Find out about your rights as a tenant and tenancy agreements.

If you have any questions about your tenancy agreement, you can:

If you're moving into a Housing Association property, you should contact them directly.

Your rights as a tenant 

As a tenant of Sutton Council you have rights covering:

  • the type of tenancy
  • the condition of your home and
  • the standards you should expect from us

We have a duty of care to you and uphold your rights.

Our Housing Advice Service

You can call us on 020 8770 5000 (select option 3 and then option 3 again).

Your details will be taken and a housing advisor will call you back. 

You can contact us about:

  • notices to quit accommodation or eviction notices
  • rent increases and arrears
  • disrepair
  • deposits
  • relationship breakdown
  • welfare benefits 
  • homelessness
  • housing options

Introductory Council tenancies

An introductory tenancy lets us closely monitor tenancies for the first 12 months. This helps housing managers to identify and take action on:

  • unacceptable behaviour and
  • providing support to vulnerable tenants

Introductory tenant rights

An introductory tenant has the majority of rights held by secured tenants, including:

  • rights of succession
  • rights of assignment
  • right to repair
  • consultation rights

The tenant does not have the rights to:

  • take in lodgers
  • sub-let part or all of the property
  • make improvements to the property
  • exchange or buy their property

Introductory tenants don't have the Right to Buy during the trial period. However, this period will count towards a Right to Buy discount if the tenancy becomes a secure tenancy.

Why we use introductory tenancies

Sutton Council and Sutton Housing Partnership are committed to tackling:

  • anti-social behaviour and
  • breaches of tenancy conditions 

We aim to help housing managers to deal more effectively with problems of anti-social behaviour and serious breaches of new tenancy agreement during the first 12 months.

Introductory tenant responsibilities

Your responsibility is to abide by the tenancy conditions. These are given at the start of the tenancy.

After the 12 month introductory tenancy period

If you have maintained the terms of the tenancy, it will become a secure tenancy.

If you have consistently breached the tenancy terms during this time, possession action can begin. 

What happens if the terms of an introductory tenancy are broken

Sutton Housing Partnership will engage and work with you if:

  • if a complaint has been made against you or
  • a problem with you tenancy has been identified

They will try to resolve the issue.

Eviction will be pursued as a last resort and only after appropriate support has been offered.