The Tenancy Release Group
By signing a Unipol Tenancy you are committing to and contractually obliged to pay the rent in full.
If you want to leave your accommodation or feel that you have to then there are some options open to you so that you do not have to continue paying the rent:
You can find a replacement tenant and the housing management officer will be able to advertise your room for you on the Unipol website and also suggest that you use the Student to Student noticeboard to advertise your room. Once a replacement is found you will need to complete the paperwork to release you from your obligations and pass this onto the new tenant.
If you and your housemates are not getting on and that is the reason you want to leave it is worth talking to the Tenancy Support Officer. She may also be able to help you resolve issues in your house if you want to leave because of inter tenant frictions or be able to arrange relocation to another Unipol property. If this is of interest to you please contact the Tenancy Support Officer at Unipol who will be able to tell you if there are rooms available and where they are. You will need to complete paperwork to finalise your move.
Under normal circumstances you will not be released from your contract even if you have given up your course and are leaving Leeds, without finding a replacement tenant or moving to another Unipol property.
You may however be severely affected by a life event that means that you have to leave University and your accommodation in Leeds. In a situation of this nature you may ask that you be released from your Tenancy agreement and this will be considered by a group who will make a decision about whether Unipol will release you from the agreement and future rent payments. You should remember that neither Unipol nor the group are obliged to release you from your tenancy agreement regardless of your circumstances and for that reason the decision of the Tenancy Release Group is final. There is no appeal beyond this group.
Criteria for consideration by the Tenancy Release Group
- Death of a tenant - the tenancy would cease on the date of death. A death certificate would be needed to grant the deed of release. Next of Kin able to sign relevant paperwork
- Tenant involved in an incident which resulted in the tenant being in a coma. Proof would be provided by a doctor’s/hospital letter. Parent(s) would be allowed to sign the relevant paperwork.
- Illness of a tenant which necessitated the tenant leaving their University course and leaving Leeds to undergo a course of treatment. Proof would be provided by a doctor’s/hospital letter which needs to give details of illness. Confirmation from the institution regarding the tenant leaving their course would be needed. A written declaration from tenant would also be needed.
- Pregnancy of tenant where the accommodation of the tenant was not suitable and where there was no other appropriate accommodation available from Unipol. Proof of pregnancy to be provided by a doctor’s/hospital letter.
- Illness of a close family member where there was no-one else in the family able to look after that family member or other dependants (with siblings needing to be under 18 years of age) and which resulted in the tenant having to give up their course. Proof would be provided by a doctor’s/hospital letter which needs to give details of illness. Confirmation from the institution regarding the tenant leaving their course would be needed. A written declaration from tenant would also be needed.
Making a request for being released from your Tenancy from the Tenancy Release group
All requests must be made by the tenant unless for some reason they are incapacitated and unable to do so in which case a representation can be made by a parent/guardian or spouse or a member representing the University or students' union sitting as a stakeholder within the relevant Unipol Sub Committee
If the representative is a parent or relative of a tenant or ex-tenant, then written authority from the tenant must be attached to the request, authorising the request on their behalf.
Requests must be in writing and addressed to Unipol at:
Tenancy Release Group
Unipol Student Homes
155-157 Woodhouse Lane
Leeds
LS2 3ED
or by e-mail to:
The Request for release must state clearly:
- your name
- the full address at which you are the tenant
- a correspondence address if different from the tenancy address
- a contact telephone number
- your university and year of study
- your reasons for wanting to be released from your tenancy taking into consideration the grounds for release outlined above
- any supporting evidence from doctors, the University or other professional parties able to verify your circumstances
Upon receiving the complaint Unipol will check that it fulfils the criteria for consideration by the Tenancy Release Group and that there is sufficient evidence to proceed.
The Tenancy Release Group
Nominations will be made by the Board with one nomination from each member. The nominee does not have to be a trustee of the Board. The nominees will hold the post for a period of 3 years or less if they leave the institution that nominated them, or they resign from the Group. The Chair and Deputy Chair is elected by the Group every year.
This consists of the four people (or their nominees) nominated by Unipol’s Board and they are :
The following people or their nominees sit on the Tenancy Release Group
Ms Jo Johnson- from Leeds Metropolitan University Students’ Union (Chair)
Mr Ian Robertson - from the University of Leeds (Deputy Chair)
Mr Christian Bodden - from Leeds University Union
Leeds Metropolitan University - Vacancy
The quorum is three.
No members should be approached directly about applications made to the Tenancy Release Group.
The Tenancy Release Group sets a meeting cycle annually and meets every month during term time. The quorum for the Tenancy Release Group is three.
Any members of the Tenancy Release Group with an interest (financial or personal) in any case before the Group will declare it to the Group before the case is heard and the Group will consider whether that member should continue to deliberate on the request.
Decisions taken by the Tenancy Release Group will be conveyed to all concerned parties, in writing, within 5 working days of the meeting taking place.
Powers of the Tenancy Release Group
The Group can take one of three decisions, they can:
- request additional information and reconvene at a later date to consider the request
- release the tenant from the tenancy agreement
- reject the request to be released
The Tenancy Release Group is not for arguing legal points but is for the purpose of deciding, on the evidence presented, whether a tenant should be released from their tenancy agreement. No legal representatives (acting in that capacity) are allowed at the Group meetings to represent the tenant. Representatives of the tenant, subject to prior notification are allowed.
No observers or other parties shall be present, except with the permission of the Tenancy Release Group
Tenants wishing to attend the group meeting must not less than 3 working days before the hearing (after that date admission is only by permission of the Group):
- confirm that they intend to attend
- confirm any representatives they intend to bring
- submit any additional written submissions for consideration by the Group.
At the Tenancy Support Group meetings
All members present will be reminded to turn off any mobile phones or other electronic communications equipment that may disturb the hearing. Members of the Group will be identified to the tenant at the commencement of proceedings.
The parties to the request to be released will be identified at the commencement of that agenda item.
Details of the request to be released shall be circulated to all Group members who have confirmed their attendance not less than two working days before the meeting.
Additional paper work can only be laid on the table with the consent of the Group.
For each request:
- the Chair, or his/her nominee, shall summarise the request and the documentation supplied in support of this. This summation shall be definitive and not open to challenge
- the Chair will then invite the tenant to make comments, within a time-frame decided upon by the Chair
- members of the Group will then ask any questions
- after hearing matters relating to the request to be released from the Tenancy Agreement the Chair shall summarise the issues
- if there are a number of tenancy release requests being considered then the Group shall undertake its deliberations in confidence at the end of the hearings
- if there is one complaint then the Group shall undertake its deliberations, in confidence, at the end of that hearing
- in reaching a decision every effort shall be made by the Group to reach consensus but in the event of a variety of views being expressed then a simple majority shall decide the matter (with the Chair having an original and, in the event of a tie, a casting vote)
- the decision taken is the view of the Group as a whole and no record is kept of any voting that took place nor is any report made of that vote
- the Group can decide whether to announce its decision, after its deliberations, to the parties concerned at that time, or decide to give its decision in writing later.
Procedures of the Tenancy Release Group- After the Tenancy Release Group Meeting
All decisions given will be confirmed in writing not less than five working days after the meeting in any event.
The decision once confirmed in writing is final.
