Ending your tenancy

We know that moving home can be a stressful and busy time and we want to do all we can to make the process straight forward.

You can find out all you need to know about ending your tenancy below and if you have any further questions please get in touch.

What do you need to do?

Once you’ve found a new home, you’ll need to let us know you’re leaving your current home.

You will usually have to give us at least four full weeks notice that you are moving but you should check your tenancy agreement as this will tell you exactly how many weeks notice you need to give.

If you let us know on any day other than a Monday, the first date of your notice will be the following Monday. For example, if you gave us notice on a Wednesday, your notice period would start the following Monday.

Whilst you have handed your notice in, you still need to pay us rent.

You are welcome to move out of the property before the end of the notice period, but you will still need to pay your rent until the end of your notice.

How to hand your notice in

As we're a new housing association that formed following the merger of Optivo and Southern Housing Group (SHG) in December 2022 the steps you need to follow to start your notice period will depend on who used to manage your home; either Optivo or SHG.

Select the appropriate box below to find out more about what you need to do.

The quickest and easiest way to notify us that you wish to end your tenancy is to login to our online service MyAccount (link below).

From here select 'Tenancy' on the main menu and then complete the online 'Termination of tenancy' form.

Alternatively you can email us at contactus@southernhousing.org.uk and we’ll send you a notice of termination form. You then just need to complete and return to us by email or in the post.

Go to MyAccount

You can speak to us about ending your tenancy, but for your tenancy to end you will need to put your notice in writing.

This can be done by downloading and completing our PDF form (below) and returning it to us by post or email (details on how to do this are provided in the form).

Download form

You can use the handy postcode checker to find out who used to manage your home.

Check now using the link below and then come back to this page to find out what steps you then need to follow.

Check your postcode

What happens next?

Once we’ve received your notice we will be in touch with you to:

Let you know that we have received your request to end your tenancy and confirm we are processing it
Confirm the last date of your tenancy and the rent due (including any arrears)
Discuss the next steps and anything else we need from you.

More information about some of the tasks you'll need to do before you leave your home can be found below. These steps would need to be completed in order to end your tenancy.

Before you move out, we will need to inspect your home so that we may assess what, if any, repairs or redecoration are required for the property.

If there is any damage to the property beyond the usual wear and tear, it may be your responsibility to pay for the repair or redecoration.

If this happens, we will let you know and discuss the cost of this with you.

During your notice period, we will start to put your home up for rent and we may ask you to allow us access to carry out a viewing with a prospective tenant.

We will work with you to find suitable dates and times to carry out the viewings.

Whilst your tenancy states that you must give us reasonable access to your home for viewings, we will ensure that this causes as little disruption to you and your household as possible.

Before you leave the property, you will need to take all your possessions with you and ensure that you leave the property clean and tidy. This needs to be done by the time you return the keys to us on the last day of your tenancy.

If the property has personal items, rubbish or is not clean when you return the property to us, we will charge you for the cost of clearing and cleaning your home.

We don’t have any storage facilities, so any items left in the home, will be disposed of so please make sure all your items are removed.

If you have communal bins, you cannot put furniture or household items in the bin or bin store. Some Councils collect bulky items, so please get in touch with them or arrange for a local company to help you.

On the day you move, take readings for any gas, electricity or water meters at your old address.

Make sure you inform the utility companies that you are moving and provide them with a forwarding address.

Turnoff your water at the stopcock and gas meter before leaving.

Switch off electricity at the fuse box. But don’t ask for these services to be disconnected.

If there's a key safe at your home and you've been given the code, then please leave your key in the safe.

If you don't have the code or there's not a key safe, then give us a call and we'll be able to discuss arrangements.

Before you leave your home, it’s best to make sure any payments are up to date.

Any arrears will need to be paid by the time you leave the property.

We hope that these tips have been useful but if you need anything else, please do get in touch with us.

We hope your move goes smoothly and we wish you all the happiness in your new home.

Contacting us about the death of a resident

We know that dealing with the death of a loved one can be difficult.

Here you'll find the information you need about the process of informing us when a resident named on the tenancy agreement has died.

Losing someone is always difficult no matter the circumstances. Please make sure you don’t suffer alone. We have wellbeing services which we encourage you to use and there are many free bereavement charities that offer support.