If contact is not made by the specified date, or if the CHO is not satisfied with the contract holder’s confirmation that they are still using their property as their main principal home and the CHO is satisfied that abandonment has occurred, to trigger the contract end the CHO must, issue an RHW28 Notice along with the RHW28 cover letter to bring the contract to an end. A proforma should be completed and submitted to the Community Housing Manager for sign off. This will need escalating by the Community Housing Manager to get sign off from the CHM, Housing Services Manager and Service Lead before issuing the RHW28, to ensure the contract end is agreed and a lock change approved.
The CHO must:
- Hand-deliver RHW28 Notice at contract address
- Where possible, issue the notice to the contract holder in person
- Serve a copy of the notice to any potential new addresses / known addresses
- Email and text the contract holder to advise them that this notice has been issued
The contract will end on the date the RHW28 is issued. If a contract is ended with this notice, possession of the property can be reclaimed without court proceedings.
If approved, a lock change must be arranged with the Repairs Department with an officer from the Community housing team ensuring they attend.
A Notice should be placed on the door advising that the property has been recovered and the rent account should be voided on return to the office.
If approval for lock change is not granted, the officer should conduct further investigations based on the reasons for non-approval.