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Your council tenancy agreement explained

Find an example of a tenancy agreement, assured shorthold tenancy (AST) and a breakdown of what the agreement covers; along with the tenants' handbook.

In this section:

If your council home has a garden

If your council home has a garden you will have certain responsibilities towards maintaining it, and certain rights about what you can do with it.

Maintaining your garden

If you have a garden, you're required to keep it well maintained. By this we mean that:

  • the grass must be cut
  • trees and hedges trimmed
  • the entire area kept free of rubbish at all times

Without our written consent. you must not:

  • erect any structure in garden such as a shed, pigeon loft, aviary or conservatory
  • carry out any hard landscaping

We will not usually give permission if you're an introductory tenant. Permission is also not usually given for the installation of garden ponds. 

Parking in your garden

You can park in the garden of your home, provided you have:

  • a dropped kerb to enable you to access across the pavement
  • an approved hard standing in the garden

If you do not have both of these and are found to park in the garden of your home, you'll be in breach of their conditions of tenancy.

If you wish to install a dropped kerb, we'll pay 50% of the costs involved in the installation. The remaining 50% of the cost of the dropped kerb and the installation of the hard standing must be paid by you.

If you decide to install a dropped kerb and hard standing, you must not park in your garden until both the dropped kerb and hard standing have been completed.

Only secure tenants can apply for the installation of a dropped kerb. Permission will not be given if you owe us any outstanding money.

Boundaries and fences

The maintenance of boundaries and fences for your council home are mainly your responsibility. Fences are supplied in the following circumstances where the boundary is our responsibility:

  • is adjacent, or opens to, a public path
  • is for communal areas
  • is adjacent to public alleyways
  • opens onto a public highway

If you have a pet, it's your responsibility to provide a higher or more secure fence if you need this for your pet’s security.

Permission must be obtained in writing before installing your own fence. We will not usually give permission if you're an introductory tenant.