You may be able to transfer your tenancy to someone else in some circumstances
You'll need permission from your council for some types of improvement work
Assured tenancy (housing association)
An assured tenancy means you can normally live in your property for the rest of your life
A fixed-term tenancy usually lasts for at least 5 years, and your landlord will decide whether it is renewed
Your rights may include buying your home
Your rights may include having your home repaired
Your rights may include swapping your home with another council or housing association tenant
A flexible council tenancy is for a fixed period, usually at least 5 years, though in some cases it may be between 2 and 5 years. At the end of the fixed period the council may offer you another fixed-term tenancy, offer you a secure tenancy or not renew your tenancy. They must explain their reasons if they decide not to renew your tenancy and give you a chance to challenge the decision.
Introductory and starter tenancies: You automatically become a secure or flexible tenant after an introductory tenancy of 12 months, unless your council has started action to evict you or extended your introductory tenancy for a further 6 months. With an introductory tenancy you cannot make major improvements to the property, swap your property with another council tenant, or apply to buy your property through the Right to Buy scheme. You become an assured or fixed term tenant after a starter tenancy of 12 months, unless your housing association has started action to evict you or extended your starter tenancy.
GOV.UK says you will usually have a Scottish secure tenancy if you rent your home from the council, a housing association or housing co-operative in Scotland. This page covers England.
Your right to repairs
GOV.UK says your council is responsible for making sure:
✓Yes: the structure of your property is kept in good condition, including the walls, ceiling, roof and windows
✓Yes: gas and electricity appliances work safely
✓Yes: shared parts of a building or housing estate are kept in good condition
✓Yes: fire safety issues are dealt with
For a housing association home, GOV.UK says your landlord has to make sure your home meets certain standards. It must be:
✓Yes: safe and free from 'category 1 hazards'
✓Yes: in a reasonable state of repair
✓Yes: equipped with reasonably modern facilities
✓Yes: warm enough
Your council will have a published policy setting out the timescales in which it will carry out different types of repairs. Under Awaab's Law, social landlords must investigate significant hazards caused by damp or mould and all emergency hazards in your home and make them safe within set deadlines. Emergency hazards, for example dangerous electrical faults, damaged external doors or windows and major leaks, must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours.
See the full Repairs & Disrepair guide for detailed advice on getting repairs done, and our guide to damp and mould. Your landlord cannot treat you unfairly for making a complaint.
Succession rights, inheriting a tenancy
GOV.UK says secure and flexible tenants may be able to transfer a tenancy to someone else, or, in some circumstances, pass on a tenancy to someone when they die:
✓Yes: Secure tenancies granted before 1 April 2012 can be transferred or passed on only once
✓Yes: Some secure and flexible tenancies granted from 1 April 2012 may mean you can transfer or pass on your tenancy more than once, so check your tenancy agreement
✓Yes: In England, section 86A of the Housing Act 1985 says a person is qualified to succeed a secure tenant if they occupy the dwelling-house as their only or principal home at the time of the tenant's death and are the tenant's spouse or civil partner
✓Yes: A person who was living with the tenant as if they were a married couple or civil partners is treated as the tenant's spouse or civil partner
✓Yes: If the dwelling-house is not occupied by a spouse or civil partner, a person can succeed only if an express term of the tenancy makes provision for their succession
✓Yes: The spouse or civil partner rule does not apply if the tenant was a successor, unless an express term of the tenancy makes provision for a person to succeed a successor
For an assured periodic tenancy, section 17 of the Housing Act 1988 says that where the sole tenant dies and the tenant's spouse or civil partner was occupying the dwelling-house as their only or principal home immediately before the death, the tenancy vests in the spouse or civil partner.
Transfers and mutual exchanges
✓Yes: You can swap your council or housing association home with another tenant if you follow certain rules and get permission from your landlord, which is often called mutual exchange
✓Yes: Section 92 of the Housing Act 1985 says it is a term of every secure tenancy that the tenant may, with the written consent of the landlord, assign the tenancy to another secure tenant who satisfies the condition in the section
✓Yes: The consent shall not be withheld except on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 3, and if withheld otherwise than on one of those grounds it shall be treated as given
✓Yes: The landlord may not rely on any of the grounds in Schedule 3 unless within 42 days of the tenant's application for the consent they have served on the tenant a notice specifying the ground and giving particulars of it
GOV.UK says to contact your landlord if you are a housing association tenant and want to swap homes. It says swapping your home is available in England and Wales only.
With an introductory tenancy you cannot swap your property with another council tenant.
If you are thinking of buying, see our guide to the Right to Buy.
Complaining about a social landlord
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Use your landlord's complaints process
GOV.UK says to complain to your council or landlord first, and that they should have a complaints policy that you can follow. The Housing Ombudsman says the Complaint Handling Code requires a landlord to have a 2-stage complaints process with set response timescales, and that since April 2024 the Code has been statutory, which means landlords must comply with its requirements by law.
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Housing Ombudsman (England)
Contact the Housing Ombudsman if you and your landlord cannot resolve the problem. The Housing Ombudsman says you can bring a complaint to it for investigation if you have completed your landlord's complaint process and the issues have not been resolved or you are unhappy with the way your landlord has handled it, and that it can also help if your landlord is not responding to a complaint you made to it. You can email info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0300 111 3000.
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What the Housing Ombudsman looks at
The Housing Ombudsman investigates complaints about a landlord's housing management, for example property condition and repairs, charges and estate management, complaint handling, and antisocial behaviour affecting you in your home.
We have not covered the complaint routes for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland on this page.
What is the difference between a secure tenancy and an assured tenancy?
As a secure tenant, you can normally live in the property for the rest of your life, as long as you do not break the conditions of the tenancy. GOV.UK says that at the end of a starter tenancy a housing association tenant will be offered either an assured tenancy, meaning you can normally live in your property for the rest of your life, or a fixed-term tenancy, usually lasting for at least 5 years.
Can I pass my social housing tenancy to a family member when I die?
Secure tenancies granted before 1 April 2012 can be transferred or passed on only once. Some secure and flexible tenancies granted from 1 April 2012 may mean you can transfer or pass on your tenancy more than once, so check your tenancy agreement. In England, a person is qualified to succeed a secure tenant if they occupy the dwelling-house as their only or principal home at the time of the tenant's death and are the tenant's spouse or civil partner.
Can I transfer or exchange my social housing tenancy?
You can swap your council or housing association home with another tenant if you follow certain rules and get permission from your landlord, which is often called mutual exchange. The consent shall not be withheld except on one or more of the grounds set out in Schedule 3 to the Housing Act 1985. GOV.UK says swapping your home is available in England and Wales only.
How do I complain about a social housing landlord?
GOV.UK says to complain to your council or landlord first, and that they should have a complaints policy that you can follow. Contact the Housing Ombudsman if you and your landlord cannot resolve the problem. You can email info@housing-ombudsman.org.uk or call 0300 111 3000.
What repairs is my social landlord responsible for?
GOV.UK says your council is responsible for making sure the structure of your property is kept in good condition, including the walls, ceiling, roof and windows, and that gas and electricity appliances work safely. Awaab's Law means social landlords must investigate significant hazards caused by damp or mould and all emergency hazards in your home and make them safe within set deadlines.
Know Your Rights UK. "Social Housing Rights: Council & Housing Association Tenants." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/housing/social-housing