Birmingham City Council

Ending You Tenancy With Birmingham City Council

Notice period

You must give a minimum of four weeks' notice, and the last day of your tenancy must be a Sunday. If you are ending a garage tenancy, this only requires 1 weeks’ notice; it must end on a Sunday, too.

Example of ending a tenancy on a property.

If you gave notice on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024, you would need to give 4 weeks' notice and ensure that your tenancy ended on the nearest Sunday; in this example, your tenancy end date would be January 19th, 2025.
 

How to give notice

You must advise that you intend to end your tenancy; this includes garage tenancies.

Complete the Intention to End Tenancy form,

You can complete the Intention to End Tenancy form either.
 

Online

To give notice online, you need to sign in to or create a BRUM account.

Once you have signed in, you can access your account page. Scroll down until you see the 'Housing' section and select 'Other housing online services.'

Read the information under 'End your tenancy' and then select 'End your tenancy'.
 

By phone

To give notice by phone, you need to phone 303 5054 Option 4 or 5
 

Once we have received your intention to your tenancy

You will receive confirmation that your intention to end your tenancy has been received.

You will also receive a Notice to Quit Form that must be completed and returned to us signed; if not returned, we cannot proceed with ending your tenancy.  We will also provide you with some helpful information to support you.

You will be invited to book a moving-out visit with one of our officers, who will visit you at home to advise you of the following responsibilities.
 

Ending the tenancy of someone who has died

In the event of a death, a tenancy can only be ended by someone authorised to act as a personal representative of the deceased, i.e., an executor or administrator appointed in a will (proof required). In these circumstances, we will accept a shorter notice of at least one full week (to end on a Sunday).

If you are not a personal representative, provide us with a copy of the death certificate and return the keys to the property. Birmingham City Council will end the tenancy by lodging a Notice Quit on the Public Trustee, which potentially may take up to 6 weeks.

Alternatively, you may prefer to use Tell Us Once:   https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once or call 0800 085 7308

 

Housing Benefit of the deceased: Please note that if the tenant was claiming housing benefit, the entitlement ends on the Sunday following the date of death. If the date of the death is a Sunday, the entitlement to housing benefits ends that day

 

Ending the tenancy for someone moving to residential care

Unless you have been granted ‘Lasting Power of Attorney for Property and Financial Affairs,’ you cannot end the tenancy on the tenant’s behalf. We will serve a Notice to Quit to end the tenancy formally and support you in this process.

 

Leaving someone in occupation when you leave your tenancy  

If you are ending your tenancy, you must give us vacant possession (No one should be left in the property) in line with your Tenancy Agreement.

Your notification to end tenancy may NOT be accepted if you leave anyone at the property.

 

Joint tenants' signatures to end the tenancy

We encourage both parties to sign the ‘notification to end tenancy’ form, which will be sent to you once your intention to end your tenancy has been accepted; legally, we only need one signature, which will end the ‘whole’ tenancy.

Domestic Abuse   

As a tenant, you must not hand in your keys; you need advice and guidance, as doing so could intentionally make you homeless.

Please call the contact centre at 121 216 3030 extension 4 or email bcchousing@birmingham.gov.uk. They will direct you to the correct team for advice and support.

Preparing to move out

Moving out visit

As soon as we know you are moving out, you will be invited to book an appointment, so an officer can complete a moving out visit.

Things you will need to do

• Ensure your Notice to Quit is returned and sign
• If you do not do this, your notice may not be accepted, and you will still need to pay rent, even if you have left the property.

1. Your rent account should be clear; any arrears need to be paid up to date before you leave the property. If you are unable to clear your account, you must Liaise with the rent team  
2. You give full vacant possession of the property – this means not leaving anybody residing in the property when your tenancy ends. Under the terms of your tenancy agreement, your tenancy will not be legally ended unless you give full vacant possession. If not, then you will continue to be charged rent weekly.
3. You leave the property and garden (if applicable) clean, tidy, and clear of belongings and rubbish. This includes lofts, garages, and outbuildings.
4. Any items left in the property after the notice period and keys returned will be disposed of, and there may be a possible recharge. BCC will not be held liable for high-value or sentimental products getting disposed of at the time of tenancy termination.
5. You MUST return ALL keys and fobs for your property, including those for communal areas, to us.
6. You MUST notify your utility service providers (electricity, gas, telephone, and water companies) that your tenancy has ended.
7. You do not leave your meters in debt.
8. Please be aware – if you do not leave your property in a satisfactory condition or provide us with all keys and fobs, you will be recharged to cover the costs incurred.

All the above will be discussed in more detail during your moving out visit

 

Aids or adaptations

If any adaptations have been made to the property that we are unaware of, they will be captured on your moving out visit; these include walk-in showers and grab rails.

Tell people your new address

You will need to tell people your new address. These include:

• Your GP
• Council tax service
• Banks, credit card companies, and so on
• The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Insurance companies
• Your or your dependent's school, college, or university
• Utilities

Keys

At the end of your four weeks’ notice, the moving-out team will collect ALL keys from the property at an agreed-upon time and date. If the keys are not received by this deadline, additional weeks’ rent will be applied to your rent account until the keys are handed in.

• The key collection will be discussed during your pre-vacation visit, and you and the officer will agree on the collection and date.

Non-return of Keys

If you do not return your keys/fobs and have not contacted us to give a reason, we will change the lock to secure the property against re-entry and charge you for the cost of the work as well as any rent lost.

You will have to pay extra costs if you do not:

• Return your keys on time - you will be charged additional rent until the keys are received.
• Return a complete set of keys for every lock – otherwise, we will ask you to pay for the locks we have to change.
• Remove all your belongings – we will charge you any removal fees.
• Make sure any pets have been removed – we will ask you to pay for any costs to remove animals, and you could be prosecuted for animal abandonment.
• Make sure no one is left living there – we will not terminate your tenancy until the property is empty, and you will need to continue paying rent.
• Leave the property in good condition. We will charge you if we need to repair any damage or unauthorised alterations. 

Key collections will be discussed in more detail during your moving-out visit.

 

What happens on moving out day

Before your keys are collected

Make sure you:

• turn the water off at the stop tap
• turn off gas and electricity at the meter or fuse board
• All rubbish and personal belongings are to be removed.
• leave the property in the same condition as you when you moved in

Key collection by officer.

• The officer will attend the property at the agreed time and date.
• An inspection of the property will be carried out to ensure that all that was agreed upon at the moving-out visit has been adhered to.

Keys been dropped by agreement only.

• Keys need to be dropped off at the agreed location, on the Monday after your tenancy ended on the Sunday by 12 noon.
• As an agreement is made for keys to be dropped off, check the doors are locked and secure on leaving the property
• An inspection of the property will be carried out on receipt of the keys to ensure that all that was agreed upon at the moving-out visit has been adhered to  

For further information or questions, please

Please call the contact centre. 303 5054 Option 4 or 5

Opening Times

9.00 Am to 5.00 Pm

Repairs

24-hour line 0121 216 3330