Responsible Officer

Director of Customer Services

 

Statement of intent

Phoenix seeks to ensure the effective use of properties and ensure that tenants comply with tenancy conditions, such as the requirement for tenants to occupy their properties as their “only or principal home”. Phoenix seeks to follow good practice in terms of tenancy and estate management in the following ways: 

• Carrying out a programme of rolling tenancy audits to help identify properties that may be abandoned, squatter or illegally occupied
• Follow agreed  procedures to lawfully regain possession of abandoned properties and remove unauthorised occupants
• By having an effective reporting procedure in place for staff and residents, whereby visits to identified properties are made promptly

 

This policy is necessary to: 

• ensure that tenants are given the opportunity to prove their continued occupation of their property  
• to ensure that properties that have been abandoned are brought back into use as soon as possible
• to minimise likelihood of squatting
• to minimise  loss of rental income
• to ensure that claims of unlawful eviction are minimised and can be successfully defended

 

Definitions

Resident includes tenants, Freeholders and Leaseholders
Tenant means anyone who holds a tenancy with PCH including a probationary tenancy
PCH Phoenix Community Housing

  

Policy

PCH will: 

1.  Make every reasonable effort to contact the existing tenant(s) when their property has been reported as being abandoned or it has become known to PCH in any other way.

2.  Advise tenants when they have abandoned their tenancy if there may haves been coercion, duress, harassment or undue influence being brought upon the tenant by others. 

3.  Serve a Notice to Quit on any property that is suspected to be abandoned.

4.  Take possession of property in accordance with the law when the Notice to Quit expires

5.  Store goods for a maximum of thirty days when we are aware of the tenant’s whereabouts. In all other cases PCH will store goods for three months. A recharge fee will be levied for this.  PCH will not act unreasonably in relation to any goods left in the property.

  

Associated Policies

None