Our tenancy agreements explain everything we are responsible for and everything our customers are responsible for. Find an example agreement in the links below, together with useful forms for making changes to your tenancy. The agreement will open in your browser window and the forms will download to your downloads folder.
Tenancy terms and conditionsAssignment of tenancy formMutual exchange form
- The Help Hub
- Want someone else to represent you?
- Want someone to inherit your tenancy?
- Want to buy your home?
- Moving out?
- Ending a tenancy when someone has died
- Outstanding rent when you leave
You can find the answers to all our frequently asked questions about your home and tenancy on the Help Hub. This 'smart database' is put together by our expert teams and puts the information you need at your fingertips 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You can authorise someone else to talk to us about aspects of your tenancy. You can do this online using docusign - just tap the button below (the page will open in a new tab).
Click the button below to download a form that you can print off and fill in to do this.
Download the letter of authority
Please return your completed form to:
Customer Services team
FHG PO BOX 141
Innovation House
Coniston Court
Blyth
NE24 9FQ
You may be able to pass on your tenancy to someone else if you die. This is called succession of tenancy.
A right to inherit a tenancy depends on:
- the person's relationship with you
- the type of tenancy you have
- when the tenancy started
- if there has previously been an Assignment of Tenancy.
If you inherit a tenancy, it will be on the same terms and conditions as the original tenant had. We may ask you for proof of who you are, your relationship with the tenant who died and how long you had lived with them.
Joint tenants
If you hold a joint tenancy with someone who has passed away - you automatically become the sole tenant. This is known as survivorship.
A joint tenant takes priority over anyone else's claim to inherit the tenancy.
Who can inherit the tenancy
A husband, wife or civil partner will always take priority over anyone else, unless it is a joint tenancy. In this case the tenancy continues in the name of the other joint tenant. If there is a choice between qualifying relatives, you will need to decide among yourselves who inherits the tenancy.
You will need to provide us with some identification (passport, driving license or bus pass for example) and prove you have lived at the property with the tenant for the previous 12 months. You can do this with documents such as a Council Tax bill, utility bill or benefit award letter.
If you're thinking about buying your home, you may be eligible for the Government's Right to Buy scheme, which allows social housing customers to buy their home at a discount.
On 21 November, the maximum discount amount is changing quite significantly, so it's worth taking the time to look into this if it's something you're thinking of.
Currently the maximum discount for social homes in England (not including London) is £102,400. However, the Government announced in its recent Autumn budget this will be reduced, so on 21 November the maximum discount will depend on the home's region instead - for the East Midlands this goes down to £24,000. There are more factors to take into account than this, such as whether you live in a flat or a house, the value of your home and how long you've been a social housing customer for.
To find out all of the discount details, eligibility criteria and the form to apply, head to the Government's website below.
Click here to find out more about Right to Buy
We're already seeing an increase in customers applying for the scheme and contacting us with queries on their application. We'll confirm we've received your application by email or letter within five working days, but processing the application after this is taking a little longer than usual due to the increase. Please be assured if we've acknowledged your application then we'll be in touch again, so there's no need to call in the meantime – our teams are working hard to process the applications as soon as possible.
If you move home you need to end your tenancy with us by:
- ending your tenancy on a Sunday
- arranging to clear the property and return the keys.
When you end your tenancy we will:
- give you a receipt for the notice that you provide
- write to confirm that we have received your notification and confirm the date when your tenancy ends
- tell you how much rent you need to pay to clear your account
- send you an end of tenancy survey to complete
- arrange to inspect your home before you leave.
If you need to end a tenancy on behalf of a relative or friend, please select the 'Ending a tenancy when someone has died' tab above for more information.
We understand that losing a friend or relative is difficult, but we can help to guide you through what you need to do about their Futures home when the time comes.
- Once we have been informed, you will have four weeks to clear the property. Rent is payable until the end of this period.
- If the relative was claiming Housing Benefit, then the benefit will end from the Sunday after they day they died.
- We will also need a copy of the death certificate to end the tenancy.
If you still owe us rent when you leave a Futures home we will contact you and explain how to clear the debt. Please read our Former tenant arrears FAQs for more information.
If you have general money concerns, see our money advice pages for more information as well as links to other sources of help and support with debts.
