Tenant Handbook
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Tenant Handbook www.lesvauxhousingtrustwww.lesvauxhousingtrust.org.je.org.je 1 CONTENTS Page Section One Les Vaux Housing Trust ............................................................................ 4 Section Two Contact Details ........................................................................................... 4 Section Three Tenancy Agreement ................................................................................... 5 Section Four Rents ............................................................................................................... 5 Section Five Living in your Home .................................................................................. 5 - 8 Section Six Looking after your Home ........................................................................ 9 Section Seven Maintenance and Repairs ......................................................................... 10 - 11 Section Eight Safety .............................................................................................................. 11-12 Section Nine Anti-Social Behaviour ............................................................................... 12 Section Ten Ending your Tenancy ................................................................................. 13 Section Eleven Useful Telephone Numbers .................................................................... 14 www.lesvauxhousingtrust.org.je 3 1. LES VAUX HOUSING TRUST Welcome to your new home. We want to ensure that your stay in a Les Vaux Housing Trust property is as easy as possible. This booklet is intended as guidance to occupiers and we hope will answer some of the most common questions. For more information please refer to our website: www.lesvauxhousingtrust.org.je 2. CONTACT DETAILS Voisin-Hunter Ltd are the managing Opening Hours: agents for Les Vaux Housing Trust. Monday to Friday - 8.00am to 5.30pm, Their contact details are: One Esplanade In the event of an EMERGENCY St Helier which is out of office hours, Jersey please call 507777 where you JE2 3QA will be directed to a mobile. Tel: 01534 507777 Please do not call contractors Fax: 01534 507788 directly or you may be held liable E.mail: [email protected] for the bill. 4 Les Vaux Housing Trust - Tenant Handbook 3. TENANCY AGREEMENT Your Tenancy Agreement sets out your Please read your Agreement carefully. legal responsibilities as a tenant of Les If you lose it, Voisin-Hunter Ltd are Vaux Housing Trust. able to supply you with a copy, but at a charge. 4. RENTS Rent is payable on the first day of With regard to rental increases, you each month. If you have any difficulty will be advised one month before any in meeting the rent, please contact increase will take effect. Voisin-Hunter Ltd. Do not let arrears build up! 5. LIVING IN YOUR HOME UTILITY COMPANIES noise disturbance to the person living underneath. However, consideration Tenants must contact the utility will be given to the installation of companies - gas (Perquage Court and wooden floors if you live on the Landscape Grove only), electricity and ground floor. Please ask Voisin-Hunter telephone to set up accounts in their Ltd for more information. own name. It is important that tenants close and settle accounts at the end of LODGERS the tenancy as soon as possible. You are not allowed to sublet rooms FLOOR COVERINGS in your home or to take in lodgers. Wooden and laminate floors are NOT permitted in flats as they cause undue www.lesvauxhousingtrust.org.je 5 5. LIVING IN YOUR HOME (CONTINUED) PARKING further permits for residents to park in Convent Court. No visitor parking. Parking is always a sensitive issue on most estates. The situation in each of Clos Lempriere – two allocated Les Vaux Housing Trust properties is spaces, plus visitor parking. as follows:- David Moon House – limited parking Troy Court - one space per flat. No with only twelve spaces, which are visitor parking. rented out separately. No visitor parking. Valley Court - a space will be allocated if one is available. The Trust has the Westview – two spaces per house and right to six spaces in the car park a single garage. One space per flat. behind the shop. These are on a Plenty of visitor parking. permit basis to identified cars only. Jardin du Haut – two spaces per house. No visitor parking. Plenty of visitor parking. Vale Court - no allocated parking or Cars left in the car park must be visitor parking. roadworthy and have up-to-date Perquage Court - spaces are rented insurance otherwise we may consider out separately. No visitor parking. that they have been abandoned and act accordingly. Berry House - one space per flat. Two visitor spaces. NEIGHBOURS Leonard Norman Close - one space Please have consideration for your per flat. Two visitor spaces, as marked. neighbours as everyone has the right to live peacefully in his or her home. Landscape Grove - none allocated. It is also a condition of your Tenancy 6-7 St Saviour’s Crescent - one space Agreement not to cause nuisance to per flat. No visitor parking. other tenants. John Le Fondre Court - seven allocated spaces that are rented out with 6 Les Vaux Housing Trust - Tenant Handbook 5. LIVING IN YOUR HOME (CONTINUED) Not all estates or flats have play areas the buildings that your dog is kept and children are often allowed to play on a lead and that any excrement is either on the roadways through the picked up and disposed of immediately. estate, outside people’s houses or in The same applies to friends who walk the indoor and outdoor communal their dogs in the common areas when areas in the blocks of flats. Bearing visiting you. this in mind, we must ask that parents RUBBISH DISPOSAL remain vigilant of their children at all times and ensure they are not causing Rubbish should be disposed of a nuisance to other neighbours. carefully. Please do not leave black bags in the common areas (they smell, PETS especially in the summer) and if bags Pets can cause a problem and so leak on the way to the bins, please permission must be sought from Voisin- clear up the spillage. We often have Hunter Ltd before you bring pets into problems with vermin (seagulls and your home. You can download a copy rats in particular) when bags are not of our Pet Policy and application form placed in the wheelie bins and when from our website. Please be advised the bin lids are left open. Please do all that Les Vaux Housing Trust operates you can to prevent rubbish becoming a a NO DOGS policy in all its flats. health hazard on your estate. Permission for dogs in houses with In addition, please do not discard gardens is usually granted. However, furniture, fittings, white goods or any Les Vaux Housing Trust may review large items on your estate. Kindly this agreement if complaints are arrange to take these to the dump. received from neighbouring properties Glass bins are provided on most regarding nuisance i.e. constant estates. There are notices up in the bin barking, damage to the property and/ areas, reminding you how to dispose of or mess in the communal areas. All pet the glass. The most important things owners must ensure that if you walk to remember are to remove the lids your dog on the grounds or around www.lesvauxhousingtrust.org.je 7 5. LIVING IN YOUR HOME (CONTINUED) and corks from the bottles and jars, the forwarding address for the person wash them and do not leave plastic or who used to live in your flat, why not other carrier bags in the glass bins. re-address the letters and pop them into the nearest postbox? The glass collectors may refuse to take glass that has not been sorted If they have left and you do not know correctly and cleaned and in that where they have gone to, it would be case, we will have to employ a private helpful if you wrote “moved away” contractor at extra expense to the or “unknown at this address” on estate. the envelopes and posted them in a postbox. The Post Office will then WASHING LINE ETIQUETTE return the correspondence to the If you are in a flat that has washing sender and the staircases and halls will lines, please respect other people’s be less cluttered. washing and do not remove it to hang KEYS up yours. Please also leave these areas clean and tidy. Please look after your keys as we do not hold replacements for your home. FORWARDING MAIL Tenants are welcome to leave a spare Mail addressed to previous occupants key at our office if it makes it easier is often allowed to pile up in the for contractors to gain access for any corridors and halls. The postmen are necessary repairs. not allowed to take unwanted post back to the Post Office. If you know 8 Les Vaux Housing Trust - Tenant Handbook 6. LOOKING AFTER YOUR HOME GENERAL CARE & MAINTENANCE only be out for a short time. Care must be taken not to damage the • Use timers for lights and radios if fittings in the bathroom and kitchen. you will be out of the house overnight. Examples we have found include They create the impression that staining, dents and chips to the bath, someone is at home. It is not WC and basin and burn marks to recommended to use TVs for this kitchen worktops. If we have to replace purpose. items, which were in good order at the • Keep car and garage keys out of sight start of the tenancy, then the cost will in your home. be taken from your deposit. • Do not leave window and door keys Window fittings need cleaning and in their locks. lubricating with oil every six months. Please ensure that you do this • Always draw your curtains at night otherwise the windows will not open and make sure valuable items cannot and secure properly and will eventually be easily seen from outside. seize up. • Make sure that garden tools or ladders It is your responsibility to maintain that could be used to force entry into your property and to return it to your your home are not left lying around. landlord in its original condition (fair • Neighbourhood Watch and other wear and tear excepted). If we have ‘watch’ schemes are excellent ways for to replace items, repair, redecorate or communities to fight burglary.