Voids occur in one of five main ways:

• Transfers (including to an other local authority or housing association)
• Surrender (either with or without notice)
• Death of Tenant
• Abandonment
• Eviction  

Details of ending each can be found in Ending tenancies guidance or Ending a tenancy when a tenant dies.

Caretakers also find it helpful to be told when someone has moved out.

Helpful information for tenants moving can be found in the Moving home to-do list and Advice to tenants moving home fact sheet.

Add an expected end date to the tenancy on Northgate when we know someone is moving out.

Obtaining possession

A property becomes void when the Council takes possession of it. This normally happens when the keys to the property are handed in.  Generally these are handed into Contact Camden but can also be sent by post or handed to someone else to hand in.

ASC may be involved where the resident is moving to a residential or care home.

The Moving Home team will terminate a tenancy when they receive keys from 5PS or from being advised by the patch NHO.

Receipt of keys

A Notice of vacation form is the best way to record how keys are returned. This can be scanned onto the former tenant’s file and the date added as the KYIN date on NEC. 

• Where the keys are not returned by hand, a notice of vacation can be posted to the former tenant (or her/his representative) where address known (otherwise a letter of acknowledgement to say when the tenancy will be ended).
• Once we have possession the tenancy can be ended on NEC. The end of tenancy date will always be a Sunday.
• When the keys are returned or possession retaken by 12pm on Monday the tenancy end will be the day before. Where the keys are returned or possession taken after 12pm then the tenancy end date will be the following Sunday unless enforcing 4 weeks’ notice.    
• We can enforce four weeks’ notice where no notice was given.   This four week notice period is not applied to transfers and those moving through mobility schemes to other local authority or housing association properties.  The four week notice also does not apply to those moving to residential care homes.
• Where four weeks’ notice has been enforced, a tenant who receives HB can get HB on both homes for the four week period as long as they move to the new address at the beginning of the period.  However, they cannot get UC.
• The four week notice period can be waived when there is a reason to.
• Be aware of whether we only have a head lease.  This will affect how the void is let (or it may not be let at all).

Void documents are filed on the former tenant’s file on Content Manager.

Terminate the tenancy and then confirm the void on Northgate. Remember to add in the KYIN void event date.