Pre-tenancy support

To help you settle in to your new home and develop the skills required to establish a successful tenancy, we offer new customers identified as needing additional help up to three months-worth of pre-tenancy support.

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Pre-tenancy support

Pre-tenancy support is also available to our prospective and existing customers including:

Prospective customers who have previously had their tenancy application rejected.
Any new customers identified as high risk of tenancy failure eg, previous rent arrears.
Existing customers including transferring tenants, mutual exchanges and those who are taking over a tenancy from a relative.
Those customers who feel they need extra help to establish their tenancy within 3 months of their tenancy start date.

We know that care leavers can find it particularly hard to adjust to managing a new home and tenancy, so to help them get established in their new homes, we offer up to six months one-to-one support.

What’s involved

Our pre-tenancy support officer will help you to understand the costs associated with your home and explain what’s expected of you once you have the keys.

They will also advise you on:

Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant
Paying your rent
Managing your money and budgeting
Dealing with debt and asking for help
Eligible benefits

They can also help you to:

Claim any benefit entitlements and ensure the first payment is received
Set up utilities such as gas, electricity, water and phone lines
Set up payments plans, including direct debits
Access furnishings for your new home
Access any additional support needs such as mental health support
Develop the skills necessary to run your home and tenancy

You can be referred for either a short online workshop or more detailed one-to-one support meetings with our pre-tenancy support officer, or both if needed.

Tenancy ready workshop

One-to-one support

Tenancy ready workshop

Our online workshop is aimed at new customers who have not had a tenancy agreement before and are waiting to move into their new home. The session lasts around one hour and gives a brief oversight in to your new tenancy agreement and what it means to be a Cottsway customer.

The workshop is held once a month and includes multiple customers so if you have something personal you wish to discuss, please contact us to arrange a one-to-one meeting.

One-to-one support

If you need extra support to manage your tenancy or help to get set up in your new home, your housing officer may recommend that you are referred for one-to-one pre-tenancy support. These support sessions take place in person or over the phone and will be held over a three-month period.

We will work with you to identify your individual support needs and agree any actions that need to be taken.

We may also seek your permission to speak to others on your behalf such as benefits advisors and social care workers to ensure you have all the relevant help and support in place.

How to apply for pre-tenancy support

We will contact you directly to see if you would like our tenancy support if you have:

Been recommended for additional support by your housing officer.
Had a tenancy application rejected and the housing officer feels that you would benefit from some support to help secure a tenancy in the future.

If you’re struggling to maintain your tenancy and feel that you would benefit from any additional support, please contact us

Other useful information

Tenancy information

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