Yes, providing there are no exceptions to S84 and Schedule 6: reasonableness to withhold consent of the RHW Act (landlord consent), a contract transfer request can and should be refused if:
- the contract holder is in arrears until they clear the arrears. However, if the arrears cannot be cleared outright, the conditional consent may be considered providing a repayment arrangement is agreed upon.
- the contract holder has broken the terms of the contract until the breach is put right
- court proceedings have begun against the contract holder requiring them to leave their home or we have served them with a notice that we intend to issue court proceedings
- the property is larger than needed by the proposed contract holder
- the property is only offered to certain categories of people (e.g., people with physical disabilities) and the proposed contract holder does not fall into any of those categories
- we provide specialist support or specialist accommodation for people with special needs, and should the contract be transferred, there would be no-one living in the property who has those needs.
If at any point the criteria for the transfer is not met or proved, both parties should be advised that the request has been refused and the reasons for this put in writing. If, following refusal, the transfer continues by the contract holder, this can be classed as an unauthorised transfer and a breach of contract and is therefore not binding on the landlord.